Derasha 1 on Vayikra 3:11

Parashas Vayikra · Aliyah 4 · Passuk 11 · Unit 1 of 1

The Complete Passuk

וְהִקְטִיר֥וֹ הַכֹּהֵ֖ן הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חָה לֶ֥חֶם אִשֶּׁ֖ה לַיהֹוָֽה׃

Chabad.org — English translation + Rashi

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Toras Kohanim (Sifra) on 3:11.

Sefaria — Sifra / Toras Kohanim

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text — Toras Kohanim (Sifra) on 3:11
״לֶחֶם אִשֶּׁה לַיהֹוָה״ — עַיֵּין מַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב לְמַעְלָה בְּדִרְשַׁת אִשֶּׁה רֵיחַ נִיחֹחַ.

English: “Food of a fire-offering to Hashem” — see what is written above in the derashah of isheh reiach nichoach.

In the midrash: The Sifra directs the reader back to the earlier derashah on the parallel language of isheh and reiach nichoach.

Type of Learning

Cross-reference to 3:5 — the lechem isheh language here pairs with the isheh reiach nichoach of the earlier verse.

What Is Learned

The lechem isheh language here pairs with the isheh reiach nichoach of 3:5. The Sifra treats the two formulations as complementary descriptions of the same emurim, so that the interpretive work done on one verse is meant to inform the other. The result is a unified reading of the sacrificial fat as both “food of a fire-offering” and a “pleasing aroma.”