Serving with the Hand That Remains

While an altar offering must possess complete internal organs, the human being approaching God is never excluded because of personal brokenness.

Internal Defects and Sacrificial Completeness

The Gemara in Bekhorot inquires whether an internal physical lack disqualifies a sacrificial animal. While visible blemishes clearly invalidate an offering, an animal's hidden organs raise a fundamental question of what constitutes wholeness before God. Does the verse requiring an animal to be complete apply only to external limbs, or does any internal deficiency render the sacrifice unacceptable?

To resolve this, the Gemara cites a baraita regarding sacrificial portions of a peace offering. The Torah commands the burning of "the two kidneys" on the altar. From this phrasing, the baraita rules that an animal possessing only one kidney cannot be offered, because an internal lack is deemed an invalidating deficiency.

וְאֶת שְׁתֵּי הַכְּלָיוֹת — וְלֹא בַּעַל כּוּלְיָא אַחַת

“And the two kidneys”—and not an animal with one kidney. (Bekhorot 39a:18)

The Paradox of the Two Hands

In his work Yismach Moshe, Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum examines the mitzvah of סמיכה (semikhah, the laying of hands upon an offering). The halacha establishes that semikhah must always be performed with both hands, deriving this as a בנין אב (binyan av, a general archetype) from the Yom Kippur scapegoat, where the verse states that Aaron leans "both his hands".

Ramban raises a profound challenge against this rule. If the divine law requires both hands for every offering, why does the Torah consistently write the singular form ידו ("his hand") across every other sacrificial passage? Framing the law in the singular seems misleading if two hands are universally mandated.

The Mercy of the Singular Word

The Yismach Moshe resolves this dilemma by citing Maharam Galante's Zevach Shelamim, which directly links this question to our passage in Bekhorot. By an animal offering, the Torah specifies "two kidneys," leading our Gemara to disqualify an animal missing one kidney completely. Had the Torah specified "his hands" in every offering, we would have applied the exact same rigid standard to the person bringing the sacrifice.

Under such a deduction, a גידם (gidem, a person lacking one hand) would be barred from ever performing semikhah, just as a single-kidneyed animal is barred from the altar. Therefore, the Torah intentionally writes "his hand" in the singular to ensure that such an individual is fully accepted to lean with whatever capacity remains.

להכי כתיב ידו, להורות דגידם סומך ביד אחד שיש לו

Therefore it is written 'his hand,' to teach that one missing a hand leans with the one hand that he has. (Yismach Moshe, Vayikra 4:1)

The Sanctuary of the Broken Heart

The strict archetype of two hands was placed exclusively upon the scapegoat because it is performed by the כהן גדול (kohen gadol, High Priest) on Yom Kippur. Because a kohen with a physical lack is a בעל מום (ba'al mum, a blemished person) disqualified from Temple service, he naturally possesses both hands. The archetype represents the perfected spiritual channel, but the individual worshipper is never judged by such unattainable ideals.

This teaching reveals a core truth in one's personal עבודת השם (avodat Hashem, divine service). The altar demands an unblemished animal, yet God desires the devotion of the wounded person. A person might feel fractured, spiritually diminished, or lacking the full strength they once possessed. The Torah writes "his hand" to assure every seeker that God receives service offered through present limitations with absolute love.

While an animal must be internally whole to be offered, God welcomes the broken human heart that serves with whatever strength it still retains.

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