Pe'ah 020

All [these] delineate for seeds but only a fence delineates for trees. If the tree-tops were entwined it does not delineate, and [the farmer] must give Pe'ah for all.

As for carob trees - as long as they "see" one another. Rabban Gamli'el says: in my father's house they gave one Pe'ah in each direction for olives, and for all that "see" each other for carobs. Rabbi Eli'ezer bar-Zadok says in his name: even for all the carob trees they had in the whole town.

1:
Mishnah 3 is not very complicated. Everything that has been said thus far in this chapter concerning what constitutes the edge of a field for the purposes of Pe'ah applies only to field crops. As we have seen, for crops such as cereals and vegetables a stream, a pathway and even a steep incline can determine that one field ends and another begins. But in the case of trees the only physical phenomenon that constitutes a 'field' in the sense implied by the biblical command to refrain from completely reaping 'the corners of your field' [Leviticus 19:9] is a fence.

2:
It was the custom to fence off one agricultural property from another by constructing a fence. These fences were usually built from stones piled up on top of each other and finished off with whitewash, and they reached a height of about 80 centimetres [Mishnah Kilayyim 4:3]. It was also customary for the owner to set his mark on the whitewashed stones, so that it would be clear to whom the stones belonged if the wall collapsed - and these walls did collapse often [Mishnah, Bava Batra 1:2].

3:
Mishnah 3 also states the circumstances which override this general rule. From each orchard which is surrounded by a fence the poor may take their share of the crop, and it is considered to be one 'field' even if a stream or a pathway crosses it between the trees. However, where there are trees growing on both sides of a fence the fence does not mark a boundary between two orchards if the tops of the trees get entwined above and across the fence. In such circumstances the fence intervening fence is to be ignored and all is considered to be one 'field'.

4:
Mishnah 4 brings more exceptions to the rule concerning orchards. Carob trees were in a class of their own. The branches of the carob spread out greatly and therefore they cannot be grown too near each other. In a mishnah [Bava Batra 4:9] which discusses the sale of cultivated land it is specifically stated that each carob tree is considered to be its own 'orchard'. This would mean that the poor would be permitted to glean a portion of every single carob tree that the farmer possessed! Therefore the rule that was developed was that where the carob trees were arranged in rows so that each tree could "see" the next, as it were, the extent of such an arrangement defined one carob orchard.

To be continued.

Albert Ringer has sent me a critique of the hermeneutic methodology used by the sages in their explication of the mitzvah of Pe'ah. This is what Albert wrote to me. I have added short explanatory comments where necessary.

Last semester I was taught Sifra [a halakhic midrash on the book of Leviticus]. The part on Pe'ah has a kind of analysis on what kind of produce Pe'ah needs to be given. The text first tries to include specific kinds of produce, searching for a basis in the Torah text:

I only have 'produce' as a proof text, from where do I know kitniot [legumes] are included? - It says 'in your land'; from where do I know trees are included? - it says 'your field'.

Then a klal, a general rule, is given:

What is special about harvest? -
In that he eats, and something is left and it grows again from the land,
And the harvest is done at one time,
And he enters it in a storage.
That excludes vegetables,
Because they are harvested at one time,
But they will not be put in storage;
That excludes figs,
Because they are put in storage but are not harvested at one time.
And grain and kitniot are included in this general rule;
And for a sumac tree, carobs, nuts, almonds, grapes, pomegranates, olives and dates one is obliged to give Pe'ah.

The Hebrew text reads like a poem.

Anyhow, most trees do ripe in a small span of time. I guess, living in Israel you are told to ripen an avocado by putting it in a plastic bag with a ripe apple or banana. Ripe fruit produces CO², which triggers the ripening of fruit in the vicinity, on the same tree or a tree near to it. Citrus trees however bear fruit all year. Fruit like Apples and pears came late to Israel, they grow naturally in a colder climate.