Laying Hands on the Head of Every Burnt Offering but Not the Bird

"His hand" and not the hand of his son, and not the hand of his slave, and not the hand of his agent. "His hand upon the head" and not his hand upon the neck, "upon the head" and not upon the flanks. I might exclude all of these and yet not exclude the breast, and there is an argument for it: if the head, which does not require waving, requires the laying-on of hands, then the breast, which does require waving, is it not logical that it should require the laying-on of hands? Therefore Scripture says "upon the head" and not upon the breast. I might think that only a voluntary burnt offering requires the laying-on of hands. How do we know an obligatory burnt offering does? There is an argument for it: an obligatory burnt offering is called here a burnt offering, and a voluntary burnt offering is called here a burnt offering; just as the voluntary burnt offering requires the laying-on of hands, so too the obligatory burnt offering requires the laying-on of hands. No: if you have said this of the voluntary burnt offering, which has no substitute of a bird to exempt it from the laying-on of hands, will you say it of the obligatory burnt offering, which has a substitute of a bird to exempt it from the laying-on of hands and since it has a bird substitute to exempt it, let it not require the laying-on of hands? Therefore Scripture says "a burnt offering" both the voluntary burnt offering and the obligatory burnt offering, this one and that one require the laying-on of hands. I might think that only a burnt offering of cattle requires the laying-on of hands. How do we know a burnt offering of the flock does? There is an argument for it: a burnt offering of cattle is called here a burnt offering, and a burnt offering of the flock is called here a burnt offering; just as the burnt offering of cattle requires the laying-on of hands, so too the burnt offering of the flock requires it. No: if you have said this of the offspring of cattle, whose libations are increased, will you say it of the offspring of the flock, whose libations are decreased and since its libations are decreased, let it not require the laying-on of hands? Therefore Scripture says "a burnt offering" both the burnt offering of cattle and the burnt offering of the flock require the laying-on of hands. I might think that even the burnt offering of a bird requires the laying-on of hands. Therefore Scripture says "the burnt offering" to exclude the burnt offering of a bird.