פירוש על פאה 8:14

מאימתי. הנמושות – there are those who explain this [word נמושות/the last troop of gleaners ] as old people who are walking on their staffs, and there are those who interpret this as the gleaners after the gleaners (the poor who come for the second gleanings – see Talmud Bava Metzia 21b) , for after they would go in the field, gleaners after the gleaners or these elderly people who come late to walk go to glean after everyone that is poor has already despaired from that field, and all that is found in it after that is ownerless to all, whether for the poor or for the rich.

Introduction After the poor have collected their agricultural gifts, that which they have not taken becomes ownerless (hefker), and anyone can take it. Our mishnah delineates how we determine when the poor have finished collecting these various gifts such that they are completely up for grabs.

רביעה שניה – the rain is called fructification (in the fall) because it fructifies the ground (see Talmud Ta’anit 6a), and gives birth and causes to grow like a male who copulates with a female and she becomes pregnant from him, from the language (Leviticus 19:19): “You shall not let cattle mate [with a different kind]…” Another explanation: Fructification on account that the rain causes the dust to lie down, which is the Aramaic translation of lying down to cause fructification. And he time for the second rainfall in an average year is on the twenty-third of Mar Heshvan.

From when are all people permitted to take gleanings, [forgotten sheaves and peah]? After the old ones of the poor have gone. After the old poor people have gone through the field and collected any of the gleanings, forgotten sheaves or peah that was left by the younger poor who were the first to pick through the field, anyone else can come and collect it.

שאינן מוסקין – harvesting of olives like reaping grain and cutting grapes and plucking figs and harvesting dates, so too harvesting olives.

And in the case of peret and defective clusters? After the poor have gone into the vineyard and come back again. This section deals with the agricultural gifts taken from a vineyard, namely peret (dropped grapes) and defective clusters. These belong to anyone once the poor have gone through the vineyard twice. This seems to be a reflection of their greater value. When it comes to grain, the poor will only go through the field once and therefore, after they are done, it belongs to anyone. In contrast, when it comes to grapes, it is worth it for the poor to go through the field twice and hence their grapes do not belong to everyone until they have done so.

ולא יהא מביא בארבעה איסרות – that is two Pundiyons/Dupondium (a Roman coin equal to two Asses) as a Pundiyon is two Issars, and we teach in the Mishnah that a poor person that goes from place to place from the [town] square receives not less that a Pundiyon/Dupondium, that is the food for two meals, and since he does not bring olives worth four Issars, that is the food for two meals for himself and two meals for his wife, for even he does not go out to glean. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

And in the case of the olive trees? After the descent of the second rainfall. Olives, as we have seen throughout the tractate, are the most important agricultural product. Therefore, the agricultural gifts given from olive trees do not become up for grabs for everyone until after the “second rainfall.” This does not mean the second time that it rains, but rather the first rain that falls during the second part of the rainy season. There are three opinions as to when this is, the 7th, 17th or 23rd of Heshvan.

Rabbi Judah said: But aren’t there those who do not harvest their olives until after the second rainfall?” Rather, once the poor man has gone out [to gather the agricultural gifts taken from olive trees] and cannot bring back with him [more than the value of] four issars. Rabbi Judah responds that there are people who don’t harvest their olives until after the second rainfall. Therefore, he says that we cannot use this mark to determine when the olives become up for grabs for anyone. Rather, the olives belong to the poor until the time comes when a poor person would go to collect the olives that belong to him and he wouldn’t even find four issars’ worth. An issar is 1/24 of a dinar. According to the rabbis, four issars is enough money to buy four meals, two for the poor person himself and two for his wife. If he can still collect enough olives to buy four meals then there are still substantial olives in the field and other people cannot take them.

נאמנים – the poor [are believed] to state that this wheat is of gleanings, forgotten sheaves and the corner of the field, and they are exempt from tithing.

Introduction An “am haaretz,” a term I usually translate as “ignoramus”, is usually not believed to have tithed his produce. Therefore, one who buys produce from an am haaretz must tithe it. This is the subject of Tractate Demai, which we shall learn shortly. Agricultural gifts are exempt from tithes. Our mishnah teaches that even though an am haaretz is not believed to have tithed his produce, he is believed if he is a poor am haaretz claiming that his produce came from agricultural gifts and therefore was never liable to be tithed in the first place.

בשעתן – at the time of the harvest.

