במדבר, פרק כ״ט, פסוק ט״ו

During the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, fourteen lambs are brought as offerings, each accompanied by a precise portion of fine flour. The ancient scribal tradition preserves a unique visual marker in the text detailing these offerings: a single dot placed above a specific letter. This subtle mark draws the primary attention of the commentators, who look to early traditions to uncover its practical purpose [חזקוני, מנחת שי, תורה תמימה].

Rather than a mere grammatical curiosity, this dot serves as a direct instruction to the priests working in the Temple, guiding them on exactly how to measure the fine flour for the lambs. The Temple contained various large measuring vessels, such as one holding three measures used for the bull offerings, and another holding two measures used for the rams. The special mark teaches that the priests must not use these larger vessels to measure the flour for the lambs. Instead, they are required to measure the flour exclusively with a dedicated vessel that holds exactly one single measure for each individual lamb [מנחת שי, תורה תמימה]. The exact placement of this scribal mark was carefully recorded in early sources, ensuring the precise preservation of this specific Temple procedure [תורה תמימה, מנחת שי].