Pe'ah 056
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BET MIDRASH VIRTUALI
of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel
RABIN MISHNAH STUDY GROUP
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If the workers forget a sheaf but the owner does not, or if the owner forgets a sheaf but the workers do not; or if the poor stand in front of it or hide it with straw – it is not a 'forgotten sheaf'.
EXPLANATIONS:
1:
With this mishnah we start yet another new topic. This is not the first time in our study of this tractate that we have had occasion to note the seeming disorganization of the arrangement. In Pe'ah 050 there was a similar occurrence, and I wrote:
What is surprising is the fact that this new topic is introduced in the middle of a chapter… now suddenly, in the middle of chapter 4 and with no apparent logical connection, the topic changes from pe'ah to leket [gleaning]. I have no explanation for this sudden change. It would seem logical that mishnah 10 should be the first mishnah of chapter 5…
So here too I can say that now suddenly, in the middle of chapter 5 and with no apparent logical connection, the topic changes from gleaning to 'the forgotten sheaf'.
2:
When you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf in the field, do not turn back to get it; it shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow – in order that God may bless you in all your undertakings. [Deuteronomy 24:19]
It is clear now that the Torah seems to allocate some part of the harvest to the poor at each stage of the harvesting process. At the time of reaping the poor are entitled to their pe'ah; when the reaped crop has been stacked they become entitled to glean vacated patches; now we learn that when the harvested crop is removed from the field to the threshing floor the poor are entitled to shikheĥah – the forgotten sheaf.
3: 4:
When you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf in the field…
The Gemara [Pe'ah 19a] interprets both occurrences differently. A bundle becomes shikheĥah when it has been overlooked in 'your' field, by the owner; but it can also become shikheĥah when it has been overlooked by 'you' when reaping – by whoever was actually harvesting the crop. Thus our mishnah teaches that it is either when the owner himself has overlooked the sheaf or when the workers have overlooked it that it becomes the perquisite of the poor.
The Gemara is practical:
It is not shikheĥah until it has been forgotten by every person [involved in the harvesting of the field – owner or worker]. If the owner were in town and says 'I know that the workers have forgotten bundles in such–and–such a place' it does not become shikheĥah. If the owner were in the field and says 'I know that the workers have forgotten bundles in such–and–such a[nother] place' it does not become shikheĥah.
5:
Obviously, there is a chance that the poor will take active steps to ensure that a bundle (or bundles!) will be overlooked. This is grossly unfair towards the owner. Our mishnah teaches that if the poor bystanders cover the bundle with straw or chaff so that it is not noticed by either owner or worker this does not constitute shikheĥah and the owner is entitled to recover it. Similarly, if the poor stand in front of a bundle thus hiding it from the notice of the workers the owner is still entitled to recover it. I have received queries and comments from several people, and I plan to address them next week. I am wary of making any shiur too long and wait for an opportunity to append discussion without seriously adding to the weight of material. Shabbat Shalom. |