Pe'ah 002
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BET MIDRASH VIRTUALI
of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel
RABIN MISHNAH STUDY GROUP
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אֵלּוּ דְבָרִים שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם שִׁעוּר: הַפֵּאָה, וְהַבִּכּוּרִים, וְהָרֵאָיוֹן, וּגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים, וְתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה. אֵלּוּ דְבָרִים שֶׁאָדָם אוֹכֵל פֵּרוֹתֵיהֶן בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְהַקֶּרֶן קַיֶּמֶת לוֹ לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא: כִּבּוּד אָב וָאֵם, וּגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים, וַהֲבָאַת שָׁלוֹם בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ; וְתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה כְּנֶגֶד כֻּלָּם:
The following are things which have no limit: the Edge of the Field, the First-Fruits, the Appearance-Offering, acts of kindness and the Study of Torah. The following are things whose profits a person enjoys in this world while the capital remains for him in the world to come: Love of father and mother, acts of kindness, bringing about peace between one person and another – and the study of Torah is equal to them all.
EXPLANATIONS (continued):
7:
In several places the Torah requires all male Jews to present themselves at the Bet Mikdash in Jerusalem on the 'three pilgrimage festivals' – Pesaĥ, Shavu'ot and Sukkot. We can take for instance the following text [Deuteronomy 16:16-17]:
Three times annually shall all your males appear before the Lord your God in the place which He shall choose: on the festival of matzot, on the festival of weeks, and on the festival of huts. Nor shall you appear before the Lord empty-handed, but each man [shall bring] the gift that he can afford, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He shall have given you.
This same requirement is made, though less expansively, in two other places [Exodus 23:17 and Exodus 34:23]. (The designation of the Bet Mikdash in Jerusalem as 'the place which God shall choose' is typical of the book of Deuteronomy.)
8: All the historical references that we have, suggest that people who made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem stayed there throughout the festival. In fact, most of them stayed longer. There were two times in the year when pilgrims stayed in Jerusalem: from Pesaĥ until after Shavu'ot (a seven week vacation) and throughout Sukkot (a 10 day vacation). 9: 10:
Charity and kindly acts are worth the same as all the [other] commandments of the Torah. However, charity applies to the living whereas acts of kindness apply to both the living and the dead. Charity applies to the indigent whereas acts of kindness apply to both the indigent and the well off. Charity can only be performed with one's money whereas acts of kindness can be performed either with one's money or with one's person. Rabbi Yoĥanan bar-Marya quotes Rabbi Yoĥanan: We cannot know which of the two, charity or kindliness, are more beloved [by God] until we read [Psalm 103:17 which tells us that] 'God's kindliness is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that are in awe of Him and his charity ['only'] to [a righteous person's] grandchildren.' That means that one's acts of kindness are more beloved [by God] than [one's acts of] charity.
11:
It is quite clear that our present mishnah is referring to acts of kindness that do not involve 'charity'. The Gemara [Pe'ah 2b] relates that limits are placed on acts of charity:
Rabbi Shim'on ben-Lakish quotes Rabbi Yehudah ben-Ĥanina: At Usha they voted that a person should allocate 20% of his [monetary] property for the commandments… Rabbi Gamli'el bar-Ininya asked Rabbi Mana how this could be; if a person annually allocates 20% of his property to charity by the end of five years he will have lost everything! He responded that initially he allocates [20% of his capital] and thereafter he uses [for charitable purposes] the profits.
Usha, in the Galilee, was the seat of the Sanhedrin during the terrible repercussions, both social and economic, of the disastrous Bar-Kokhba revolt against the Romans.
Unlike the Boy Scout movement, no limit – daily, weekly, monthly or yearly – is set on acts of kindliness towards others. To be continued. |