כלי יקר — אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן

Q — Why does the laws-of-korbanot parsha open, middle, and close with warnings against גזל?

A — Kli Yakar names three markers: 'אדם כי יקריב' (Rashi: like Adam HaRishon, who couldn't bring from gezel since everything was his); 'והסיר את מראתו בנוצתה' (the bird's crop is discarded because birds eat from gezel); and 'והשיב את הגזלה' at the end. Korbanot and gezel are opposites: a korban draws the Shechinah near, gezel pushes it away. Deeper: 'ממונו של אדם כנפשו דמי' — a person's money is the substance of his self. To offer one's own beast is to offer a slice of one's soul. A stolen beast 'שלא עמל בה ולא חלה ידו בה' has no piece of you in it — 'איך תהיה תמורה לנפשו'? The triple framing teaches that the very logic of korbanot collapses without ownership.