Normally, when a Korban Minha (grain offering) is brought, olive oil and Lebona (frankincense) are added to the flour. An exception to this rule is the Minhat Hoteh – the Minha offering brought by a sinner to atone for his misdeed. In certain situations, the Torah prescribes a Minha – which is far less expensive than an animal sacrifice – for a sinner who is poor and cannot afford an animal. The Torah (Vayikra 5:11) commands that when this grain offering is brought, oil and Lebona must not be added. The Mishna in Masechet Menahot (59b) teaches, “Hayab Al Ha’shemen Bi’fneh Asmo Ve’al Ha’lebona Bi’fneh Asmah” – adding oil and Lebona to a Minhat Hoteh violates two separate commands, and the violator is thus liable to two separate sets of Malkut. The simple reading of this statement is that if one adds oil and then Lebona to a sinner’s grain offering, he transgresses two prohibitions. This is, indeed, how Rashi and Tosafot understand the Mishna’s comment. Rabbenu Tam (Rashi’s grandson, France, 1100-1171), however, argued, noting that once oil has been added, the Minha is disqualified, such that adding Lebona cannot then be considered a forbidden act. Once the Minha is no longer valid, Rabbenu Tam contends, adding the Lebona is of no significance, and thus cannot violate the Biblical command. Rabbenu Tam therefore explains the Mishna differently, as referring to two separate Menahot – if a person added oil to one Minha and Lebona to another, he has committed two separate violations, and is liable to two sets of Malkut. The Gaon of Rogatchov (Rav Yosef Rosen, 1858-1936), in Sofnat Pa’ane’ach, notes a subtle nuance in the Rambam’s formulations of these two prohibitions – against adding oil, and against adding Lebona. In discussing these prohibitions in his Sefer Ha’misvot (Lo Ta’aseh 102-103), the Rambam writes that “placing oil” on a Minhat Hoteh renders one liable to Malkut, but in regard to the Lebona, he writes that we are commanded “not to offer a Minha with Lebona.” Curiously, when it comes to the oil, the Rambam writes that the prohibition is violated when one places the oil on the Minha, but with regard to the Lebona, the prohibition is violated when one offers the Minha on the altar with Lebona. The Gaon of Rogatchov explains this distinction very simply, by noting that once oil is added to flour, it is absorbed and cannot then be removed. Frankincense, however, is dry, and can thus be removed after it is added to flour. Therefore, it is only once the Minha has been placed on the fire with the Lebona that the prohibition is violated, whereas one who adds oil to a Minha violates a prohibition immediately, because the act cannot be undone. The reason for the prohibition against adding Lebona to a Minhat Hoteh is the same reason why the Torah forbids adding oil, which has already been discussed (in Misva 125). As the Sefer Ha’hinuch explains, adding oil and spices is a sign of grandeur and stature, and one who has sinned and requires atonement must be humbled. Therefore, the Torah prescribed for him a simple, austere offering. Secondly, since the Minhat Hoteh is offered by a destitute pauper, who cannot afford an animal sacrifice, the Torah has compassion and does not require him to incur the additional expense of oil and frankincense.