Sefer HaChinuch ספר החינוך

To not eat the meal-offering of the priest: To not eat of the meal-offering of the priest, as it is stated (Leviticus 6:16), “And every meal-offering of a priest shall be whole; it shall not be eaten.”

The foundation that we said at the beginning that the intention of the sacrifice is to arouse the heart of the one that offers it is from the roots of the commandment. [For] if the priest eats his meal-offering, his heart will not properly be aroused about it; as it is similar in his eyes to his baking bread for his need and eating it. And even though his fellows will eat from his and he from theirs, it will all add up to one. Hence it commanded that it be completely burnt; it cannot be eaten by any man.

From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Menachot 72b) [that] all of the meal-offerings that were offered on the altar were skimmed — and the skimming was completely incinerated on the altar, and the rest was eaten by the priests — except for the meal-offering of the males of the priesthood, which is not skimmed, but we rather incinerate it completely, as it is stated (Leviticus 6:16), “And every meal-offering of a priest shall be a whole offering; it shall not be eaten.” We have learned from here that the inauguratory meal-offerings and the griddled ones, and a priest that brought a sinner’s meal-offering or a voluntary meal-offering — all these [offerings] were burnt on the altar and not skimmed, as we said above in this order (Sefer HaChinukh 134). And the content of skimming is that the priest take from the flour with his handful — meaning to say with the tips of his fingers — in the way that any man skims: That he extends the palm of his hand and skims with the tips of his fingers (Menachot 11a), meaning to say that his fingers cling to the palm and he does not hold much flour. But if he adds upon the handful, such as [if] he widened his fingers and [then] skimmed, he disqualified [it]. And the rest of the details of the commandment are in Menachot.

And the prohibition of the eating of the meal-offering of the priest is practiced by males and females at the time of the [Temple]. And one who transgresses it and ate a kazayit is lashed. And the language of Sifra, Tzav 5:4 is, “‘Shall be a whole offering; it shall not be eaten’ — anything that is in ‘shall be a whole offering,’ to place a negative commandment upon [it, about] its eating.”