Komentaryo sa Levitico 23:22: Rashi, Kli Yakar, Ramban & Sforno

ובקצרכם AND WHEN YE REAP [THE HARVEST OF YOUR LAND, THOU SHALT NOT MAKE CLEAR RIDDANCE OF THE CORNER OF THE FIELD] — Scripture repeats the prohibition here (although it has already been mentioned above, 19:9) in order to make one who transgresses this law infringe two negative commands. R. Abdima the son of R. Joseph said: What reason had Scripture to place it (the law concerning the corner of the field) amidst those regarding the festival-sacrifices — those of Passover and Pentecost on this side of it, and those of the New Year, Day of Atonement and “the Feast” (Tabernacles) following on that side of it? To teach you that he who leaves the gleanings, the forgotten sheaf and the corner of the field to the poor as it ought to be, is regarded as though he had built the Temple and offered his sacrifices therein (cf. Sifra, Emor, Chapter 13 11).

“And when you reap the harvest of your land, etc.” The connection of this verse to the section about the omer offering seems to be according to the Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 17:5) which states that the Holy One, blessed be He, surrounded Israel with commandments in all their activities: when one goes out to plow, You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together; when one goes out to sow, You shall not sow your field with mixed seeds; when one goes out to harvest, You shall not wholly reap the corner of your field, etc. One might have thought that a field from which the omer offering has been harvested, and in which one commandment has already been fulfilled, is no longer obligated in another commandment. Therefore, the Torah teaches us, You shall not wholly reap the corner of your field, telling you that in any case, this commandment does not exempt you from [the obligations of] gleanings, forgotten sheaves, and corners. This also explains why the verse does not mention Do not gather the individual grapes of your vineyard because the omer harvest is not relevant to a vineyard, so there is no reason to exempt it. Strong evidence for our explanation is found in the Yalkut (Emor 23:10) citing the Torat Kohanim: Even after it has grown a third, one begins to harvest and is exempt from [the obligations of] gleanings, forgotten sheaves, and corners, etc. One might have thought that the entire field is exempt; therefore the Torah teaches us [that this is not the case].

AND WHEN YE REAP THE HARVEST OF YOUR LAND, THOU SHALT NOT WHOLLY REAP THE CORNER OF THY FIELD, NEITHER SHALT THOU GATHER THY GLEANING OF THY HARVEST: THOU SHALT LEAVE THEM FOR THE POOR. Rashi comments: “He repeats once more these prohibitions [although they have been mentioned above, 19:9] in order to make one liable for transgressing two negative commandments [in each case].” And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the reason [for the repetition] is because the Festival of Weeks is the day on which the first-fruits of wheat harvest³¹⁶Exodus 34:22. [are brought as a meal-offering, in the form of the two leavened loaves], therefore He warned that “you should not forget what I have commanded you to do in those days.” The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the expression, And when ye reap the harvest of your Land alludes to “the harvest” mentioned at the beginning of this section,³¹⁷Above, Verse 10. thus stating that when you will come into the Land and you reap the sheaf, the first-fruits of your harvest,³¹⁷Above, Verse 10. thou shalt not wholly r,eap the corner of that field for the sake of the sheaf, neither shall you gather the gleaning, meaning to say that this commandment [of bringing the omer²⁴³Literally: “a measure.” This refers to the meal-offering of the new barley brought on the second day of Passover, which is the sixteenth day of Nisan. From that day on we count the forty-nine “days of the omer,” and on the fiftieth day is the Festival of Weeks. Thus it is clear that the time of this festival is dependent upon the omer.] does not override these negative commandments.