They [amei haaretz] are to be believed concerning gleanings, the forgotten sheaf and peah during their [harvest] season, and concerning the poor man’s tithe during its whole year. As stated in the introduction, poor amei haaretz (ignoramuses) are believed, to a certain extent, if they say that the produce in their hands was from the agricultural gifts to the poor and hence exempt from tithes. However, they are only believed during the harvest season, when they are most likely to have this produce in their possession. At other times of the year they are not believed and one who buys from them would have to take out tithes. Poor man’s tithe, the tithe given to the poor during the third and sixth year of the sabbatical cycle, is also exempt from tithes, since it itself is tithe. The poor am haaretz is believed to say that his produce is from this tithe during the entire third and sixth year, when he is most likely to have it in his possession. During other years he is not believed and one who buys such produce from him would have to take out tithes.

בכל שנתו – in the third year and in the sixth year where the Poor Tithe applies to them.

They are only believed in those things which men are accustomed to give them. A Levite who is an am haaretz is always believed to say that his produce is from first tithe, the tithe given to Levites. We should also note that when a Levite receives this tithe he must separate out terumat maaser, which is the terumah taken from tithes, and give it to the priest. We trust him that he gave this terumah because Levites are not suspected of not separating terumah.

ובן לוי נאמן לעולם – since the First Tithe applies in each year, and since that he said that they are First Tithe, we do not suspect lest he did not separate from them the Tithe of the Tithe, and just as an Israelite was not suspected regarding the Large Terumah (i.e., two percent to the Kohen), the Levite was not suspect on the Tithe of the Tithe (that was given by a Levite to a Kohen).

This section actually introduces some examples that will be provided in the next mishnah. The am haaretz is only believed if it is something that people are accustomed to give to him. Thus he is believed with regard to grains of wheat because that is something that he customarily collects directly from the field. However, he is not believed with regard to flour or bread, because he doesn’t collect these directly from the field nor does he usually receive them in this state from a field owner. We shall learn more about this tomorrow.

אלא על דבר שבני אדם נוהגין כן – It was practice to give them this and not on anything that they were not accustomed to give them similar to this, and further on, it explains this.

נאמנים על החיטים – [they are believed] to say that they are of the Poor Man’s tithe that was given to me, but they are not believed to say that flour and this bread is of the Poor Man’s tithe, that flour and bread were given to me, for it is not the manner to distribute [processed] Poor Man’s tithe of flour and bread.

Introduction This mishnah is a direct continuation of yesterday’s mishnah, which taught that amei haaretz, people who don’t tithe, are trusted to say that their produce is from the agricultural gifts to the poor and exempt from tithes. However, they are trusted only if the produce is in the state in which it is customary to give such gifts.

שעורה של אורז – there are those who explain spike of rice, for it was not their manner to distributer rice of the Poor Man’s Tithe other than spike/ears of corn. And there are those who explain barley of of rice prior to its being crushed in a mortar and the remove of its shell [it is called barley] and after threshing while its hide is on it, it is the practice to distribute it to the poor.

They are trusted concerning wheat, but they are not trusted when it is flour or bread. It is customary for the field owner to give wheat to the poor before it has been processed into bread or flour. Therefore, the poor are trusted to say that the wheat is from an agricultural gift and hence not liable to tithes. However, the poor are not trusted when it comes to flour or bread.

גריסין – that they are ground in a millstone of grist-grinder’s mills.

They are trusted concerning rice in its husk, but they are not trusted when it is either raw or cooked. Rice is given to the poor before it is removed from its husk.

נאמנים על השמן – it is the manner to distribute the Poor Man’s Tithe in oil.

They are trusted concerning beans but they are not trusted when they have been pounded, neither raw nor cooked. Beans are given to the poor before they are pounded into half-beans.

ואין נאמנים לומר של זיתי נקוף הוא – the olives left on the tree for the poor/the gleanings are from the gifts of the poor, that we beat and knock the olive to empty the olives that remained from the harvesting. And this striking is the language like pounding an olive. But the poor person is not believed to state that this oil I removed from pounded olives and he is exempt from tithes, because it is not customary to make oil from pounded olives. But the poor person who states that this flour or bread is from the gleanings, forgotten sheaf and corner of the field that I gleaned and that I grinded the flour and baked the bread, is believed for it is the manner of the poor person to make bread from gleanings, forgotten sheaves and the corner of the field.

They are trusted when concerning oil, to declare that it is from the poor person’s tithe, but they are not trusted over [oil] when they claim that it is from the olives [left on the] top [of the tree.] Oil is given as poor person’s tithe, therefore a poor am haaretz is believed to say that his oil is exempt from tithes. However, if the am haaretz claims that his oil comes from the olives left over on top of the tree, then he is not believed because these olives would have been given to the poor person unprocessed. The olives on the top of the tree refers to the olives that the field owner gives to the poor because it is just too much trouble to get them down. In other words, people do give their poor person’s tithe in oil, and hence they are believed if they say that the oil came from this tithe. However, people do not take down the olives that were hard to get off the tree during the olive harvest and process them into oil and then give them to the poor. Since they are not given when they are oil, the poor person is not trusted to say that they are from the agricultural gifts.

