The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
R' Frand noted that the parsha contains numerous pesukim which state that a sacrifice was "אִשֵּׁ֛ה רֵ֥יחַ נִיחֹ֖חַ" - which is translated by Art Scroll as a "satisfying aroma to Hashem." But does Hashem really love the smell of roasting meat?
R' Frand answered the question by quoting R' Bukspan who in turn cites R' Eliezer Ashkenazi who explains that the pleasing aroma is not the animal, but the person himself. He noted that smell is generally the most forward sense. When a person walks into a house on Erev Shabbos he smells the challah, well before he sees or tastes it. [I know that when I walk in and Mrs KB is cooking for Shabbos, it lifts my spirits that the "house smells like Shabbos"]. Similarly, a soldier in war can smell the battle, well before he is close enough to engage in the fighting.
So too when a man offers a sacrifice, Hashem "smells" that the person wants to come close to Hashem (karban/m'karev) even if he has not done so yet. This is the satisfying aroma to Hashem.
R' Frand said a second vort related to sacrifices - noting that in the middle of the parsha there are allusions to sacrifices which are offered if the Kohain Gadol or the Sanhedrin sin. But when it comes to the Nasi, the Torah states in Vayikra 4:22 - אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָשִׂ֖יא יֶֽחֱטָ֑א - when the Nasi will sin. Rashi observes that a generation is praiseworthy if the Nasi brings this sacrifice as it is a public admission by the Nasi that he made a mistake, (something which we rarely see in our current generation). And if the Nasi brings the sacrifice and make a public admission of a mistake, how much more so if he brings a sacrifice after admitting that he sinned intentionally.
R' Frand contrasted this with the Haftorah of Parshas Zachor which tells the story of Saul not following Shmuel's directive to wipe out Amalek as he spares Achav and the cattle. When he is approached at first by Shmuel, Saul proudly proclaims that he has done what Hashem commanded him to do. And after he is reproached by Shmuel, he continues to insist that he followed Hashem's instructions and that the animals were left alive because the people wanted them. Only on the third go around did he finally admit error .
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