פּירוש אויף ויקרא 1:2

אדם כי יקריב מכם IF A MAN OF YOU OFFER [AN OFFERING] — This means, when he offers: Scripture is speaking here of free — will offerings (cf. Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Section 2 4).

A person when he brings from you an offering to the Lord. It begins in singular language and concludes in plural language: you shall bring [plural] your offering. What Rashi explained — that it teaches that two people can donate a burnt offering in partnership — is insufficient to reconcile the verse from beginning to end, for we do not know where the matter transitions. It seems to me that [the Torah] wanted to caution all who bring offerings to the Lord not to stumble in two matters in which Cain and Abel erred, who were the first to bring offerings. Cain erred in bringing from the inferior and worst, which was flax seed, and those who sin with their souls need to bring an animal soul in exchange for their own. With difficulty, the Holy One, blessed be He, permitted a poor person to bring a meal offering, which has no soul, and He considers it as if he offered his own soul, as Rashi explained on the verse And when a soul brings a meal offering (Leviticus 2:1). And Abel, although he brought from the firstlings of his flock, nevertheless did not act properly since he was not inspired to bring the offering on his own initiative and was not alacritous for this commandment on his own. Rather, after he saw that Cain brought an offering, then he became envious of him and Abel also brought an offering to equalize himself to him, as explained above in Genesis.

WHEN ANY MAN BRINGETH OF YOU AN OFFERING UNTO THE ETERNAL OF THE CATTLE. The meaning of this verse is as follows: “when any man of you brings from the cattle an offering to the Eternal, of the herd or of the flock you shall bring it.” The reason for this command is that since He commanded afterwards concerning fowl-offerings⁴⁷Further, Verses 14-17. and meal-offerings,⁴⁸Ibid., Chapter 2. He said here that when a man brings an offering of cattle, he must bring it of one of these two kinds [herd and flock], but not a wild beast nor any other cattle. Thus he who offers a beast [as an offering to G-d], violates a prohibition which is derived from a positive commandment [and carries the force of a positive commandment], just as the Rabbis have said in the third chapter of Tractate Zebachim:⁴⁹Zebachim 34a. “Rabbi Yochanan said: one who offers the limbs of a [kosher] beast [upon the altar of G-d] transgresses a positive commandment.”