נאמנים – the poor people [are believed] about raw vegetables to state that they are from the Poor Man’s Tithe, for vegetables are liable for tithes from the Rabbis.

Introduction Today’s mishnah continues to discuss when a poor am haaretz is believed to state that that which he has is from agricultural gifts and is exempt from tithes.

דבר מועט – they are believed even on that which is cooked, for sometimes the owner of the house forgot to tithe and tithes from that which is cooked from within the pot.

They are trusted concerning raw vegetables, but they are not trusted concerning are cooked ones, unless he has only a little bit, for so it was the custom of a householder to take out of his stew-pot [and give a little to the poor]. Normally, a householder will give his vegetables to the poor as poor man’s tithe before he cooks them. After all, why bother cooking them if you’re just going to give them away? Therefore, the poor am haaretz is only believed with regard to his raw vegetables and not cooked ones. However, if he has just a small amount of cooked vegetables and he claims that these come from poor man’s tithe he is believed because a householder will give a small amount of the vegetables from his pot to the poor man as tithe.

מלפסו – the pot/dish or round pot that he is cooking in.

אין פוחתין לעניים בגורן – when they distribute the Poor Man’s Tithe in the granary/threshing floor, they don’t give to each and every poor person less than this measure, as it is written (Deuteronomy 26:12): “that they may eat their full in your settlements,” give him according to his fullness/satisfaction.

They may not give to the poor from the threshing-floor less than a half-kav of wheat or a kav of barley. R. Meir says: [only] half a kav [of barley].
[They must give] a kav and a half of spelt, a kav of dried figs or a maneh of pressed figs. Rabbi Akiva says: half a maneh.
[They must give] half a log of wine. Rabbi Akiva says: a quarter.
[They must give] a quarter [log] of oil. Rabbi Akiva says: an eighth.
As for other kinds of produce: Abba Shaul says, [they must give enough] so that he can sell it and buy food enough for two meals.
Our mishnah deals with poor man’s tithe, the tithe given to the poor in the third and sixth year of a sabbatical cycle. As we have seen above, there is a difference between poor man’s tithe and the other agricultural gifts. Whereas the other agricultural gifts (peah, leket, forgotten sheaves etc.) are collected by the poor themselves, the field owner gives poor man’s tithe directly to the poor. Our mishnah instructs how much of the poor man’s tithe the owner should give to each poor person. He doesn’t just give all of his tithes to the first poor person that he sees. Rather he gives a minimum amount to each poor person who comes his way this way there will be tithes left over for others who come later.
The mishnah itself should be easily understood and hence I have refrained from commenting below.

דבלה – dry figs after they had been tread in a round mould [in which figs are pressed] which is called cake of pressed figs. And further, they are not sold by measurement but rather by weight, therefore it teaches [in the Mishnah] a Maneh of a cake of pressed figs, and a Maneh is a weight of one hundred Denars and a Denar is a weight of six Ma’ah and the weight of a M’ah is sixteen berries/grains of barley.

פרס – one-half of a Maneh, and in all of the measurements that are stated in our Mishnah, the Halakha is according to the first Tanna/teacher and the Halakha is according to Abba Shaul. And these things are not said other than to distribute the Poor Man’s Tithe in the threshing floor/granary, butr he who distributes the Poor Man’s Tithe in his home, distributes according to his desires and the Sages did not give him a measurement.

מדה זו – since we don’t give any less to the poor that is stated for Kohanim, Levites and Israelites, each one of them to whom we distribute the Poor Man’s Tithe in the threshing floor/granary should not receive less than this measurement.

Introduction This mishnah continues to discuss how one divvies out poor man’s tithe to the poor.

היה מציל – for he does not want to distribute to the poor who came all the Poor Man’s Tithe that is in his hand, but he wants to save from it for his poor relatives.

This measure was stated for the priest, Levite and Israelite alike. When it comes to receiving poor man’s tithe, all of Israel is treated alike. No one receives less than the amount prescribed in section one. Even though priests receive terumah and Levites receive other tithes, they are still eligible for the poor man’s tithe.

נוטל מחצה – and hides it for the needs of his relatives.

