צו את בני ישראל COMMAND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL — What is said above? Moses said, “Let the Lord set [a man over the congregation]” (Numbers 27:16). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Instead of giving Me a command regarding My children, command My children regarding Me!” A parable! It may be compared to the case of a princess who was departing this world and gave her husband charge concerning her children, etc., as it is related in Sifrei Bamidbar 142:1.

קרבני MY OFFERING — this refers to the blood.

לחמי MY FOOD — this refers to the fat-portions, and so it states, (Leviticus 3:16) “And the priest shall burn them (the fat-portions) on the altar, it is the food of the fire-offerings” (Sifrei Bamidbar 142:2).

לאשי [MY FOOD] FOR MY FIRE OFFERING — i.e., the fat-portions that are assigned for the fire offerings of My altar (Sifrei Bamidbar 142:2).

תשמרו YE (the children of Israel) SHALL WATCH [TO OFFER TO ME] — This implies that priests, Levites and ordinary Israelites shall stand by watching when the sacrifices are offered (Sifrei Bamidbar 142:2). From this command they (the Rabbis) derived the law of, and instituted the Maamadot (representatives of the people who were present when the sacrificial service was performed) (Taanit 27a).

במועדו [YE SHALL OFFER TO ME] IN ITS APPOINTED SEASON — Every day is the “appointed season” for the continual offerings.

ואמרת להם AND THOU SHALT SAY TO THEM — This is an instruction to the Beth Din (Sifrei Bamidbar 142:3).

שנים ליום This may be understood according to its plain sense: TWO [LAMBS] FOR EACH DAY, But in the main it is intended to teach that they should be slaughtered at a spot opposite the day (i.e. the sun) — the morning continual offerings at the west and that of the evening at the east of the rings fixed in the ground and in which were inserted the animals feet (Sifrei Bamidbar 142:3; Yoma 62b).

את הכבש אחד THE ONE LAMB [SHALT THOU OFFER IN THE MORNING] — Although it has already been stated in the section beginning with the words ,ואתה תצוה (Exodus 29:38 39): “Now this is what thou shalt offer … [The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning]”, that was an instruction for the days of the installation ceremony of the priests, but here it states the commands for all generations.

סלת למנחה FLOUR FOR A MEAL OFFERING — the meal offering that usually accompanies drink offerings (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 23:37).

העשיה בהר סיני WHICH WAS OFFERED BY MOUNT SINAI — i.e., like those continual burnt offerings which were offered during the days of the installation ceremony (which took place whilst the people were encamped by Mount Sinai). — Another explanation of העשיה בהר סיני is: It compares the continual burnt offering to the burnt offering of Mount Sinai — to that which was offered on the fifth day of the third month, before the Giving of the Torah (see Rashi on Exodus 19:11), of which it is written, (Exodus 24:6) “And he put it (the blood) in basins”: this teaches, therefore, that it (the continual burnt-offering) requires a vessel for the reception of the blood (Sifra, Tzav, Chapter 18 8).

ונסכו (more lit., its pouring forth — i.e. its offering that was poured forth) — wine (cf. Numbers 15:5).

בקדש הסך CAUSING IT TO BE POURED FORTH ON THE HOLY SPOT — upon the altar they shall be poured out.

נסך שכר A POURING FORTH OF STRONG DRINK — wine that has intoxicating power. This excludes wine straight out of its vine press (new wine which is non-intoxicating) (Bava Batra 97a).

ריח ניחח A SMELL OF ניחח — one that causes satisfaction (נחת רוח) to Me, that I gave commands and My will was executed (Sifrei Bamidbar 143:3; see Rashi on Leviticus 1:9).

עלת שבת בשבתו lit., THE BURNT OFFERING OF A SABBATH ON ITS SABBATH — and not the burnt offering of this Sabbath on another Sabbath. Take the case that one had not offered the sacrifice on this Sabbath, I might think that he might offer two on the following Sabbath! However, it states “on its Sabbath’, thus showing that if its day (the Sabbath on which it had to be brought) be past, its (that Sabbath’s) offering is cancelled (Sifrei Bamidbar 144:2).

