Commento su Numeri 15:3

ועשיתם אשה — This is not a command: when you come into the land you shall make a fire-offering — but the meaning is: When you will come there and it enters your mind to make a fire-offering unto the Lord.

לעשות ריח ניחוח.....והקריב המקריב, until the advent of the sin of the golden calf, the expression ריח ניחוח had not surfaced as no libations plus gift offerings had been needed in order to make the offerings truly pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. This is why we do not find such an expression in connection with the offering of Hevel (Genesis 4,4, of Noach Genesis 8,21, and of Avraham in Genesis 12,7) Neither do we find it in Exodus 24,5 where the burnt offerings and meat offerings offered by the firstborns (before they had been exchanged for the tribe of Levi) were described. As of the sin of the golden calf gift offerings and libations were required to make public offerings pleasing to the Lord, i.e. לריח ניחוח. After the sin of the spies even offerings by private individuals had to be accompanied by such libations and gift offerings, מנחה ונסכים, in order to qualify for the expression ריח ניחוח as proving that the offering had pleased the Lord.

This does not denote a command. Meaning that if this were a command, it would not be correct to say “by verbalizing as a pledge or as a donation” because donations are not commanded. Thus Rashi explains that “when it occurs to you…”

V. 3. ועשיתם אשה לד׳ וגו׳ gehört noch zu dem mit כי des vorigen Verses eingeleiteten Vordersatz. —

לפלא נדר או בנדבה וגו׳ TO DISTINGUISH YOURSELVES BY A VOW OR A FREE-WILL OFFERING [OR ON YOUR FESTIVALS] — i.e. or that you would make the fire-offering on account of the obligatory festival sacrifice which I have obligated you to offer on a festival. ...

Satisfying. Not that Hashem receives satisfaction from the offering, for it is written (Tehillim 50:12) “Even if I were hungry I would not tell you…” as explained above in Parshas Tetzaveh (Shemos 29:18, 25). The reason for Rashi commenting on “a pleasing fragrance” before “or on your festivals” is that he first explains that “when you make the fire-offering” does not refer to a command, rather when it occurs to you to make a fire-offering to provide a pleasing fragrance. Linked to this he also explained “a pleasing fragrance” before explaining “on you festivals.”

זבח ,עולה או זבח umfasst שלמים und תודה, obgleich letzteres bereits von לחמי תודה begleitet ist, bedarf es doch noch besonders der hier angeordneten מנחה ונסך. —פלא נדר ,לפלא נדר geschieht im Momente der Gelobung: הרי עלי; die Darbringung des Opfers ist nur deren Erfüllung. Es kann daher das ל־ in לפלא nur: in Beziehung auf —, für — bedeuten. Bei נדבה jedoch, הרי זו, ist sofort der erste Akt, das הקדש, die Weiheerteilung, die Bestimmung eines Tieres zu עולה oder שלמים selbst bereits eine Opferhandlung, die ja auch durch הקרבה ausgedrückt wird (siehe Wajikra 1, 3). Daher בנדבה: in Weihung oder durch Weihung; die עשית אשה beginnt, indem er ein Tier zu עולה oder זבח weiht. — Durch פלא נדר או נדבה ist die hier folgende Anordnung nur auf solche Opferkategorien beschränkt, die auch בנדר ונדבה gebracht werden können, und zwar diese selbst, wenn sie als חובה kommen, wie sofort durch die Beifügung או במעדיכם gegeben ist, da diese ja חובות הבאות מחמת הרגל, durch das Fest geforderte Pflichtopfer, עולות ראייה ושלמי חגיגה, sind. Ausgeschlossen sind daher הבכור והמעשר והפסח והחטאת והאשם, Kategorien, die nur als Pflichtopfer möglich sind. Nur חטאתר של מצורע ואשמו bilden eine Ausnahme (siehe Wajikra 14, 10). מן הבקר או מן הצאן ausgeschlossen ist עולת עוף (Menachot 90 b u. 91 a).

ריח ניחח [TO MAKE] A PLEASING ODOR — i.e. to cause satisfaction to Me.

In order to fulfill the holiday obligation. Rashi was forced to explain “or that you make…” so that one would not understand this as “by verbalizing a pledge, or by verbalizing a donation or by verbalizing [an offering] on your festivals.” For this is not so, given that the offerings on the festivals are obligatory and thus not dependant upon verbalization.