Question
Rabbi, when Gideon made the sacrifice before the Angel of the Lord in Judges 6, I was surprised to see he included the broth. Why is this? Its inclusion, surprises me.
Answer
The Torah often considers derivatives or bi-products of a product as the product itself, e.g. broth of Truma (Kohen/priestly tithes in Israel) must be eaten by the Kohen, broth of Shmitta produce (every seventh year in Israel), must not be thrown away, etc. Apparently, Gidon thought that if he cooked the offering (rather than roasting), he should include the broth which is a bi-product and may be considered holy like the meat-offering itself. But the angel knew that this isn’t always the case, for no broth is ever sacrificed on the alter.
