ויקרא אל משה, He (the Lord) called to Moses;” according to Tanchuma on this verse, G–d had to call out to Moses from inside the Hoy of Holies, (between the cherubs on the cover of the Holy Ark) as Moses at the time was standing outside the Tabernacle. He did so as He did not consider it fitting for Moses who had erected the Tabernacle to have to stand outside while His glory was inside. Moses had been afraid to enter as He had not been invited to do so, as long as the cloud was resting above the Tabernacle. Rashi adds that an additional reason for G–d calling to Moses first before speaking to him, was that this was also so when He completed speaking to him. The absence of any word indicating this, is that G–d, when having completed what He had to say, did not do so by anything indicating this. Furthermore the word לו, “to him,” which is really not necessary, was to teach that while Moses heard the call while standing outside, the people did not. In Numbers 7,89, at the end of the consecration of the Tabernacle, the Torah elaborates by writing that Moses heard the sound of G–d’s voice emanating from between the cherubs on the Holy Ark. The word אליו, “to him,” there makes it clear that only he heard that voice.

מן הבהמה, “from some species of domesticated mammals;” Torat Kohanim sees in the wording proof that G–d did not want to tire out the Israelites excessively by having to hunt free roaming “kosher” animals to be served up as sacrifices, and this is why only domesticated animals, בהמה, were declared suitable for that purpose.

אל פתח אהל מועד יקריב אותו, “he shall bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle.” This line is necessary so that we understand that it is not good enough for someone wishing to offer an animal sacrifice to say to the priest: “here is the animal, take it and offer it on my behalf.” If he did so, it would not be considered good manners vis a vis Heaven. The owner of the beast in question had to bring it personally all the way to the entrance of the Tabernacle [beyond which he was not allowed to go. Ed.

לכפר עליו, “to make atonement for him.” When someone has eaten forbidden fats, inadvertently, he must bring an offering as atonement. If he is in doubt if he has eaten forbidden fat he must bring an offering known as asham taluy, an offering which suspends his status vis a vis G–d until the doubt has been removed. If it turns out that he had not eaten forbidden fat that is the end of the matter. If it turns out that he did eat forbidden fat, he must bring the additional sin offering. Sometimes it happens that a person was convinced that what he ate was permissible, whereas in fact it was not. In such an event, offering a burnt offering will achieve atonement on his behalf. This is the kind of burnt offering described in our verse.

ושחט, “he will slaughter, etc.” the Torah used the singular mode as ordinarily one person performs that act. On the other hand, when describing the steps following the act of slaughtering, the Torah uses the plural mode, as a number of priests are usually involved in that.

את בן הבקר, “the bullock;” the expression: בן הבקר implies that the animal is male and young, as it is forbidden to offer diseased or overage animals.(Compare Malachi 1,8 הקריבהו נא לפחתך, “just offer it to your governor!”) [The prophet reminds people that they would not dare offer a governor something less than first rate as he becomes aware of it immediately and will feel insulted. Ed.]

בני אהרן, the Torah does not mean that other priests are not qualified, but used the sons of Aaron as examples of priests in their prime. This corresponds to what the Talmud stated in tractate Chulin folio 24, according to which priests have to retire from active service when their hands and feet have become red as a sign of weakness.

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.

וערכו בני אהרן, “and Aaron’s sons shall arrange, etc.; when the same procedure is to be performed with offerings involving sheep or goats, (verse 12) the Torah uses the singular mode for the verb ערך, The reason is that cattle are so much heavier that more than one priest was required to handle all that.

וקרבו, “and its insides;” seeing that these parts are going to be presented at the “King’s” Table, extreme care had to be taken that everything was meticulously clean and no trace of blood was visible. On the other hand, when writing of animals which were not served up on the “King’s” Table but were burned outside sacred grounds, the Torah lumps together “its insides and its excrement,” (Leviticus 4,11) as it does in Leviticus 1,16, and 27 where flesh, skin, and excrement are all being burned at the same time and place.

ונמצה דמו על קיר המזבח, “and its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar.” Seeing we speak about a minute amount of blood, no special bowl had been used in first collecting it. Had it first been collected in a bowl there would not have been enough left over to sprinkle it, hence it was squeezed out against the side of the altar.