Misvot #592-593: “Shicheha” – Leaving Forgotten Sheaves for the Poor

The Torah commands in Parashat Ki-Teseh (Debarim 24:19) that if one forgets sheaves of grain during the harvest, they must be left for the poor. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that the Torah required leaving these sheaves for the poor because when the underprivileged see the landowners harvesting their produce, they say to themselves, “These folks have such an abundance of a grain! If only we could have just several sheaves!” Out of compassion for the impoverished, G-d granted their request by giving them rights to the sheaves of grain that are forgotten during the harvest. Additionally, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, leaving these sheaves for the poor will help the owner engender within himself the qualities of compassion and sensitivity, as a result of which he will be worthy of Hashem’s blessings. This requirement applies only to small sheaves of grain, specifically, sheaves amounting to one Se’a or less. If larger sheaves are forgotten, one may go back to retrieve them. Furthermore, the sheaves must be left for the poor only if they are forgotten by everybody. If the owner forgot about them but the workers did not, or vice-versa, then they may be retrieved. Even if some stranger saw that these sheaves were forgotten and informed the workers or owner, the sheaves may be retrieved. This Misva applies only in areas where the Teruma obligation applies – meaning, in Eretz Yisrael, and in regions near Eretz Yisrael. It is binding upon both men and women alike. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that one who violates this command by retrieving forgotten sheaves shows that he has a bad character, as he withholds that which ought to be given to the needy. In this same verse, the Torah adds a prohibition against going back to retrieve forgotten sheaves (“Lo Tashub Le’lekahto”). Thus, one is bound by both an affirmative command to leave the sheaves for the poor, and a prohibition forbidding him from taking it. One who transgresses this prohibition by retrieving forgotten sheaves is not liable to Malkut, because he can rectify his violation by bringing it back and leaving it for the poor, and one is not liable to Malkut for a violation which can be rectified (“Lav Ha’nitak”). According to some opinions, however, one would be liable to Malkut if, after unlawfully retrieving forgotten sheaves, the sheaves are lost and destroyed. Since he can no longer rectify his transgression by returning them, he is liable to Malkut.