“V’samach yado al rosh HaOlah, v’nirtzah lo l'chaper alav.” Leviticus 1:4 "He shall lean his hands on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall become acceptable for him to atone for him."
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The Olah sacrifice is wholly consumed on the altar. It atones for the
improper
desires of one's heart. The heart is symbolized by one’s hands and since each
hand contains 16 parts both contain 32 or “lev” (heart) parts. When one leans
his hands on the head of the Olah it is an atonement for him. An allusion to
the heart is found in the word “alav.” This word should be broken up as “al
'yud vav'.” Half of the gematria of the word heart is sixteen. Also he who
has a broken heart is called “vey,” "vav yud," regarding the sins between man
and Hashem and between man and his fellow and because he is lacking in both
positive and negative commandments. Each hand supplies half of the atonement, ie: half the heart. The verse says “lechaper alav” "atone for him" -- do not read the word “alav” as one word but rather as “al yud vav.” (On sixteen). This then alludes to why the sacrifice of the Olah is called Olah or “Al vuv hey.” When one brings an Olah it must come from his heart. When the “vav hey” of the word Olah is completely spelled out as “vav yud vav and hey hey” it equals the gematria of 32 or “lev” (heart). Since the Olah must originate from one’s heart this instructs us that the Olah atones for the heart. Furthermore the first letter of the word Olah is ayin. Ayin equals 70 which when combined with the number of parts of the hand (16) equals 86, which equals the gematria of Elokim. Along this line, the gematria of the word “lo” of “v’nirtzah lo” (it shall be acceptable to him) when spelled out completely as “lamed, mem dalet and vav vav” equals 86 which is the name of Elokim. The Olah comes to atone for the sins caused by the eyes or hands. The eye is alluded to by the first letter of the word Olah and hands are stated explicitly in the verse, “he shall lean her hands.” Since both one’s hands and eyes are involved in sin, they both require atonement.
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