And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I the LORD am your GOD. Vayikra / Leviticus 23:22
Through the centuries many commentators to the Torah have sought to explain why this verse appears in the middle of the sacred calendar of observances, interrupting the flow of the holidays presented in this week’s portion. Like many of his predecessors, our teacher, the Chatam Sofer (1) points to the placement of this verse, immediately following the Torah’s detailing of the festival of Shavuot and marking the celebration of new crops. Many also note that the festival of Shavuot differs from the other pilgrimage festivals by being only a single day observance whereas Pesach and Sukkot each last seven days incorporating a period of Chol Hamoed. These lengthier holidays enabled those who could bring their festival offering on the first day of the celebration to do so over the course of the following six days. Being impossible for Shavuot, it was suggested that the mitzvot of the corners of the field and gleanings (2) were opportunities to compensate for a missed holiday offering.
The Chatam Sofer cites the early rabbinic work Sifra (3) which states that, “one who gives gifts to the poor it is as if he had brought sacrifices in fulfillment of the festival’s requirements.” Rabbi Sofer takes this idea even farther suggesting that any day on which we provide for the needy and indigent is elevated in status. The obligation to share in the divine bounty imposes itself not at the completion of the harvest once it is known how bountiful our crops have been but from the moment we begin to gather the crops. Only by sharing of God’s blessing from the outset do we fully elevate and enable the festival celebration.
Across the greater Virginia Peninsula, it is estimated that one in nine individuals is affected by food insecurity or 61,000 people who are chronically experiencing the lack of healthy food on a given day. This is particularly devastating for the close to one in five or almost 24,000 children, whose ability to learn achieve their goals is negatively impacted by hunger. (4) Food insecurity is most frequently experienced by single-income, single-parent households, seniors, veterans, and those without adequate transportation.
Throughout our region local agencies provide meals, food deliveries, and make food available to those in need. As we count the Days of the Omer towards our observance of the festival of Shavuot, we can apply the Chatam Sofer’s teaching and elevate each day leading up to the holiday by providing for those in our community who are struggling. Below are three possible giving opportunities.
B’vracha –
Rabbi David M. Eligberg
https://www.ujcvp.org/jfs Jewish Family Services
https://hrfoodbank.org The Virginia Peninsula Food Bank
http://www.mazon.org MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
1 Rabbi Moses Schreiber (1762–1839), better known by the Hebrew translation Moshe Sofer and most commonly referred to by his main work Chatam Sofer, (Seal of the Scribe).
The Chatam Sofer was one of the leading Orthodox rabbis of European Jewry especially during his time as Rav of the community in Pressburg (now Bratislava in Slovakia). He maintained a strong, conservative, Orthodox perspective in his approach to Jewish communal life, insisting on a superior traditional education. Throughout his rabbinic career Rabbi Sofer was an ardent and uncompromising opponent of Reform Judaism and radical change.
2 The corners of the field, gleanings, and not reclaiming forgotten bundles of grain, were requirements of giving to the poor to which all farm owners were obligated.
3 Sifra is the collection of Halakhic midrashim to the book of Vayikra/Leviticus dating to the early third century CE. Like the Book of Vayikra/Leviticus itself, the midrash is often called “Torat Kohanim”.
4 Information from The Virginia Peninsula Food Bank.
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