Menachot 92 – Leaning on the Sacrifice

Most private offering required leaning, or “semichah,” when the owner of the sacrifice placed both his hands upon the sacrifice's head and pressed down with all his weight, before the sacrifice was slaughtered. If it was a sin-offering, he confessed his sin, and if it was a thanksgiving offering, he offered thanks to God.

Communal offerings do not require leaning, except for the bull that comes for communal violations, and the he-goat dispatched to Azazel on Yom Kippur. Rabbi Shimon says that the he-goat for communal idolatry required leaning. There was a tradition that exactly two communal offerings required leaning, but they argued about which they were.

All private offering required leaning, except for the first-born, tithe, and Passover offering. If one's father died and left a sacrifice, his son brings that sacrifice, performs leaning, brings the libations, and even has the power to appoint a replacement sacrifice. As we learned before, when one appoints a replacement, both animals become sacrifices, but to effect this, one needs to be a complete owner, and this teaches us that the son is a complete owner.

Paul Cezanne - Madame Cezanne Leaning On Her Elbow