על עלת התמיד BESIDES THE CONTINUAL BURNT OFFERING — these two lambs are additional offerings for the Sabbath besides (על) those two lambs of the continual burnt offering. And this tells us that these additional offerings must be brought only between the two continual offerings (Sifrei Bamidbar 144:2). Similarly in the case of all additional offerings it is stated that they are to be brought על עלת התמיד to point to this deduction.

ושלשה עשרנים AND THREE TENTH DEALS [OF FLOUR] — according to the rule of the drink-offerings which are brought with a bullock, for so are they (three tenth deals) fixed in the chapter dealing with the drink offerings (Numbers 15:9).

זאת עלת חדש בחדשו THIS IS THE BURNT OFFERING OF EVERY MONTH IN ITS MONTH — so that if its day is past its offering is cancelled, and there is no supplementary period for it (Sifrei Bamidbar 145:2).

ושעיר עזים וגו׳ AND ONE KID OF THE GOATS [FOR A SIN OFFERING] — All goats brought as additional offerings are intended to atone for those sins committed by causing uncleanness to the Sanctuary or its holy things, — all as is set forth in Treatise Shevuot 9a. The goat of the New Moon differs from other goats brought as additional offerings in the fact that the word לה׳ is stated of it: that it is a sin offering to the Lord. The Halachic explanation of this is: it is to teach you that it only makes atonement for uncleanness where there is no consciousness of having caused it either before or after it has been done (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 16:16 and Note thereon), so that no one is cognisant of the sin except the Holy One, blessed be He, alone. (It is a חטאת לה׳, a sin offering for a sin known only to God). And that the same applies to other goats (i. e., that they atone for uncleanness under the same conditions) we derive from the law about this goat. — But its Aggadic explanation is as follows: The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Bring an atonement offering for My sake, because I diminished the size of the Moon" (cf. Rashi on Genesis 1:16; Shevuot 9a, Chullin 60b).

על עלת התמיד יעשה BESIDES THE CONTINUAL BURNT OFFERING SHALL IT BE DONE — It means: shall all this sacrificial rite (not the kid of the goats just mentioned) be done,

ונסכו AND ITS DRINK OFFERING — the words “and its drink-offering” do not refer to the goat, because sin-offerings have no drink-offerings.

כל מלאכת עבדה [YE SHALL DO] NO SERVILE WORK — even work that is a necessity for you, as, for instance, a matter that may become lost (that cannot be postponed without irretrievable loss) and which is permissible on the intermediate days of Passover and Tabernacles (lit., the week days of the Festival) is forbidden on the Festival itself (see Rashi on Leviticus 23:8).

פרים BULLOCKS — in allusion to Abraham, as it is said, (Genesis 18:7) “And unto the herd (the bullock) Abraham ran”,

אילים RAMS — in allusion to the ram of Isaac (Genesis 22:13).

כבשים LAMBS — in allusion to Jacob, as it is said, (Genesis 30:40) “And the lambs did Jacob set aside”. I saw this in the work of R. Moses the Preacher (see Rashi on Numbers 7:21).

כאלו תעשו ליום LIKE THESE YE SHALL OFFER ON EACH DAY — Like these mentioned: this implies that they are not continuously to decrease in number on each day as do the bullocks brought on the Feast of Tabernacles (Numbers 29:12—34) (Sifrei Bamidbar 147:2).

וביום הבכורים AND ON THE DAY OF THE FIRSTLINGS — The Feast of Weeks is called the firstlings of the wheat harvest (Exodus 34:22) because of the two loaves (Leviticus 23:17) which were the first of the wheat meal offerings which were brought from the new grain (Menachot 84b).

תמימים יהיו לכם ונסכיהם THEY SHALL BE TO YOU WITHOUT BLEMISH, AND THEIR DRINK OFFERINGS — i.e. the drink offerings, too, shall be without blemish. Our Rabbis learned from this that wine upon which mold shows itself is unfit for drink-offerings (Menachot 87a).