Lev. 23:22 You shall not remove the corner of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
A Comment On The Israel Bible
"This Biblical imperative is still practiced in Israel today. Each season, farmers throughout Israel leave over millions of pounds of produce from the fields which are then collected by volunteers and distributed to poor people all over the country."
Read more at http://theisraelbible.com/bible/leviticus/chapter-23/verse-22#sFeViLLfzXAJYEXO.99
Proverbs 11:26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him.
The Israel Bible comments:
The Bible commands the Israelites to set aside a certain portion of their crops, grown in the Land of Israel, for the poor . The corners of their fields, the forgotten sheaves and the grains that fall during harvest are all left for the needy (Leviticus 19:9-10, Deuteronomy 24:19).
Read more at http://theisraelbible.com/bible/proverbs/chapter-11/verse-26#s3i4V2JcAuFppHC8.99
Lev. 19:9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am Hashem your God.
Deuteronomy 24: 19-20
19 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; that Hashem thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands.
20 When thou beatest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
24:20 When you beat your olive-tree:
The Israel Bible Comments:
Just as food must be left in the fields for the poor during the time of the harvest, so too fruit must be left on the trees. In describing the process of removing the fruit from the olive tree, the verse says “when you beat your olive tree.” Olive trees were harvested by beating the branches with a stick, causing the olives to fall to the ground. According to the Sages, this hints to the blessing of abundance in the Land of Israel. There will be so much produce that the farmers will only need to harvest what falls off with the beating of the tree branches; they will not need to bother to climb a ladder in order to reach what was left at the top! What remains on the tree is left for the poor and needy.
Read more at http://theisraelbible.com/bible/deuteronomy/chapter-24#wxS5odwWkP4hL3Cc.99
Mahx Note:
The corner of the field in this commandment is only the corner of the field in the Land of Israel. Nevertheless, the clear principle of leaving “the corners” of what G-d provides for us for the poor is a principle that we can clearly understand that G-d would desire to see followed anywhere. To do so because it is G-d’s expressed will for the Land of Israel is very near to the spirit of direct obedience to the commandment itself. But how can this be done? One cannot obey a commandment, in its spirit anymore than in its letter, according to one’s own ideas.
It is essential to look more closely at what is given as this commandment in the Torah. Indeed, there is more than one commandment about leaving behind a measure of one’s harvest of G-d’s blessing for the poor. These commandments can, however, in essence, be seen to be one commandment.
There is the commandment to leave the corners of the field no matter what the crop. Then there is the commandment to leave behind any gleanings that fall in the field, and the commandment not to go back and fetch any sheaf left in the field. There is also the commandment not to strip the vineyards bare, not to go over them a second time, but to leave grapes for the poor. And there is the commandment not to remove all the olives from the olive trees, but to leave some for those who are without other resources.
All these commandments are like one principle being commanded. This principle does not take away from the specifics of each commandment as spelled out to the letter. Rather, the principle adds them together and thereby adds to them. How so?
From understanding the principle, that it is G-d’s will to provide for the stranger and the poor out of the blessings with which he blesses whomever he blesses is to realize that there are “corners” to the Land of Israel itself through which G-d wills to provide for all the spiritually poor strangers of the nation who would take hold of the “corners of the garments” of the children of Israel to go with them to worship the G-d of Jerusalem.
Just so, there are no limits to G-d’s will to bless those who seek his blessing through Avraham, in accordance with his promises to Abraham, to Yitzchak and Yaakov. Therefore, anyone who will seek to leave a portion of the blessings they have recieved for the poor, and do so because G-d commanded this of the children of Israel, will be shown a way of doing this in holiness to the pleasure of G-d.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Thursday, June 16, 2016
The Master of Prayer and Romans 8:3
What the Torah could not do without the Master of Prayer the Torah could do with the Master of Prayer.
What the Torah could not do by itself through the human being due to the weakness of the fallen human being, God did through sending His son with the Torah, that His son, in accordance with the Torah might condemn sin in the flesh and justify the human being in the Torah through him.
Romans 8 KJV
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
What the Torah could not do together with the fallen nature of Adam, God sending his own Son in the likeness of the fallen nature of Adam, and for sin, did — through his Son in fulfillment of the Torah.
Romans 8 Youngs Literal Translation
3 for what the law was not able to do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, His own Son having sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, did condemn the sin in the flesh,
4 that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
What is it said here that the Torah was to do? It is said here that the Torah was to condemn sin in the flesh. And by implication then it was to establish its own righteousness in the human being. In short, then, due to the weakness of the flesh the Torah was not even able to fully condemn sin in the flesh. And accordingly it was not able to establish its righteousness in the human being.
What does it mean that the Torah should condemn sin in the flesh? This is not to condemn the human being but to condemn sin without condemning the human being. That is, therefore, to establish that the crime is the crime against the Torah and that it has been committed. The crime is condemned. However, it is not the purpose of the Torah to destroy the criminal, but to establish the condemnation of the crime, so that the criminal might be saved from the guilt and power of the crime.
What does it mean that the flesh was weak so that the Torah was not able to accomplish this on its own? The human being in the condition called "the flesh" would not be subject to the truth of the Torah. It could not be. It did not ever fully listen to the Torah, but tried to justify itself against what it thought would be the condemnation of the Torah, and therefore to justify itself in the Torah, against the true testimony of the Torah, which is that the sinful human being is worthy in the end of nothing but death — yet this is because of the unworthiness of sin, whereas the One who gave the Torah desires life for the human being. And this is the full testimony of the Torah. But the flesh, that aspect of the human being subject directly to death for sin, was weak in being overcome by inner shame and the fear of death, and could not hear this full testimony. Therefore it gave itself over in abandonment to sin, or deafened itself entirely to the Torah and did what was right in its own eyes, or continued ceaselessly to hope in finding some way to justify itself in the Torah. And so there was not one righteous human being who repented perfectly in the Torah, hearing perfectly its testimony. It was then that God sent His Son and established beyond all defense the condemnation of sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the Torah might be fulfilled in those brought into his Spirit, who walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.
Where do we see this very teaching from the Torah itself?
Exodus 32
9 …The LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people.
10 "Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation."
11 Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, "O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
And:
Deuteronomy 9
13 …"The LORD spoke further to me, saying, 'I have seen this people, and indeed, it is a stubborn people.
14 Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.'
15 "So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.…
For this is understandable in that it can be seen that Moshe recognized that Hashem would certainly keep His covenant with Avraham, Isaac and Jacob and save Israel as His people, as He brought them up out of Egypt and gave them His Torah, so He would bring them into the Land of Testimony. Therefore Moshe knew that Hashem's covenant was made so as to be dependent upon a Tzaddik from below praying and beseeching Him for the forgiveness of His people, Israel. Accordingly, he knew that if he prayed then for Israel his prayer would be heard. For the covenant was certain that Hashem would Himself provide that Tzaddik who would pray from below for Israel when Hashem would be prepared to destroy them altogether and the prayer of that Tzaddik would be heard.
Now this is the prayer of one who incarnates the Torah itself, so that it is heard not only Above but also Below that it is the Torah that pleads for Israel and does not condemn the children of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob.
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