In the middle of the detailing the Jewish Holidays of the calendar year, the Torah gives us the commandments of Peah and Leket: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not remove completely the corners of your field as you reap and you shall not gather the gleanings of your harvest; for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them; I am Hashem Your G-d.” [Vayikra 23:22]. We are commanded to leave over certain parts of our harvest to the impoverished and the stranger in our midst. A Jew must leave a corner of his field for the poor. Likewise, if he forgets to pick up certain parts of the harvest, these too become “Gifts for the Poor”.
We are approaching Shavuos. We know the story of Rus. Rus was penniless. Her mother-in-law Naomi had no money. Rus met Boaz. How did she meet him? She met him in his field when she was collecting “Gifts for the Poor” (Matnos Aniyim) that he and his workers left over in fulfillment of the Biblical commands of Leket, Shikcha, and Peah.
Rashi quotes the Mishna in Peah regarding the words “For the poor and the strangers you shall leave them over”: “Leave it for them and they will pick it up themselves; you may not assist any of them in their gathering.”
If we were to take a poll whether or not it would be preferable for a field owner to help the poor people collect their gifts from his field or make them do it themselves, I am sure that the overwhelming response would have been that the field owner should be a nice guy and lend a sickle or offer a helping hand to the poor who came to his field to receive the “Matnos Aniyim”. However, as strange as it seems, the Torah rules to the contrary. “Tazaov Osam” — “Leave it for them.” Do not be a nice guy. Do not help them! The pasuk concludes with the words “I am the L-rd”. Rashi says that the intent is a promise: “If you leave them alone and allow them to pick it up themselves, I am the L-rd who will give you your reward.”
This is totally counter-intuitive. What is the interpretation of this Mishna and these words of Rashi? I saw an interesting answer in a Sefer called Otzros haTorah: When the poor person comes to a field to collect the Peah and the owner makes a point of saying “Hello, How are you? Let me help you collect your stuff” or alternatively, when the owner rushes to cut down the stalks for the poor person and hand it to him, the owner is in effect telling the poor person, “Listen here, I am giving you a present.”
The Torah is telling us that Leket, Shikcha, Peah are NOT gifts from the landowner. The Peah BELONGS to the poor person. If the owner participates in the collection, he is acting like the OWNER of those items. When the owner gives a gift, he expects the poor person to be beholden to him and appreciate his generosity. No, the Torah says. Leave it for the poor and the strangers. The Torah’s message to the land owner is: “You are not the owner of that portion of the field. The portion of the crop that falls or gets forgotten from the outset belongs to the poor!” The way to convey that is for the land owner to take no part in the distribution of these items. Let the poor collect it themselves — it is after all their property in the first place!
If a person has that attitude, then he will be deserving of “Ani Hashem ne’eman l’shalem sechar” (I am the L-rd; faithful to pay reward.)
Truth be told, this should be our attitude regarding all Tzedakah [charity]. When the Almighty blesses us and gives us extra funds, we should not think of our charitable donations in terms of “I am giving MY money to you.” G-d made me the steward over this money. It is as if I am the trustee of a foundation. When the trustee of a foundation gives out the money, it is not his money. It belongs to the foundation. He is merely a trustee, charged with guaranteeing that the funds are distributed.
When we give Tzedakah, we should have the same attitude. Thankfully, G-d gave me more money than I need — I am a trustee on this money. I am not giving it to you from my own pocket — it comes from G-d’s Table (M’shulchan Gavoha).
