Vayikra 5:11 · unit 5

Parashas Vayikra · Aliyah 7 · Passuk 5:11 · Unit 5 of 11

Complete Passuk

וְאִם־לֹא תַשִּׂיג יָדוֹ לִשְׁתֵּי תֹרִים אוֹ לִשְׁנֵי בְּנֵי־יוֹנָה וְהֵבִיא אֶת־קָרְבָּנוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא עֲשִׂירִת הָאֵיפָה סֹלֶת לְחַטָּאת לֹא־יָשִׂים עָלֶיהָ שֶׁמֶן וְלֹא־יִתֵּן עָלֶיהָ לְבֹנָה כִּי חַטָּאת הִיא׃

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah cites Menachos.

Core Text
לֹא יָשִׂים וְלֹא יִתֵּן — יָכוֹל בִּשְׁנֵי כֹּהֲנִים? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר עָלֶיהָ — בְּגוּפָהּ שֶׁל מִנְחָה.

“He shall not put and he shall not give” — might one think the two prohibitions apply only when two kohanim act (one oil, one frankincense)? Scripture says “upon it” — the focus is the body of the minchah, so even one person who adds both incurs both lavin.

In the sugya: The two negative commandments (oil and levonah) are not limited to cases in which two separate agents act. Because the focus is the minchah itself, a single person who places both substances incurs both lavin.

Type of Learning

Diyuk of “aleha” versus agents — liability follows the minchah itself, not the number of people who touch it.

What Is Learned

One kohen who places both oil and levonah on the chatas flour violates both negative commandments. Splitting the acts between two agents is not required for liability. The Torah’s language centers on the flour, not on the number of hands that touch it.