שמואל א, פרק ב׳, פסוק י״ג

The corruption of Eli's sons begins not as a sudden rebellion, but through the establishment of an institutionalized, abusive practice. By exploiting their power and position, they created an environment where those coming to worship were systematically taken advantage of. The primary approach among commentators is that the custom established by these priests was not rooted in God's law. Instead, it was an arbitrary, fixed rule they invented entirely for themselves. When an individual brought a peace offering, God's law dictated a clear and fair division: the fats were burned on the altar, the priests received only the breast and thigh, and the remaining meat belonged to the person bringing the sacrifice. However, the priests engaged in outright theft, taking portions of the meat that rightfully belonged to the owners [רש״י, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The severity of their actions is evident in how this theft was carried out. Rather than coming personally and respectfully to collect their rightful share, the priests sent their servants while the owner's meat was boiling. This delegation demonstrated malice, a deep lack of respect, and a forceful abuse of power [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The servant would arrive wielding a three-pronged fork, a tool resembling a pitchfork designed to pierce and pull meat from the pot [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The use of a fork with three prongs was highly intentional. It allowed the servant to extract a massive amount of meat all at once—an amount so large that the owners would certainly be upset and unwilling to forgive the loss [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם].

This gradual moral decline reflects the typical path of the evil inclination, which initially tempts a person with a relatively minor offense before leading them into far worse behavior. At this stage, the priests were taking the boiling meat only after the required fats had been offered to God. However, this initial overstepping paved the way for a much more severe violation later on: demanding raw meat before God's portion was burned, a time when eating the meat was strictly forbidden to everyone [אלשיך].