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Parshat Ki Teitzei
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Bonding with the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"כי תקצר קצירך בשדך"

"And allow me to come to the Land of Israel, the Land You have chosen from all other Lands, and You have given it to Israel forever...” (Likutei Tfilot I 7)

The Land of Israel is the everlasting gift and heritage of the People of Israel. Just as we have received this gift from Above, we are also commanded, in turn, to give gifts to the poor from this Land. Indeed, our Sages interpret our title quote, and so is taken down to halacha, that the Biblical obligation to give 'peah' produce of the corner of the field, to the poor applies only in the Land of Israel. In the Diaspora 'peah' is only of rabbinic obligation. In addition, Rambam understands from this that all other gifts to the poor as well are Biblically mandated only in the Land of Israel.

The way our Sages learn this principle from our title quote is from the term 'in your field' which limits this commandment only to 'your' Land, the Land of the Jewish People. Thus, concludes the Rambam, all fields of the Diaspora are liable for gifts to the poor by Rabbinical obligation only.  As we have explained in the past, it is specifically in this Land, Land of the Holy Presence, that we are meant to show God's direct care for the needy in various gifts that must be given directly from the produce of this holy Land.

The gifts to the poor from this Land can be divided into four main categories: 1. Peah, 2. Leket (from grain) and Olelot (from grapes), 3. Shihecha, and 4. Maaser Ani. We may say, in turn, that these four types of gifts correspond to four types of Providence in the Land of Israel. Peah, the most pronounced and explicitly given gift, as it is intentionally put at a distinguished corner of the field, represents the more revealed Providence that can be seen in miracles and their like. The second gift, Leket (Olelot) pertains to produce that accidentally fell while harvesting and also small insignificant grapes that fell during harvest, which may represent the other extreme from the previous Providence, that is Providence that seems to even accidental or insignificant. This too, it seems the Torah wishes to teach us, is also from God. The third gift Shicheha, which is given on the basis of human forgetfulness, represents the Providence that works through human consciousness, and seems as if humans were responsible for what has transpired. However, when one contemplates what has transpired in truth one comes to realize that it is the Hand of God working through the minds of people. The fourth gift, Maaser Ani, corresponds to the Providence which works through the complex intricacies of labor and technology in the world. In contrast to the three groups fore-mentioned which are given directly from the source of growth-the field, Maaser Ani is given only after the labor of harvesting and collection into houses or granaries, and only after Truma and Maaser Rishon have already been separated. 

One of the messages of Hebron is loving kindness, as this is the site where the Torah tells us how Avraham went out, even while recovering circumcision, to greet guests, and offer them food, drink, and shade. This is Hebron, Beacon of the Land of Providence, which provides all our needs in the Kind Light of God.

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #134

"One day our neighbor moved from our neighborhood in Kiryat Arba. Nevertheless, the very next day we 'happened' to 'bump into' this neighbor for the first time in Jerusalem..." 

Sources: Rambam Matnot Aniim, 1, 14

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