Is the olah, the “whole burnt offering,” a “pure gift, as Moshe Halbertal has it in On Sacrifice (14)?

It seems so: The entire animal is burned, no meat remains for the worshiper, there is no evident benefit given in return for the total devotion of an animal to Yahweh,

Sed contra: The olah is said to “make atonement” for the worshiper (Leviticus 1:4) that produces a pacifying aroma (1:9).

It’s not a “pure” unreciprocated gift. It’s a gift whose return is invisible. The return gift is known only by faith. 

Every morning and evening, Israel was reminded that man does not live by meat alone.