היא העולה על מוקדה . Our sages (Vayikra Rabbah 7,6) say that anyone who brags or boasts will be judged by fire. This statement is rooted in our verse here, i.e. if someone is עולה, he will find himself on the מוקדה, on the site where things are apt to be burned.

להרים הדשן מעל המזבח . Rabbi Menachem Habavli writes that the reason for this procedure is that after a sinner has received his punishment and his flesh has been turned to דשן, ash, through the penalty of "fire," having been applied to him, the subject is closed and one must not remind the sinner of it by saying to him: "remember your former deeds." There is an allusion here that after the soul has received its punishment in the mythical river Dinur (Daniel 7,10), it is entitled to be respected again because it is after all a princess, i.e. descended directly from G–d. Any penitent sinner deserves to be honored. The meaning of והרים את הדשן then is that "he is to be raised from the ashes." When the verse continues ושמו אצל המזבח, this means that he is to be re-instated near the holy site, the altar.

להדליק אש תמיד על המזבח . The fire on the altar has to burn constantly (6,5), i.e. והאש על המזבח תוקד בו לא תכבה, The reason for this commandment is to demonstrate that the fire of the altar is capable of saving people from the fires of purgatory. The forces of evil (Satan) are entitled to be compensated for each transgression committed by the sinner. These transgressions are perceived as having been committed by various parts of the body. The fire on the altar consumes the corresponding parts of the animal sacrificed as a sin offering, and thereby settles the sinner's debt to the forces of evil. This is why the altar saves the person of the sinner from the fires of purgatory. The message that the fire must not be extinguished is addressed to these forces, to our perennial accusers. The Torah tells our accuser that G–d's love for Israel is as likely to be extinguished as is the fire on the wood pile of the altar.

והנותרת ממנה יאכלו אהרן ובניו . The reason that the priests must consume the remainder of the קרבן מנחה after the קומץ (less than a handful) has been burned on the altar is to teach us that even when a poor person brings an עולה ויורד offering, i.e. some baked material instead of the animals that a rich person would have to bring to atone for a similar sin, the partnership between the priest and the owner of the offering remains the same; the priest's eating contributes to the atonement to be received by the owner of the sacrifice. It is assumed that the priests will bless the owner at the time they consume their part of the offering. This is why 5,11 specifically states that the priest must treat such an offering as if it were a מנחה. A poor person would be upset if he were to think that most of his offering would simply be thrown away.

זה קרבן אהרן ובניו וגו' ביום המשח אותו . The commandment that the High Priest must offer a daily מנחה offering, part to be offered in the morning and part in the evening, is derived from 6,13: זה קרבן אהרון ביום המשח אותו על מחבת בשמן תעשה. "This is the sacrifice of Aaron…on the day he was anointed….lt shall be prepared with oil on a griddle." This commandment is to ensure that the High Priest prays for the whole community all of whom depend upon him to obtain forgiveness from G–d. The High Priest must concentrate on being the instrument of forgiveness for his people to secure atonement for them and to establish harmony between them and their Maker. In order to be able to secure forgiveness for others, he must first of all secure forgiveness for his own sins. This is why he personally has to bring two such sacrifices daily. We derive this idea from the words והזה הטהור על הטמא, that "only a person who himself is ritually pure can perform the rite of sprinkling blood on the ritually impure" to help him regain ritual purity (Numbers 19,19). The purpose of the קרבן חביתים is to obtain forgiveness for "hidden" sins, sins one is unaware of. The Hebrew word for this is חבוי, hence the sacrifice has to be prepared on a griddle, i.e. מחבת. Thus far Rabbi Menachem HaBavli.

This Rabbi has also written concerning the negative commandment not to add לבונה, frankincense, to the עולה ויורד sin-offering (5,11) [as opposed to a מנחה offering. Ed.] of a poor person. He quotes a Baraita in which Rabbi Shimon argues that logic would have dictated that even the baked goods offering of a poor sinner required oil and frankincense as a component. The reason for this is that by allowing the sinner not to add these components he would actually profit when compared with an ordinary person offering a מנחה sacrifice. Why then does the Torah forbid the addition of these components? The reason is because the offering of a sinner should not appear to be luxurious. Rabbi Menachem adds that the absence of beauty and fragrant aroma is an additional incentive for the sinner to try and regain his good standing in the eyes of G–d. When the Torah speaks about לא ישים שמן, instead of לא ישים בה שמן, "no oil must be put over it," instead of "no oil must be mixed with it," this is a hint that the sinner does not deserve that his offering be covered with the most expensive of all liquids. It is an indication that this poor man, whose poverty should have caused him to seek out G–d instead of sinning, does not deserve an עליה, ascent, as would have been indicated by a mere לא יצוק עליה שמן, "that the oil must merely not be poured over the offering. He may not use oil with this offering in any form."

לא תכבה . The reason that the Torah legislates that the fire on the altar should be kept going, never to go out (6,5), is to ensure that whenever our perennial accusers seek to be paid off by the life of some Jew or Jews there be an alternate fire handy to satisfy their demand to burn someone. The fire, in other words, acts as a "bribe" to Satan, much like the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement. Nowadays, when we have no altar, man's table fulfills the function of the altar. If we sit down to eat without at least saying some word of Torah during our meal, we may not have succeeded in extinguishing the fire of purgatory by keeping the fire on the substitute altar going. Inasmuch as תורה is a term used in connection with every category of sacrifice, all the destructive waters in the universe do not have the power to extinguish the flame of Torah, the flame of love.

לא תאפה חמץ . The prohibition to bake the part of the מנחה set aside for consumption by the priests as leavened dough which is derived from 6,9 is rooted in the above mentioned principle of אין קטיגור נעשה סניגור, that the advocate for the prosecution cannot also act as counsel for the defense. The offering which symbolized the sin must be totally burned without it being allowed an opportunity to develop mildew, etc., which could be the case while the dough rises before being baked. Hence the Torah insists that all of the dough be baked only as Matzah i.e. unleavened bread or cake. Traditionally we equate Chametz with the accuser. Thus far Rabbi Menachem Habavli.

כל חלב וכל דם לא תאכלו . The prohibition to eat any kind of חלב ודם, fat of the animals or their blood (7,25-26), is based on the fact that these parts of the animal represent its strength, its essence.