If he was saving some [to give to his poor relatives], he can retain half and give the other half away. If the person who has poor man’s tithe to give out wishes to save some for his poor relatives, he may do so, but he may only save half of the tithe. The rest he must give out freely to whichever poor person comes his way. It seems to me that the mishnah acknowledges our nepotistic impulses and even grants them some legitimacy. It is natural and even praiseworthy to want to help one’s relatives before one helps a stranger. However, our impulses must be curbed and we must also realize that our duty to help the poor extends not only to our family, but to outsiders as well. One can save some poor man’s tithe for his family, but he must also give away at least half of it to other poor people.

ונותן מחצה – to the poor people came, and if after he took the half and hid it for the needs of his relatives, he had a little bit, that is to say, that thre didn’t remain to him enough to give to every one of the poor people according to the fixed measurement mentioned above in our Mishnah, he places it before them what remains in his hand in order that they can divide it among themselves.

If he has only a small amount, then he must place it before them and they then divide it among themselves. If the person giving out his poor man’s tithe only has a little bit to give out and it is not enough to fulfill the minimum amounts listed above in mishnah five, then he should just put out what he has and let the poor divided it up among themselves. Perhaps this is a way of avoiding suspicion that he is holding back. Alternatively, the mishnah is teaching that this is better than holding it back until he saves up enough to meet the minimum measures in mishnah five.

ככר בפונדיון – bread that is sold for a Pundiyon when the wheat is sold at four S’eah for a Selah, and these four Se’ah are twenty-four Kabs, and each Se’ah is six Kabs and the Selah is four Denars and each Denar is six Ma’ahs , it is found that the Selah is twenty-four Ma’ah and and it is found that twenty-four kabs for twenty-four Ma’ah, a Kab for each Ma’ah. But because the storekeeper wants to make money for his expenditures of baking and grinding, it is impossible to sell the bread which is one-half Kab per Pundiyon according to the value that they sell grain in the market place, four Se’ah for a Selah, therefore, the bread is not sold for a Pundiyon but only for one-quarter Kab. And when they distribute the grain to the poor in the grainary and it is upon him to grind [it] and bake [it], they don’t give less than one-half Kab, but when they give him a baked loaf, he does not get other than one-quarter of a Kab which is six eggs. This is explained in the [eighth] chapter of Tractate Eruvin, the Chapter “How do you prepare a Shittuf for the Sabbath line?”

Introduction The final three mishnayot of Peah deal with the laws of tzedakah.

פרנסת לינה – a bed, pillows and cushions.

They may not give a poor person wandering from place to place less than a loaf worth a pundion at a time when four seahs [of wheat cost] one sela. The mishnah begins by dealing with a poor person wandering from place to place. Although this poor person is not from the local town, and may be totally unknown to everyone, he is still provided for. He is given a loaf of bread that can be bought for a pundion (a coin) at a time when wheat is going for four seahs per sela. According to Mishnah Eruvin 8:2, this bread is enough for two meals. The poor person is given enough bread to sustain him for a day.

מזון שלש סעודות – for a person is liable to eat three meals on the Sabbath.

If he spends the night [at a place], they must give him the cost of what he needs for the night. If he spends the night, he must be given enough money to rent pillows and blankets for the night.

לא יטול מן התמחוי – because the soup-kitchen is distributed every day and the treasurers/managers go back out to the openings of the home owners on each day and take from them food for the needs of the poor, and the utensil that they place the food is called a תמחוי/ charity plate.

If he stays over Shabbat they must give him enough food for three meals. If he spends Shabbat in town then he should be given three meals, because on Shabbat it is customary to eat three meals and not the normal two.

לא יטול מן הקופה – for the communal fund is distributed from Friday to Friday.

He who has the money for two meals, he may not take anything from the charity dish. The first three sections of the mishnah outlined the rights of a poor person and the consequent responsibilities of the community. In the next two sections the mishnah defines what is a poor person. This objective definition prevents people who actually have money from taking communal funds. A person can take from the charity dish only if he doesn’t even have enough money to buy his next two meals. If he has enough money to buy two meals, then he must use this money to feed himself and not take from the community.

נגבית בשנים – because they may [forcibly] take collateral, and one doesn’t make an authority over a community with less than two [people].

And if he has enough money for fourteen meals, he may not take any support from the communal fund. The charity fund is a large basket used to collect money. It is then given out to the poor of a city once a week, on Friday. This fund would not be used for food for those passing through but rather for the needs of the town’s fixed residents. If a poor person has enough money to buy food for an entire week, that is he has enough money to buy fourteen meals, then he may not take from the charity fund.

