(3) You shall not eat anything leavened with it; for seven days thereafter you shall eat unleavened bread, bread of distress—for you departed from the land of Egypt hurriedly—so that you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live.

(1)Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them:
Anyone—when [*Anyone: Including both men and women. As these texts unfold, I will be using “he,” as the Hebrew does, but both Hebrew and English should be understood as including both sexes in these contexts.] [one] among you brings near a near-offering for YHWH
from domestic-animals: from the herd or from the flock you may bring near your near-offering.

(1) אדם כי יקריב מכם IF A MAN OF YOU OFFER [AN OFFERING] — This means, when he offers: Scripture is speaking here of free — will offerings (cf. Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Section 2 4). (2) אדם — Why is this term for “man” employed here? Since אדם also means Adam, its use suggests the following comparison: what was the characteristic of the first man (אדם הראשון)? He did not offer sacrifice of anything acquired by way of robbery, since everything was his! So you, too, shall not offer anything acquired by way of robbery (Leviticus Rabbah 2:7).

(1) When a person presents an offering of meal to ה׳: The offering shall be of choice flour; the offerer shall pour oil upon it, lay frankincense on it, (2) and present it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. The priest shall scoop out of it a handful of its choice flour and oil, as well as all of its frankincense; and this token portion he shall turn into smoke on the altar, as an offering by fire, of pleasing odor to ה׳. (3) And the remainder of the meal offering shall be for Aaron and his sons, a most holy portion from ה׳’s offerings by fire.

(1) ונפש כי תקריב AND WHEN A PERSON (or “A SOUL”) WILL OFFER — Nowhere is the word נפש employed in connection with free-will offerings except in connection with the meal-offering. For who is it that usually brings a meal-offering? The poor man! The Holy One, blessed be He, says, as it were, I will regard it for him as though he brought his very soul (נפש) as an offering (Menachot 104b).

The Gemara cites another comment about the fact that the Torah introduces the voluntary meal offering by emphasizing that it is brought by an individual. Rabbi Yitzḥak says: For what reason is the meal offering different from other offerings in that the term “an individual [nefesh]” is stated with regard to it? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Whose practice is it to bring a meal offering? It is that of a poor individual; and I will ascribe him credit as if he offered up his soul [nafsho] in front of Me.


§ The Gemara cites another comment made by Rabbi Yitzḥak about meal offerings. Rabbi Yitzḥak says: What is the reason that the meal offering is differentiated from other offerings in that the Torah stated these five types of preparations with oil with regard to it? The five types of voluntary meal offerings are: A meal offering of fine flour, a meal offering in a shallow pan, a meal offering in a deep pan, a meal offering of loaves baked in an oven, and a meal offering of wafers baked in an oven. All are brought with oil.


This can be explained by a parable of a flesh-and-blood king whose friend made a festive meal for him, but the king knows that the friend is poor. The king said to him: Make for me foods from five types of fried dishes, so that I may benefit from you.

AND WHEN ANY ONE BRINGETH. The word nefesh (anyone) means a person. Scripture mentions nefesh because the meal offering is a free will offering and nefesh is called “willing.” Compare, And let a willing spirit uphold me (Ps. 51:14).

ונפש כי תקריב קרבן מנחה “When a person offers a meal-offering, etc.” ... It is remarkable that the Torah introduces the subject of the meal-offering by writing נפש כי תקריב. What kind of person volunteers a meal-offering, i.e. a very inexpensive offering? It is the poor. By introducing the subject of the meal-offering with the word נפש, the Torah teaches that in the eyes of G’d a poor man who offers a meal-offering is considered as if he had offered his very life, i.e. נפשו.


The Torah also describes this offering here as “a fire-offering of sweet smelling odor for the Lord.” This expression occurs with all kinds of offerings to teach that quantity does not determine the value of an offering in the eyes of the Lord. All that matters is the intention of the donor to dedicate it to G’d. (Compare Menachot 110, אחד המרבה ואחד ההמעיט, “both the one who offers a great quantity and the one who offers a small quantity, etc.”)

Mincha - The primary root is Noach (pleasing) such as a "pleasing smell", even though that later the M'em was seemingly added to the root...

(14) After spending the night there, he selected from what was at hand these presents for his brother Esau:

(11) Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, do this: take some of the choice products of the land in your baggage, and carry them down as a gift for the man—some balm and some honey, gum, ladanum, pistachio nuts, and almonds.

(3) In the course of time, Cain brought an offering to ה׳ from the fruit of the soil; (4) and Abel, for his part, brought the choicest of the firstlings of his flock. ה׳ paid heed to Abel and his offering, (5) but to Cain and his offering [God] paid no heed. Cain was much distressed and his face fell.

(2) Take my prayer as an offering of incense, my upraised hands as an evening sacrifice.

(4) When you present an offering of meal baked in the oven, [it shall be of] choice flour: unleavened cakes with oil mixed in, or unleavened wafers spread with oil.

(5) If your offering is a meal offering on a griddle, it shall be of choice flour with oil mixed in, unleavened. (6)Break it into bits and pour oil on it; it is a meal offering. (7) If your offering is a meal offering in a pan, it shall be made of choice flour in oil. (8) When you present to ה׳ a meal offering that is made in any of these ways, it shall be brought to the priest who shall take it up to the altar. (9) The priest shall remove the token portion from the meal offering and turn it into smoke on the altar as an offering by fire, of pleasing odor to ה׳. (10) And the remainder of the meal offering shall be for Aaron and his sons, a most holy portion from ה׳’s offerings by fire. (11)No meal offering that you offer toה׳shall be made with leaven, for no leaven or honey may be turned into smoke as an offering by fire to ה׳.

פתות אתה פתים — THOU SHALT SUNDER IT INTO MORSELS — This is stated to include all meal-offerings that are baked before the קמיצה (i. e. all mentioned here with the exception of מנחת סלת; cf. לחם משנה on Maim. הל' מעשה קרבנות פי״ג ה"י) in the law of breaking into pieces (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Chapter 12 5; Menachot 75a).

YAHATZ / SPLITTING
The middle matza is broken in two.The bigger portion is then hidden away to serve as the afikoman with which the meal is later concluded.The smaller portion is placed between the two whole matzot.

MAGGID / TELLING
During the recital of this paragraph the seder plate is held up and the middle matza is displayed to the company.
הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא THIS IS THE BREAD OF OPPRESSION our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come in and eat; let all who are in need come and join us for the Pesaḥ. Now we are here; next year in the land of Israel. Now – slaves; next year we shall be free.

Others suggest that it was called it “lechem oni,” because of the dough which they decreed should be a tenth of an ephah, like the poor person’s offering (in the temple), “If his means do not suffice for two turtledoves or two pigeons, he shall bring as his offering …a tenth of an ephah of choice flour for a sin offering; he shall not add oil to it or lay frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.” (Lev. 5:12) This was the same measure as the mana which everyone collected in the wilderness. But it is farfetched to think that this is what the Maggid had in mind. If that was so, then it would have been called, “The dough of the offering,” or “The dough of the needy,” if the amount of dough is why it received this name. It would not have called it, “The bread of affliction” which suggests that it is commenting on the poverty in the character of the bread and its quality.