Comentario sobre Levítico 19:9

לא תכלה פאת שדך THOU SHALT NOT WHOLLY REAP THE CORNER OF THY FIELD — This means that one must leave פאה (an uncut portion) at the extremity of one's field (cf. Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 1 9; Mishna Peah 1:2; Shabbat 23a).

ובקצרכם...לעני ולגר תעזוב אותם, The Torah now turns to how we can emulate G’d’s attributes in [practice after having accepted that it is our purpose on earth to emulate G’d’s characteristics to the extent that He has revealed them to us. We are to perform acts of charity and righteousness. Part of such acts of charity are the providing for the underprivileged out of the bounty G’d has seen fit to grant us. The specific items known as leket, shikchah, and peyah are examples of such demonstrations of our generosity towards the poor. אני ה' אלוקיכם, this recognition of G’d as our G’d is demonstrated by our meticulously fulfilling these commandments relating to the time when we gather in our harvest. Before we even give tithes of the completed harvest which has been brought into the barn we already allow for the poor to help themselves to what other, gentile farmers, might consider the product of their own hard earned labour.

ובקצרכם את קציר ארצכם, "And when you reap the harvest of your land, etc." The Torah commenced this verse by speaking in the plural, whereas it concluded by addressing an individual i.e. לא תכלה פאת שדך, "you (sing.) must not reap the corner of your field." The Torah may have wanted to dispel the faulty notion that when the amount of gleanings, etc. does not amount to anywhere near enough to provide something meaningful for the poor that the law does not apply. We find an example of such thinking in Kings II 4,43 where Gechazi, Elisha's servant, questioned the use of sharing out twenty loaves amongst over one hundred of Elisha's followers. The Torah therefore addresses each farmer individually to tell him that even though his individual contribution is minimal he must abide by this legislation. The Torah uses the singular for each one of the types of gifts for the poor listed in our verse.

ובקצרכם, “When you reap the harvest, etc.” The reason the word ובקצרכם is in the plural is because the portion commenced with Israel being addressed in the plural, i.e. as the community. Moreover, it was the custom in those days that many people began the harvesting process simultaneously.
By contrast the words לא תכלה, “do not completely harvest the corner, etc.” are in the singular seeing the warning is addressed to the individual owner of the field in question. We find that the Torah uses the singular in other parallel legislation where the onus is on the individual owner (compare verse 10). Our sages in Chulin 135 comment that seeing the Torah spoke about שדך, “the field belonging to you the individual,” I might have thought that fields owned jointly by two or more partners could escape the application of this legislation. To ensure that we do not draw such conclusions the Torah employs the plural in our verse here, speaking about a number of people harvesting.

A corner at the end of his field. Rashi means, when he ends reaping his field, not when he starts.

ובקוצרכם, ”and when you reap the harvest;” just as you tender the appropriate parts of the animal peace offerings to the Lord on the altar, so you must set aside the appropriate parts of your agricultural products for the needy of your people as an expression of your honour of the Lord. (Sifra)

ולקט קצירך [NEITHER SHALT THOU COLLECT] THE GLEANINGS OF THY HARVEST — Gleanings are ears that drop from the hand of the harvester during the reaping — one or two at a time, but three do not come under the category of לקט (Mishna Peah 6:5; Sanhedrin 99a).

[Which fall down] during harvesting. Explanation: But not during the picking off of grains [by hand]; if these fall from his hand they are not considered “gleanings” because harvesting is generally done with a scythe as this is the usual way.

The Torah may have felt forced to write this positive commandment immediately following mention of the severe כרת penalty for the priest who violates the perimeters of eating sacrificial meat. It wanted to disabuse a person who has become guilty of such a penalty from saying to himself that there is no point in observing any of G'd's commandments because he had already forfeited his share of the hereafter by violating a different commandment. The Torah says: "when you reap the harvest of your fields;" this is a reference to the people (i.e. the nation at large) who had "harvested" i.e. cut themselves off by commission of a sin which made them subject to extinction. G'd directs: "do not destroy the corner of your field to harvest it;" this is a warning to the people or individuals not to become guilty of additional misdemeanours. He advises us that not the whole soul will be destroyed. The only part of the personality (soul) which will be destroyed is the branch to which this particular commandment had been addressed in the first place. Other parts of that soul continue to maintain their affinity with their holy origin. Every Jewish soul has roots in the celestial regions, one root corresponding to each of the commandments in the Torah. The Torah continues: ולקט קצירך לא תלקט, "do not gather the gleanings of your harvest." This is a reminder not even to repeat the specific sin for which one has already once become guilty of the כרת penalty. The rationale for this can best be understood in light of a comment by the Ari Zal. He said that it is in the nature of sanctity to leave behind some mark even if its bulk has been erased. If this is so, it follows that although the sinner has "harvested," i.e. put an end to his spiritual career by his sin, there is still a residue of the former sanctity he has forfeited by his deed. The Torah commanded such a sinner to be careful not to commit an act which would wipe out even that residue by repeating his sin, i.e. לקט. It is G'd's hope and desire that this לקט, residue of former sanctity, should prompt the sinner to become a penitent so that G'd will have cause to extend His mercy to him. After all, we are told in Yuma 86 that although a person may be guilty of a variety of sins which are punishable either by execution in this life or כרת at the hands of G'd, his repentance will atone for such sins. We are all aware of the call of Hoseah to the sinner (Hoseah 14,2) to become a penitent and to express his guilt first of all with his lips. Our sages explain in this connection that "repentance is great indeed as it penetrates up until the throne of G'd's glory." The meaning of these words is that although the חוט, the lifeline which connects every Jewish soul directly to that throne, had already been severed so that only the thinnest of threads remains within the sinner, repentance enables the sinner to re-establish contact with the throne of G'd.

ובקוצרכם, “this law is applicable only to Israelites, i.e. those who have been Jewish when they reaped the harvest, not if they converted after they have harvested the crop. (Sifra)

Three are not [considered] “gleanings.” Because in parshas Emor (later 23:22) it is also written, “You shall not gather the gleaning of your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and the proselyte,” and the smallest of many (them) is two. I also found that it says (Shemos 12:22), “Take a bunch (אגודת) of hyssop,” and Rashi explains, “Three stalks are called an אגודה.” Therefore, Rashi explains here that three are not “gleanings” but an אגודה.

את קציר ארצכם, “the harvest of the field of your land.” This teaches that the legislation following also applies to kitniyot, to corn, lentils, rice, beans peas, etc.; not only to the crops that could become chametz on Passover.

לא תכלה פאת שדך, “do not completely reap the corner of your field;” Rabbi Shimon holds that as long as the farmer set aside some grain during the various stages of reaping he had fulfilled his obligation, as long as the total is not less than 1/60th of the field’s total yield.

לקצור, “to reap,” this 60th is to include all manner of plucking, cutting by hand, or with the tools designated for harvesting. (Sifra)