Yerushalmi Peah 4:7 ירושלמי פאה ד׳:ז׳

MISHNAH: ¹³⁸From here to Mishnah 5:6 follow the rules of gleanings.: What are gleanings? That which falls down at harvest time. If in harvesting he cut what his hands grabbed, or he uprooted a handful, when he was stung by a thorn and it fell to the ground, this belongs to the owner¹³⁹Anything falling down in an accident is not “gleanings from your harvest.” This reason is given in an extended version of the text of the Mishnah in Sifra Qedošim 2:5. The somewhat awkward wording היה קוצר קצר is also used there; it cannot be emended away.. From inside the hand and/or¹⁴⁰Whether to translate “and” or “or” is discussed in the Halakhah. inside the sickle it belongs to the poor¹⁴¹Since this falls down in the course of a professional harvest. From the back of hand or sickle it is accidental. From the tip it is a matter of opinion.. From the back of his hand or the back of the sickle, it belongs to the owner. From fingertips and the tip of the sickle, Rebbi Ismael says, to the poor, Rebby Aqiba says, to the owner.
Antholes inside the standing produce belong to the owner¹⁴⁵I. e., the kernels taken by the ants and stored in their holes.. In those appearing after the harvesters left, the tops are for the poor¹⁴⁶The kernels which can be seen from the outside should have been picked up at harvest time; those for which the hole has to be dug out are out of the reach of the poor and, hence, belong to the owner. and the bottoms for the owner. Rebbi Meïr says, everything is for the poor because gleanings in doubt¹⁴⁷Since the lower lying grains become visible when the upper layer is taken, the boundary between upper and lower grains is not fixable and, hence, cannot legally exist. are gleanings.

HALAKHAH: It was stated: The gleanings of your harvest, not what anybody harvests with his bare hands¹⁴²See Chapter 3, Halakhah 3: The gathering of your harvest, not the gathering of your plucking.. And equally, the dropped berries of your vineyard, and not what drops from hand-picking¹⁴³If single berries are plucked rather than whole bunches cut off with a knife..

Rav Cahana and Rav Taḥlifa¹⁴⁴This probably should be Rebbi Taḥlifa, a colleague of Rav Cahana (II) in the yeshivah of Rebbi Joḥanan.. One said, both from inside the hand and inside the sickle; the other one said, from inside the hand, even if it is from behind the sickle.

Rebbi Jehudah in the name of Rebbi Samuel¹⁴⁸It probably should read: Rav Jehudah in the name of Samuel. It is very unlikely that the reference should be to the fourth generation Rebbi Jehudah (Yudan) and the third generation Rebbi Samuel, student of Rebbi Abbahu.: The tops are for the poor, viz., white ones¹⁴⁹Completely dry kernels belong to the poor if they were not picked up before the surrounding grain was harvested. Green kernels were taken by the ants before the harvest and, therefore, are not possibly gleanings that fell down during harvest time. Hence, “top” and “bottom” do not have to be taken literally.. The bottom ones are for the owner, viz., green ones. Rebbi Meïr says, everything is for the poor because gleanings in doubt are gleanings, since no threshing will end without some green ones¹⁵⁰Accordingly, all green kernels lying on the ground also belong to the poor. Rebbi Meïr considers an event as legally possible even if the probability of the event is much smaller than 50%; the statement “that it is impossible” is not to be taken too literally..

Rebbi Joḥanan said: It is by Rebbi Jehudah ben Ḥagra¹⁵²In the parallel in Babli Ḥulin134a, he appears as R. Jehudah bar Agra (from Kefar Acco), a Tanna of the fourth generation. There in Ḥulin, R. Jehudah ben Agra explicitly formulates that peah, gleanings, and forgotten sheaves in case of doubt belong to the poor, confirming the interpretation of R. Joḥanan., as it was stated: “A Gentile who converted but had cut grain before he converted is free¹⁵³From the obligation of gleanings, even if he converted before the grain was bound into sheaves. The poor may collect gleanings only after the cut grain is bound into sheaves.; after he converted, he is obligated. If it is in doubt, he is free. Rebbi Jehudah ben Ḥagra obligates him¹⁵⁴If he is Jewish at the moment the field is ready to be searched by the poor, he cannot collect gleanings after his conversion..” Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, it¹⁵⁵Even Rebbi Meïr will agree with the Sages against R. Jehudah ben Ḥagra since our question is not one of doubt but of principle. agrees with everybody: A Jew, who is obligated in principle, is also obligated in doubtful cases; a Gentile, who is not obligated in principle, is not obligated in doubt. Rebbi Joḥanan said: So did Rebbi Meïr argue with Rebbi Jehudah ben Ḥagra, do you not agree with me that gleanings in doubt are gleanings¹⁵⁶And you obligate the convert because of a legal doubt, viz., whether the obligation of leaving the gleanings is incurred at the moment of cutting, in which case there would be no obligation, or at the moment the field is abandoned to the poor, in which case the convert is obligated.? Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish: So did Rebbi Meïr argue with the Sages, do you not agree with me that gleanings in doubt are gleanings¹⁵⁷But the case of R. Jehudah ben Ḥagra is not comparable to that of the Mishnah.?

From where that gleanings in doubt are gleanings? Rebbi Samuel ben Naḥman in the name of Rebbi Jonathan: “Poor and rich, justify him¹⁵⁸There is no such verse in Scripture. The consensus of the commentators is that it should read: (Ps. 82:3) “Do justice for the poor and needy.” One does justice in also giving him the gifts that are in doubt.” in his gifts. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish in the name of Bar Qappara: (Ex. 23:6) “Do not bend the lawsuit of your destitute.” In his lawsuit, you may not bend¹⁵⁹The judge may not say: His opponent has deep pockets; let me rule for the poor; then he will need no public assistance., but you may bend for him in his gifts¹⁶⁰To rule for him also in doubtful cases.. Rebbi Joḥanan said, he¹⁶¹The poor acquires as his right, not as a possibility as in the previous argument. acquires in this case, as Rebbi instructed us (Lev. 19:10, 23:22): “abandon,” put something before him of your own¹⁶²The term “abandon” first refers to the gifts that belong to the poor as of right; the second mention in the same verse refers to the doubtful cases when one has to renounce his rights; a similar argument is found in Sifra Qedošim 2:7. The same applies for the triple expression quoted by R. La. It is clear from here that Practice has to follow R. Meïr; this is also the decision of Maimonides (Mattenot Aniïm 4:9).. Rebbi La said, it is written (Deut. 24:19–21): “It shall be the sojourner’s, the orphan’s, and the widow’s;” give him both from yours and from his!