Kommentar zu Dewarim 24:21

לא תעולל [WHEN THOU GATHEREST THE GRAPES OF THY VINEYARD] THOU SHALT NOT GLEAN IT — i.e., if you find tender grapes in it, thou shalt not take them away. And what are עוללות? Clusters which have neither כתף, “arms” nor נטף “drippings” If, however, they have one of these, then it belongs to the owner of the vineyard (not to the poor) (Mishnah Peah 7:4). (Cf. Rashi on Leviticus 19:10 and our translation and Note thereon). — I have seen the following in the Talmud Yerushalmi Peah 7:4: What is כתף? Where the branches lie one upon the other: whilst נטף are those which hang down directly from the central stem.

What is the shoulder? Clusters atop one another, etc. The middle stalk of the bunch is called a shidra (spine) because it is similar to a person’s spine that joins together the ribs; similarly, joined to it are the smaller bunches that are called pesigin. Pesigin means a piece, as the Targum Yerushalmi of, “He shall sever it into its pieces (לנתחיו) (Vayikra 1:12),” is מפסיק יתיה לפסיגין. When the pesigin lie one upon the other, they are like a load lying on a person’s shoulders and therefore it is called “shoulder.” “Droplets” are when many grapes are joined at the end of the spine and drip (i.e., hang) downwards. All these do not go to the poor. But when there is no shoulder or droplets but only scattered grapes, these go to the poor (I found this interpretation). Re”m explains: Anything lacking the shoulder and the droplets. These [that the poor may take] are the grapes that hang from the end of the branches that are [similar to the fruit] called sevi’a in the Greek language. They neither have a “shoulder,” which are the pesigin that [lie] one on the other, etc., nor do they have “droplets,” which are the grapes that hang on the spine of a bunch [i.e., there is only one bunch of grapes on the spine and not many “shoulders”]. The shoulder is called pesiga because it [i.e. each one] separates between the other kateif. This expression is similar to מפסיג ועולה (Bava Kama 81a), which means “He he cuts [a breach in the vines] and goes up.” So far are the words of Re”m. See above in parshas Kedoshim (Vayikra 19:10) where more is explained.

כי תבצור כרמך, “when you gather the grapes of your vineyard, etc.;” why did this verse have to be written, seeing that we have a similar verse already in Leviticus 19,10? If you were to say that the word אחריך, “after you,” is new here, i.e. that the prohibition applies only to grapes the farmer has left behind him, this is not so, as we have learned in the Mishnah in Peah 7,4 that these types of grapes known as ollelot, prematurely fallen grapes, may not be picked up by the farmer even if they are in front of him?

עוללות, Rashi explains that grapes known as ollelot have no shoulder and are not shaped like drops. [The Talmud goes into greater detail, explaining which kind of grapes the farmer must not keep for himself. Ed.]