Menachos chapter 9, mishnah 7. In this mishnah we begin to deal with the subject of semichah (leaning on the animal). Semichah belongs essentially to zevachim - offerings from living creatures, bulls, goats and sheep - and has no direct connection to meal offerings, and in truth this topic would seem to belong to tractate Zevachim. Nevertheless, just as we dealt with the libations that accompany the bringing of an offering and go hand in hand with it, so too semichah is mentioned here.
The nature of semichah:
Semichah is like a mitzvah in its own right, and it is not indispensable: if a person did not lean on his offering, the offering is still valid. Nevertheless, as a matter of halachah, and as the mishnah here will state, the offerings require semichah first. What does it involve? A person places his hands on the head of the animal, presses downward with all his strength, and afterwards confesses.
Everyone agrees that the confession precedes the offering of a sin offering, a guilt offering and a burnt offering - the burnt offering included, since it comes to atone for the neglect of a positive commandment. Regarding offerings that do not come for atonement there is a disagreement:
According to Rashi: there is a confession even over an ordinary peace offering and over the thanksgiving offering.
According to the Rambam: with peace offerings and with animals that do not come to atone for a sin, instead of confessing a sin the person says words of praise to Hashem at the time of the semichah - but semichah is performed there.
There is a further disagreement as to whether a berachah is recited over the semichah: Rashi's words in Eruvin (daf 50) imply that there is a berachah said as part of the mitzvah of performing semichah, and the Ramban takes this position as well; the Rambam, on the other hand, makes no mention at all of a berachah over semichah.
Communal offerings:
The wording of the mishnah: "Kol korbanos hatzibbur ein bahem semichah, chutz min hapar haba al kol hamitzvos v'sa'ir hamishtale'ach" - there is no mitzvah of semichah, no mitzvah of placing the hands, on communal offerings. There are only two exceptions, and we have a tradition, a halachah given to Moshe at Sinai, regarding them: an offering paid for by the community that comes to atone for a sin, on which semichah is performed.
"Hapar haba al kol hamitzvos" - this is the par he'elem davar. When the Sanhedrin ruled that a certain thing is permitted, and afterwards retracted and said that they had erred and the thing is really forbidden with a prohibition carrying kareis (for example, they ruled that a certain act is not forbidden on Shabbos, and in truth it is forbidden), and the majority of the community acted according to their mistaken ruling - a par he'elem davar is brought for collective atonement, instead of each individual bringing a private sin offering. Representatives of the Sanhedrin, about five of them, lean their hands on the bull as part of the process and confess the sin.
"V'sa'ir hamishtale'ach" - the goat sent to the wilderness, to the cliff, on Yom Kippur, in order to atone for the sins of the Jewish people, and over it too a confession is made by the Kohen Gadol.
"Rabbi Shimon omer: af se'irei avodah zarah" - Rabbi Shimon says: also the goats brought for idol worship:
Rabbi Shimon adds another animal over which a confession is made, and it is similar in nature to the par he'elem davar: if the Sanhedrin ruled that a certain thing is permitted, and the thing they permitted was a transgression of idol worship, and afterwards they retracted and said that they had erred - and many in Israel transgressed on the basis of their ruling - a par he'elem davar is not brought; rather, the Sanhedrin brings a goat, and their representatives lean their hands on it and confess. This is another example of a confession made over a communal offering.
In truth, Rabbi Shimon also holds that same tradition that there are only two exceptions, and although he agrees that semichah is performed on these three animals, in his view the goat sent away is not counted among them: it is not an offering in the sense that its owners confess over it for the atonement of their own sins. The kohanim gain atonement through the bull brought by the Kohen Gadol, while the goat comes to atone for the rest of the Jewish people, so the one confessing is not the owner who is being atoned for - and this is therefore a different sort of matter. The halachah does not follow him, and the authorities ruled like the first tanna: there is no semichah on communal offerings, on animals belonging to the community, except for the goat sent away and the par he'elem davar.
Individual offerings:
The Mishnah continues: "Kol korbanos hayachid te'unim semichah" - all individual offerings require semichah (leaning of the hands) before they are brought, except for three: the firstborn, the tithe of animals, and the Pesach offering. The reason, as the Rambam explains, is that these three come neither to atone for a sin nor as a gift and present to Hashem; their purpose is something else entirely:
The firstborn and the animal tithe - the one who brings them is not atoning for a sin, nor is he presenting a gift. They are simply offerings that are brought and then eaten: the tithe is eaten by the owner, and the firstborn by the kohen.
The Pesach offering - it too is not a gift to Hashem and does not come to atone for a sin. It is a declaration of national identity, and therefore it has no semichah.
An offering that passed by inheritance:
The novelty of the Mishnah concerns the status of an offering that passed by inheritance. As a rule, someone who became obligated to bring a sin offering and died before bringing it - the animal is not offered on behalf of the deceased, and his heirs do not bring it in his name either; once he has died, there is no longer an offering to be brought. But there are cases where a person designates an animal as an olah (burnt offering) or as shelamim (peace offering) and says: "This animal shall be my olah" or "my shelamim" - and when he dies, the animal passes to his sons.
The Mishnah teaches here that the heir of that animal brings it as an offering, and not only that, but he himself performs semichah, brings the accompanying libations, and can effect temurah (substitution):
The heir performs semichah: as a rule, only the owner performs semichah. A person who became obligated in an offering and cannot bring it himself, so he sends an agent - the agent brings his olah, but does not perform semichah on it, since semichah belongs only to the owner. The heir, however, is considered the owner, and therefore he does not merely bring the offering but also performs semichah.
And he brings the libations: if it is an olah or shelamim, he brings the accompanying libations with it. This refers to a case where the father designated the oil, the fine flour and the wine to serve as the libations; and even if he did not do so, but designated only the animal to be an olah or shelamim, when the son inherits it and brings it, he must add payment out of his own pocket and purchase the libations - and the commentators disagree about the status of this matter.
And he can effect temurah: the Torah forbids transferring the sanctity of a consecrated animal to another animal, and this is the prohibition of temurah. The father consecrated this goat as an olah, and when the son inherited it he said: "This goat is scrawny, we have handsome goats; I will bring a fine goat for the elevation of my father's soul and transfer the sanctity to it." If he did so, he has transgressed the Torah prohibition of temurah, but the sanctity spreads and both goats are consecrated as an olah. Temurah is forbidden, yet it takes effect.
By contrast, had the father not died but consecrated his animal as an olah, and during his lifetime the son attempted to substitute a better goat for it - his words have no force, for it is not his goat to transfer and substitute, and he cannot effect temurah. The Mishnah here therefore teaches that the heir becomes the owner of the consecrated animal, to the point that he is able to effect temurah: he is not permitted to do so, but if he did substitute, his temurah takes effect, and the second goat becomes consecrated as well.