Korban Olah - Chazalaic Explanations

Chazalaic Explanations

Chazal portray the olah form of sacrifice, in which no meat was left over for consumption by the Kohanim, as the greatest form of sacrifice and was the form of sacrifice permitted by Judaism to be sacrificed at the Temple by the Kohanim on behalf of both Jews and non-Jews.

The korban olah is believed to have evolved as an extreme form of the slaughter offering, whereby the portion allocated to the deity increased to all of it. In slaughter offerings, the portion allocated to the deity was mainly the fat, the part which can most easily be burnt (fat is quite combustible); scholars believe it was felt that the deity, being aethereal, would appreciate aethereal food more than solid food—the burning of the fatty parts of animals being to produce smoke as a sweet savour for the deity.