Commentary for Peah 1:3
נוֹתְנִין פֵּאָה מִתְּחִלַּת הַשָּׂדֶה וּמֵאֶמְצָעָהּ. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, וּבִלְבַד שֶׁיִּתֵּן בַּסּוֹף כַּשִּׁעוּר. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אוֹמֵר, אִם שִׁיֵּר קֶלַח אֶחָד, סוֹמֵךְ לוֹ מִשּׁוּם פֵּאָה. וְאִם לָאו, אֵינוֹ נוֹתֵן אֶלָּא מִשּׁוּם הֶפְקֵר:
One may give <i>Peah</i> from the beginning of the field or from its middle. Rabbi Shimon says: only if one gives the full measure at the end. Rabbi Yehudah says: if one has left even one stalk [at the end], he adjoins to it [what he has left to the beginning or middle, and it becomes <i>Peah</i>], if not, he has merely made it ownerless.
Bartenura on Mishnah Peah
מתחלת השדה ומאמצעה – And one does not need to place down the “corner” at the end of the field, as it is written (Leviticus 19:9): “[When you reap the harvest of your land,] you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field…” said the Torah: Give the “corner” and even though you still have standing grain to reap.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Peah
Introduction
Usually one leaves the corners of one’s field for peah at the corners of the fields. However, one can leave parts in the middle or even at the beginning of the field. This is the topic of our mishnah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Peah
ובלבד שיתן בסוף כשיעור – Even though the Bible extends [the application (of the word פאה ) to include] the beginning and in the middle of the field which have [upon them] the Torah-obligation of [giving] Peah [upon it] to what he had given, nevertheless, he is only exempt if he gives at the end of the field a payment [equivalent to] the measurement of one-sixtieth, together with what he had given in the middle and at the beginning, such is derived in the Jerusalem Talmud. And Maimonides explained that only as long as he gives at the end according to the measure of PEAH that is required for the entire field, that he must set aside at the end of the field one-sixtieth apart from what he had left at the beginning and middle [of the field].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Peah
They may give peah at either at the beginning of the [reaping of the] field or at the middle of it. As stated in the introduction, he can give peah anywhere in the field he wants.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Peah
ואם שייר קלח אחד – At the edge of the field and left it for the [obligatory] “corner”, he relies upon it, and everything that he left in the middle and at the beginning, the law of “Peah” is upon it.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Peah
Rabbi Shimon says: as long as he gives at the end according to the set amount. Rabbi Shimon says that he must fulfill the mitzvah of peah by giving the minimum measure at the corners of the field. He may be as generous as he wants in the beginning and middle of his reaping but he must also leave the corners of the field as peah. There might be two ways of understanding this. First of all, the Torah specifies the corner and hence he cannot just leave other parts of the field. Second, this might encourage cheating. A person might lie and say that he left something in the middle of reaping and that the poor had already come and collected.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Peah
ואם לאו – If he did not leave even one stalk at the edge of the field for [the fulfillment of the commandment of] “the corner,” what he had left in the middle and at the beginning [of the field] are not considered “the corner” but it has only the principle of HEFKER/renunciation of ownership and he (Rabbi Yehuda) disagrees with [the opinion of] Rabbi Shimon who says, that nevertheless, it is considered “PEAH/the corner” - but that the owner of the field is not exempted [from his obligation to give PEAH] with this [alone]. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Shimon.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Peah
Rabbi Judah says: if he leave, one stalk, he can rely on this as [fulfilling the law of] peah; and if he did not, then he only gives as ownerless property. Rabbi Judah says that as long as he leaves one stalk for himself in the beginning of his harvest, he can give the part of the field near this stalk or even the rest of the field as peah. The stalk becomes “his field” and the rest of the field becomes peah. However, if at the beginning of the harvest he didn’t leave even a stalk then the rest of the field cannot be considered peah. If he wants to give the beginning of the field to the poor, he is not giving it as peah rather he is renouncing ownership so that the poor can come and collect. The result of the field being ownerless is the same as the result of it being peah both ownerless property and peah are exempt from tithes.
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