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.
