Devar/5768/Kedoshim
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עברית
English
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest. (Lev 19:9) When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go back to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow (Deut 24:19)
These three gifts, which are pe'ah (the corner of the field), leqet (the gleaning) and shicheHa (the forgotten sheaves), take effect in the standing grain; that is, in grain which is still in the field. And they are abandoned to the poor to gather in, without need for special tools like scythes, and without the intervention of the owner of the field, as it says, thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the stranger (Lev 19:10). You shall specifically "leave them".
Why are they abandoned to the poor? Why don't we give them into the hands of the poor directly, like we give tsedaqa? What is the idea behind you shall leave them?
There is a hint in the acronym formed by the three words: "shicheHah", "pe'ah" and "leqet" -- shafal (lowly of spirit). The poor are lowly of spirit, because of their difficult situation. And the Rambam says: It is forbidden to upbraid a poor person, or to raise one's voice against him by yelling -- because his heart is broken and depressed. (Laws of Gifts to the Poor 10:8), and he says: Woe to he who embarrasses a poor person, woe to him! Rather he should be to him as a father, whether in mercy or in words, as the verse states: "I was a father to the needy" (Job 29:16).
And because of this matter itself, we don't give the gifts directly into the hands of the poor; rather, we make it possible for them to work for their living -- in order to raise their spirits at the same time we support them. So that they support themselves in an honorable manner and not be embarrassed. This is the highest level of tsedaqa: The highest level above which there is none other -- that is when one supports the Jew who is poor, and gives him a present or a loan, or makes him a partner, or creates work for him, in order to strengthen him so that he won't need others and won't need to borrow. (Laws of Gifts to the Poor 10:10)
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