Comentário sobre Levítico 1:6

'‎והפשיט וגו‎ AND HE SHALL FLAY [THE BURNT OFFERING] — Why does it state “the burnt offering” (instead of merely saying, והפשיטה, “and he shall flay it”)? In order to include all burnt offerings (i. e. all עולות בהמה, whether they be free — will or obligatory, whether they are taken מן הבקר or מן הצאן, whether brought by a man or by a woman, by a free Israelite or by an Israelite עבד) in the law of flaying and dismembering (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Chapter 5 2; cf. Note 3 on העולה v. 4).

AND HE SHALL FLAY THE BURNT-OFFERING. He is commanded to flay it while it is whole and afterwards he sever it. The expression and he shall flay … and he shall sever refers to the owner of the offering [even if he is a non-priest], just as He said, and he shall lay his hand …⁸⁸Above, Verse 4. and he shall slaughter⁸⁹Verse 5. [which may also be done by a zar — a non-priest], for flaying and severing are not functions relating to the actual offering and are therefore valid if done by a zar. This is why [in the following verse] He says again, And the sons of Aaron [the priest shall put fire upon the altar].⁹⁰Verse 7. Similarly, it is valid that the washing of the inwards be done by a zar. Hence He says, But its inwards and its legs he shall wash in water,⁹¹Verse 9. that is, the owner of the offering, and afterwards, and the priest shall cause all to ascend in fumes.⁹¹Verse 9. He states it in the plural, and they shall put …⁹⁰Verse 7. and they shall set the pieces,⁹²Verse 8. because all duties performed by the priests are commanded in this form, since there are many priests gathered in the House of G-d to attend to the burnt-offerings, and in the multitude of the people is the King’s glory,⁹³Proverbs 14:28. but it is not indispensable, since further on He taught, and the priest shall set them in order⁹⁴Verse 12. [thus showing that even a single priest may perform all the acts].⁹⁵Ibn Ezra, however, states that they must be performed by a minimum of two priests. This he bases upon the plural expression in Verse 7: and they shall put fire. It is thus clear that Ramban’s intention here is to exclude Ibn Ezra’s opinion, since it is not the accepted law.

והפשיט את העולה, ”he is to skin the burnt offering.” The reason the Torah spelled this out is that other sacrificial offerings that are totally burned up on the altar, do not have their skin removed before their carcass is being burned. (Zevachim 5,2)

To include all the burnt-offerings. Meaning: The section is [already] referring to a burntoffering; Scripture should have said: He shall skin it... Rather: [To include all the burntofferings]; it makes no difference if it is a burnt offering of women, converts, or slaves. The ה of העולה excludes [the case] when it was slaughtered [with intention to eat it] beyond its [prescribed] time or [with intention to eat it] outside of its [prescribed] place (pigul), or any other invalid offerings, and it went up on the altar [without being skinned]; it should not be taken down [from the altar]. Instead, they burn it with its skin, and it does not need skinning.

והפשיט את העולה, “he shall flay the burnt offering;” this had to be spelled out here as we find in cases where animals which had been disqualified shortly before being slaughtered while already on the altar were burned whole including skin and entrails. Furthermore, we had to be told that the skin after being flayed was not burned, but became the property of the officiating priest.

והפשיט את העולה, “he shall flay the burnt offering;” seeing that in the case of rams and bulls that needed to be burnt completely, the skin had to be removed first at any rate as it would be given to the officiating priest. Afterwards. with their entrails and dung, the Torah had to state that the burnt offerings were to be flayed before being cut up into pieces. Afterwards.

אתה לנתחיה AND HE SHALL SEVER IT INTO ITS PIECES — he shall sever it etc. but not its pieces again into smaller pieces (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Chapter 5 7).

והפשיט ונתח, “after he skins it he cuts the carcass into its pieces.” This verse addresses itself to the owners of this offering, just as the verse speaking about the owner leaning on the animal prior to its being slaughtered is addressed to the owner, not to the priest. Seeing that this could cause some confusion, the Torah repeats in verse 7 that the functions described there are to be performed by the young priests.

But not its pieces... In the second chapter of Yoma the Gemara explains how the pieces were cut.

AND HE SHALL FLAY … AND HE SHALL SEVER … AND THE SONS OF AARON THE PRIEST SHALL PUT FIRE UPON THE ALTAR.⁹⁰Verse 7. This is not the correct order of these actions, for the right way is that the priests should first put fire upon the altar, and only then should they sever the limbs. Such indeed was the order of the arrangement of the Daily Offering.⁹⁶Yoma 33. Similarly, the verse stating, And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall set the pieces, the head and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire,⁹²Verse 8. and afterwards, But its inwards and its legs he shall wash in water⁹¹Verse 9. — does not mean to command that it be done in that order, for “the setting” [mentioned in Verse 8] refers to “the burning” of the pieces which He commanded further on [in Verse 9]: and the priest shall cause all to ascend in fumes. If so, the correct order of performance cannot be that he should bring up the pieces, and the head and the fat, and set them upon the fire that is upon the altar, and only afterwards should he wash the inwards and the legs and burn them! Rather, he first severed it and washed it, and then he brought everything up and set them on the fire to be burnt. The reason [for the order] of the verses is thus as follows: First He mentioned the sprinkling of the blood⁸⁹Verse 5. in order to teach that this comes before everything else. Then He gave the commandment concerning the burning of the limbs, stating [in Verse 6 before us] that he should flay [the animal] and sever it in order to set the pieces upon the fire after washing the inwards and the legs, and then he should burn them all at one time, this being the sense of the expression and the priest shall cause ‘all’ to ascend in fumes.⁹¹Verse 9. The reason why Scripture repeated [the commandment] concerning the limbs, stating, and they shall set them…upon the fire,⁹²Verse 8. and the priest shall cause all to ascend in fumes,⁹⁷Verse 9. — That is to say, in view of the fact that the expression and they shall set the pieces in order … [Verse 8] means the burning thereof, as explained above, the question appears why in Verse 9 it repeats the command concerning the limbs, and they shall set them upon the fire? is in order to teach us that after he arranges them upon the fire, he should not depart until the fire has taken hold of them and consumed them so that the fumes thereof ascend. Similarly, the reason why He preceded to mention the flaying and severing to that of making the fire, is in order to teach us that in a freewill burnt-offering [discussed in this section], there is no obligation to set the fire upon the altar before [these activities] as is the case with the Daily Offering, concerning which we were commanded, and the priest shall kindle wood on it every morning,⁹⁸Further, 6:5. this being the first thing of all that was done in everything that pertaineth to the altar⁹⁹Numbers 18:7. Actually the removal of the ashes from the altar (see further, 6:3) preceded the kindling of the wood. But Ramban’s intent here is obviously to everything that pertaineth to the altar as far as the burning of the offering is concerned. as is explained in Tractate Yoma.⁹⁶Yoma 33.