The Order of the Meal Offering From Home to Altar

How is the order of the meal offerings carried out? A person brings his meal offering from his house in baskets of silver and gold, places it into a service vessel, and puts its oil and its frankincense upon it, as it is written, "And he shall pour oil upon it and put frankincense upon it and bring it to the sons of Aaron." He carries it to the priest, and the priest carries it to the altar, as it is written, "And he shall bring it near to the priest, and he shall bring it close to the altar." "And he shall bring it close" — at the southwest corner, opposite the point of the corner, and that suffices. From where do we know this? It is written, "This is the law of the meal offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the face of the altar" (Leviticus 6:7). It was taught: "before the LORD" — one might think on the west; the verse says "before the face of the altar." If "before the face of the altar," one might think on the south; the verse says "before the LORD." How then? He brings it close at the southwest corner, opposite the point of the corner, and that suffices. Rabbi Eliezer said: one might think he should bring it close at the west of the corner or at the south of the corner; but wherever you find two verses, one upholding itself while upholding its fellow, and one upholding itself while nullifying its fellow, we set aside the one that nullifies its fellow and hold to the one that upholds both. This Tanna held that the whole altar stood in the north. What is the force of "and that suffices"? Rav Ashi said: it is needed, lest you suppose the meal offering itself requires waving; it teaches that bringing it close is enough. And why bringing it close in a vessel? The verse says "and he shall bring it near to the priest and bring it close to the altar": just as the bringing near to the priest is in a vessel, so the bringing close to the altar is in a vessel. He moves its frankincense to one side so that it not be taken up with the handful, as we learned: if he took the handful and a pebble, a grain of salt, or a fleck of frankincense came up in his hand, it is invalid. He takes the handful from the place where its oil was abundant, as it is written "of its crushed grain and of its oil" (verse 16). He places the handful into a service vessel — why, since it was already sanctified once? Just as with blood: even though the knife sanctified it at the animal's neck once, it is sanctified again in a service vessel; here too it is no different. He gathers all its frankincense and sets it upon the handful, as it is written, "and all the frankincense" (Leviticus 6:8). He raises it and offers it up; he salts it and places it upon the fires, as it is written, "and every offering of your meal offering you shall salt with salt" (Leviticus 2:13). Once the handful is offered, the remainder is eaten, as it is written, "and the priest shall burn its memorial portion on the altar" (verse 16), and "the rest of the meal offering shall be for Aaron and his sons" (verse 3). When may the handful permit the remainder to be eaten? Rabbi Hanina said: once the fire takes hold of it; Rabbi Yohanan said: once the fire is kindled in most of it. They are permitted to put into them wine, oil, and honey, for the verse says "as a portion of greatness" — a mark of distinction, in the manner that kings eat; and they are forbidden only from leavening, as it is written, "it shall not be baked leavened, their portion" (Leviticus 6:10), and Resh Lakish said: even their own portion shall not be baked leavened. All meal offerings require oil and frankincense, except the meal offering of the suspected wife, which requires neither and comes from barley as coarse flour; whereas the sinner's meal offering, though requiring neither oil nor frankincense, comes from wheat as fine flour; and the offering of the omer, though it comes from barley, requires oil and frankincense and comes as groats.