Levítico 6:18 Midrash: Sifra, Midrash Tehillim, Vayikra Rabbah & Shir HaShirim Rabbah

1) (Vayikra 6:18) ("Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: This is the law of the sin-offering. In the place where the burnt-offering is slaughtered, there shall the sin-offering be slaughtered, before the L–rd; it is holy of holies.") "This is the law of the sin-offering": This (the sin-offering) does not obtain on a bamah (a temporary altar). "the law of the sin-offering": There is one law for all sin-offerings, that their blood (if it sprinkled onto a garment) requires washing. — Now where is it excluded (from washing that we need a verse to include it)? — Because it is written (Vayikra 6:19): "The Cohein who offers it as a sin-offering shall eat it" and (Vayikra 6:20): "and what shall be sprinkled of its blood upon a garment … shall be washed," I would think that only outer sin-offerings, (which are eaten by the Cohanim) require washing, but not inner sin-offerings, (which are burnt). And (what is more) it would follow a fortiori, viz.: Now if holy of holies (guilt-offerings), which are similar to outer sin-offerings in requiring scouring and rinsing (of the vessels in which they have been cooked), do not require washing (of garments), then inner sin-offerings, which are not similar (to them) in requiring scouring and rinsing, (not being eaten and not being cooked), how much more so should they not require washing. It is, therefore, (to negate this) written "the law of the sin-offering": There is one law for all sin-offerings, that their blood requires washing.

