The dedication of the Tabernacle reaches another milestone as the series of sacrifices continues with the burnt offering. Rather than detailing every physical step of this ritual, the process relies on a pre-established protocol. The primary approach among commentators is that this protocol directs back to the rules of a voluntary burnt offering, which a person brings of his own free will, as outlined earlier in the laws of the sacrifices. This established procedure includes the physical duties of the priests: throwing the blood, flaying the animal's skin, cutting the limbs, arranging them, and burning them on the altar [ספורנו, אדרת אליהו, מלבי״ם].
The narrative deliberately shifts its description here compared to the sin offering performed just moments earlier. While the previous sacrifice was explicitly modeled after the first one, the current process is directed by a general rule. One reason for this shift is that sin offerings involve various types of blood applications, making it necessary to clarify exactly which previous sacrifice it mirrored [ביאור ישר]. In contrast, Aaron’s earlier burnt offering that same day was a unique, temporary instruction. By pointing to a general rule, the instructions bypass that one-time event and anchor this sacrifice in the permanent, eternal laws [ריב״א, שפתי חכמים].
A fundamental difference between these sacrifices lies in the act of leaning, where the owner presses both hands onto the animal's head before it is slaughtered. Aaron's initial sacrifice was private and required this leaning. However, the current burnt offering is a public sacrifice, which generally does not require it. Had the instructions simply mirrored the first sacrifice, one might mistakenly assume that leaning was necessary here as well. Therefore, the emphasis on the general rule clarifies that the comparison only applies to the physical tasks of flaying the skin and cutting the limbs [תורה תמימה, מלבי״ם]. This is further supported by the focus on actions performed directly on the animal's body, rather than the act of leaning, which is an action of the owner [פענח רזא]. Nevertheless, the underlying comparison to a voluntary offering establishes a legal principle: an obligatory burnt offering brought by an individual does, in fact, require leaning [מזרחי, גור אריה].
Other perspectives suggest that following the established rule refers to the strict legal sequence of the sacrifices, emphasizing that a sin offering must always precede a burnt offering [רלב״ג, העמק דבר]. Alternatively, the rule indicates a collaborative effort. While Aaron chose to perform his personal sacrifice completely alone, this public burnt offering involved many priests working together in the tasks of cutting and washing [העמק דבר].
On a deeper conceptual level, the description of carrying out this sacrifice shares a rare linguistic link with the story of King David and the poor man's ewe lamb. This unique connection subtly hints at the idea of a person who ultimately determines and seals his own judgment [קיצור בעל הטורים].