Sefer HaChinuch ספר החינוך

That a profaned woman not eat from the holy: That a profaned woman not eat from the holy — meaning to say from the priestly tithe, the breast and the thigh that fit daughters of the Children of Aharon are fitting to eat — as it is stated (Leviticus 22:12), “And the daughter of a priest when she shall be to a foreign man, she shall not eat that which is raised of the consecrated things.” And we say in the Gemara Yevamot 68a, “‘When she shall be to a foreign man’ — such that she had intercourse with one disqualified to her, that he disqualified her.” And from that which it is written, “that which is raised of the consecrated things,” they, may their memory be blessed, said (Yevamot 68b), “With that which is raised from the consecrated things, they shall not eat” — meaning from the breast and the thigh. And there it is said, “Let the verse write, ‘she shall not eat the consecrated things.’ What is [the meaning of] ‘that which is raised of the consecrated things?’ We hear two [things] from it: One is that when she had intercourse with one disqualified, she is disqualified from eating priestly tithe, the breast and the thigh; and the other is that when she was married to a ‘foreigner’ and her husband dies, she returns to eating the tithe but does not return to [eating] the breast and the thigh.” And it comes out that included in this negative commandment is the warning of the priestess that married a foreigner not to eat the breast and thigh even though her husband died or divorced her, which is not what we determine with priestly tithe — as a priestess that marries a foreigner and her husband dies, returns to eat priestly tithe. And the understanding of the verse is such: “when she shall be to a man foreign with that which is raised of the consecrated things” — meaning to say when she has intercourse with a foreigner, meaning one disqualified to her, and this is his foreignness, [then] she shall not eat that which is raised of the consecrated things, which is the priestly tithe, the breast and the thigh, as I have explained. And further there is also in the understanding of the verse, “when she shall be to a foreign man” — one who is not a priest; and so did Rashi, may his memory be blessed, write (Rashi on Leviticus 22:12), “To a Levite or Israelite,” meaning to say that he is foreign from the priesthood — she does not eat “that which is raised of the consecrated things” at the time that she is his. But after his death or if he divorces her, when she eats of that which is raised of the holy things — as behold, she has left from being [in the domain] of the foreigner — she [still] does not eat from the breast and the thigh. As once she has married a foreigner, she is disqualified from the breast and the thigh forever. However, you should know that we did not learn the prohibition of a priestess eating from priestly tithe when she is still [in the domain of] her Israelite husband from this verse at all — as the [traditional] commentary does not come to expound this from that, but rather only that which we wrote. But this prohibition, the Sages — the masters of the received tradition — may their memory be blessed, learned (Yevamot 68b) from another place — from that which is written (Leviticus 12:10), “And any foreigner shall not eat the holy.” As the commentary comes about it, that all the time that the woman is [in the domain of] her husband — meaning her Israelite husband — who is a foreigner from the priesthood, she ‘shall not eat the holy.’ [This is] since the wife of a foreigner is considered like a foreigner — and behold, she is like one of his ribs. And know this it and receive it, as it is the received truth.

And this commandment is practiced in every place [and at all times] where there is priestly tithe from Torah writ, as we said in the previous commandments. A priestess that transgressed and ate priestly tithe or the breast or the thigh, and she is profaned, meaning to say she has had intercourse with someone who disqualifies her from the priesthood; and so [too,] if she transgressed and ate the breast or the thigh after her Israelite husband died or she became divorced from him; and likewise if she transgressed and ate priestly tithe or the breast or the thigh while she is still [in the domain of] her Israelite husband — in all of these ways, she is liable for lashes.