ומתחלקת בשלשה – because it is like the monetary matters and monetary matters are with three (see the beginning of Tractate Sanhedrin).

The communal fund is collected by two and distributed by three people. When the charity collectors go around collecting money for this communal fund, there must be at least two people collecting the money, so as to avoid suspicion. When they give out the funds to the poor, there must be three, the same number needed for a court. This body is like a court because they have to decide when the community really “owes” money because someone is actually poor and when someone is just “faking it” by pretending to be poor.

מאתים זוז – the Rabbis have established that [two hundred zuz] is sufficient for one year for clothing and food.

Introduction This mishnah continues to discuss the maximum amount of money a person can have in order to qualify for certain benefits given to the poor.

או לכתובת אשתו – and even if she is dwelling beneath him.

One who possesses two hundred zuz, may not take gleanings” the forgotten sheaf, peah or the poor man’s tithe. In order for a person to be eligible to take the agricultural gifts, he must have less than two hundred zuz to his name. While it is extremely difficult to determine how much purchasing power there was in those times to this amount of money, we can note that this is the same amount as a woman’s ketubah.

ואת כלי תשמישו – nice utensils that he makes use of on Shabbat and Festivals, and these words when he comes to take gleanings, the forgotten sheaf and the corner of the field and he doesn’t take from the charitable communal fund that he can support himself in private, and he doesn’t take from is in the hand of the treasurer/manager, but if he takes from the charitable communal fund then we don’t let him to take even gleanings, the forgotten sheaf or the corner of the field until he sells his tools/dishes.

If he possesses two hundred minus one denar, then even if a thousand [men] each give him at the same time, he may accept. If he has less than two hundred zuz (a denar is equivalent to a zuz), he can accept the agricultural gifts, even if a thousand people give to him at the same time. This would obviously put him “over the top” in terms of net worth. Nevertheless, since when each person gives him their gifts he is officially poor, he can accept from everyone.

If he had [two hundred zuz] mortgaged to a creditor or to his wife’s ketubah, he may take. If he had money, but that money had a lien on it, either to a creditor or to his wife’s ketubah, which is essentially a debt document, then that money does not count and he may take the agricultural gifts.

They do not force him to sell his house or his tools. Finally, only cash counts, not property. If he is poor but owns a house or some tools, for instance, they don’t force him to sell his property in order to buy food. Rather, although he has more than two hundred zuz worth of property, he may still take the agricultural gifts.

מי שיש לו חמשים זוז וכו' – for fifty [zuz] for good service is like two-hundred for one who does not work.

One who has fifty zuz and he is using them for his business, he must not take.
And anyone who does not need to take [charity] and yet takes, will not depart from this world before he actually needs [charity] from others.
And anyone who needs to take and does not take, will not die of old age until he supports others with his own money. Concerning him the verse says: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:7).
And so too a judge who judges in truth according to its truth.
And anyone who is not lame or blind but pretends to be as one of these, he will not die of old age before he actually becomes one of these, as it is said, “He who searches for evil, it shall come upon him” (Proverbs 11:27) and it is also said: “Righteousness, righteousness shall you pursue.”
And any judge who accepts a bribe or who perverts justice will not die in old age before his eyes have become dim, as it is said: “And you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of those who have sight.”
The final mishnah of the tractate is one long exhortation for proper, ethical behavior. It seems to me that the rabbis put out a double message when it came to charity. On the one hand, people must give freely to the poor and support them at a relatively high degree. Jewish law is full of gifts to the poor that are mandatory one must give them not out of the goodness of one’s heart, but because one is obligated to do so.
On the other hand, when addressing the poor person, the rabbis emphasize to him that he must strive to do everything he can to prevent himself from having to take tzedakah. A person who takes tzedakah when he doesn’t need it, will in the end become truly in need of tzedakah. The rabbis encourage poor people to strive to do all they can to avoid taking tzedakah. Taking tzedakah, while allowed, is not preferable to trying to earn a living on one’s own.
The mishnah also contains a few exhortations for judges not to accept bribes and for people not to pretend to be handicapped in order to garner mercy from their fellow human beings.
The content of the mishnah itself is self-explanatory, so I have refrained from commenting below.

וכל מי שצריך ליטול ואינו נוטל וכו' – such as case where he pushes himself in his work and suffices with the work of his hands in order that he doesn’t have to be supported from others, but if the work of his hands is not sufficient for him and he afflicts himself in a life of pain that near death, on this they said, that whomever needs to take and does not take, he is like one who sheds blood and it is forbidden to have mercy upon him, for he does not have consideration for his own soul, how much more so upon the souls of others.