12. “Be sincere [literally: kiss with purity]” (Psalms 2:12). [This Midrash reads the verse as “kiss the wheat”] This [relates to] that which is written, “Your navel is like a round goblet; [let mixed wine not be lacking; your belly is like a heap of wheat hedged about with lilies.]” (Song of Songs 7:2). Why is Israel compared to wheat, [such] that it is written, “your belly is like a heap of wheat” (ibid.)? Rabbi Iddi said, “Just as a [kernel of] wheat has a furrow through its middle and is [thus] distinguished from all other fruit; such that all other [foods] are secondary to it; so too Israel is distinguished from the idolatrous nations, with circumcision, and with tzitzit, and everyone is secondary to them.” Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said, “Just as with wheat, when they go out to be sown, they only go out [once they’ve been] counted, and when they are brought in [at time of the harvest], they are only brought in [once they’ve been] counted; so too with Israel – when they went down to Egypt, they went down [having been] counted, as it is said, “Your ancestors went down to Egypt as seventy souls” (Deuteronomy 10:22). And when they ascended [from the land of Egypt], they only did so [having been counted], as it is said, “[The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth,] around six hundred thousand [fighting men on foot, aside from noncombatants]” (Exodus 12:37).” Rabbi Chanina said, in response to [the teaching of] Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, “Why is Israel compared to wheat? [The following parable will] tell you [why]. If a landlord has a steward, when he comes to [work] with him on [his] accounts, he doesn’t ask him “how many baskets of chaff did you bring into the storehouse?” or, “how many bundles of chaff did you bring into the storehouse?” or, “how many bundles of straw?” Rather, place the thorns in the fire, and winnow the chaff into the wind. And [thus], what does he say? “Pay attention to how much wheat you’re bringing into the storehouse.” Because [wheat] gives life to the world. This landlord is the Holy One, blessed be He, for all of the world is His, as it is said, “To God belongs the land and all that it contains” (Psalms 24:1). This [trusted] steward is Moses, as it is said, “in all my house he is [the most] trusted” (Numbers 12:7). And what did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to him? Pay attention to the idolators? No! Why? Because they are compared to straw: “[Your fury] consumes them like straw” (Exodus 15:7). And what do we do with straw? We soak it in water, as it is said, “[God] hurled Pharoah and his army into the Sea of Reeds” (Psalms 136:15). And they are compared to thorns, as it is said, “Nations shall be burnings of lime; thorns cut down that are set on fire” (Isaiah 33:12). But Israel is likened to wheat, as it is said, “your belly is like a heap of wheat” (Song of Songs 7:3). Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “Pay attention to counting the Israelites, to know how many there are, as it is said, “When you take a census of the Israelites...” (Exodus 30:12).” Another interpretation of: “your belly is like a heap of wheat” (Song of Songs 7:3). An ear of wheat rises up and ascends, and her stem is long, and her leaves are wide and long, and the ear of wheat [sits at] the top of the stalk. And when the stalk is complete it becomes prideful and boasts, “For my sake was this field sown.” And the leaves become prideful and boast the same [boast]. The ear of wheat says to them, “Behold! The harvest [will soon] come and then everyone will be appeased, and will know for whom the field was [really sown].” After not much time, the harvest came. The straw was gathered into the fire. The chaff is thrown to the wind. And [only] the wheat is preserved in the granary, and everyone who sees it, takes it, and kisses it. So too the idolatrous nations. They say, “The world was made for our benefit.” And Israel says to them, “Is it not written that “Nations shall be burnings of lime; [thorns cut down that are set on fire]” (Isaiah 33:12)?” But Israel in the days to come [is destined] to be left alone, as it is said, “God alone did guide them, and there was no alien deity alongside Him” (Deuteronomy 32:12) [as if to say God guided Israel to the end of days, but He guided nobody else, he “guided them alone”]. Another interpretation of: “your belly is like a heap of wheat” (Song of Songs 7:3). Rabbi Yuden said, “This heap of wheat refers to the book of Leviticus since all of the sin and guilt offerings are written within it, as it says, “This is the law of the burnt-offering” (Leviticus 6:2); “This is the law of the sin offering” (ibid., 6:18); “This is the law of the guilt offering” (ibid., 7:1) – “hedged about with lilies” (Song of Songs 7:2) – this refers to words of Torah which are as delicate as lilies. How many commandments and details are contained within [the book of Leviticus]? How many laws does it contain concerning invalid sacrifices, and [how many laws] concerning leftover sacrificial meat?” Rabbi Levi said, “In the way of the world, if a man marries a woman of 20 or 30 years old, once he has settled his [wedding] expenses, he comes to her to be intimate with her. But if she says, “I have seen [the colour] or a red rose [i.e., I am menstruating],” he separates from her immediately. And what caused him not to draw near to her? What wall was there between then? What fence? What serpent bit him? What viper stung him? Rather, what stung him were the words of Torah, which are delicate like a lily, for it is written within her, “Do not approach [to be intimate with] a woman in her menstrual impurity” (Leviticus 18:19). And similarly, if someone brought a person a plate of meat, and he was hungry, but they told him that some forbidden fat had fallen within it, he will immediately rescind his hand from it, and he won’t taste it. And what caused him not to taste it? Nothing other than words of Torah, which are as delicate as a lily, like that which is written within them, “Do not eat any forbidden fats or any blood” (Leviticus 3:17).” Another interpretation of: “your belly is like a heap of wheat” (Song of Songs 7:3). Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Iddi, wouldn’t a heap of pinecones, or a heap of peppers be more beautiful? Why [then] are [the Israelites] compared to wheat? Rather, a person can live without pinecones and without pepper, but a person can never live without wheat. And just as it is impossible for a world to be without wheat, so too it is impossible for the world to be without Israel.

2) I would think that the sin-offering of a bird, (that is "pinched") also requires washing (of the blood on the garment, it also being called a "sin-offering"); it is, therefore, written "This is the law of the sin-offering. In the place where the burnt-offering is slaughtered" (by shechitah) and not by "pinching" (melikah). "In the place where the burnt-offering is slaughtered, there shall the sin-offering be slaughtered before the L–rd.": This is to include every sin-offering for shechitah in the north (of the altar) only. R. Eliezer says: From here we derive that a fixed burnt-offering is to be slaughtered only in the north. "it is holy of holies.": This is to include communal peace-offerings (the Atzereth sheep) for shechitah in the north only. "it is holy of holies": to exclude the thank-offering and the ram of the Nazirite, (which are lower-order) offerings (from shechitah in the north).