May 16 • 2019 29
jn
T
zedakah can seem unnatural.
Why would we want to give
up what we have?
When we have a lot, we say, “It’
s
mine; I (or my parents)
worked hard for it and may
need it at some point.”
When we have (or think
we have) little, we say, “It’
s
mine; I need it, so I can’
t
give it away.” The instinct to
protect or even hoard our
resources runs deep; but
Judaism offers practices to
unlearn this mentality.
Parashat Emor teaches
the famous mitzvah: “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 am the Lord
your God” (Leviticus 23:22).
When reading the Hebrew,
you’
ll notice the first verb is in
the plural and the following are
singular. Rabbi Moshe Alshech, a
16th-century commentator from
Tsfat, offers a radical reading of
the verse that dispels the myth
of ownership that underlies this
instinct to hoard, in this case the
harvest. He writes, “Do not think
that you are giving to the poor
from your own possession, or that
I despised the poor person by not
giving him as I gave you. ... The
Torah uses the plural to designate
the common ownership of the field
by the owner, the poor and the
stranger; for in truth, they share
in it.”
Ultimately then, I am simply
giving the poor their share. I may
have a deed to the land. I may have
sown the seeds. I may have plowed
the field. But the harvest does not
belong to me. And so the verses
remind us to curb our proprietary
reaction to acquiring wealth.
Alshech seems to be saying
that it isn’
t just whether I give
that matters; it’
s how I relate
to the act. I don’
t get to feel
righteous; that would be like
patting myself on the back
for not stealing.
There seems to be more
at work in this mitzvah
than wealth redistribution.
The commandment could
have dictated one section
be designated, but rather
the borders of “private
property” are challenged at
every corner. The law could
have directed the owner of
the field to simply deliver a
certain quantity to the town square
or a neutral zone. But the needy
actually enter the landowners’
domain: not receiving, but
reclaiming.
What are the psycho-social
implications of the blurring of
these boundaries? The owner can’
t
hide from the poor. The Torah
can’
t imagine a secure fence, let
alone the level of insulation and
segregation we experience today.
The corners of our field do
not belong to us; they never did.
We cannot glean all the way to
the edges of the field even if the
produce yield is low. Let us struggle
to rise above the natural reaction
to hoard out of pride or fear
and,rather, sanctify our harvests
through giving the poor what is
rightfully theirs. ■
Alana Alpert is the director of Detroit Jews
for Justice (detroitjewsforjustice.org) and
the rabbi of Congregation T’
chiyah in Oak
Park.
The Meaning of Giving
Rabbi
Alana Alpert
Parshat
Emor:
Leviticus
21:1-24:23;
Ezekiel
44:15-31.
spirit
torah portion
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