Law concerning poor and unfortunate

The Law concerning

 Poor and Unfortunate

 

40.   Not to afflict an orphan or a widow (Ex. 22:²¹ “You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt). Widows and fatherless must not be abused. Those who do not have a male in the home to defend them. You shall not afflict them, that is, we shall comfort and assist them, and be ready at all occasions to show them kindness. In making just demands from them, their condition must be considered, who have lost those that should protect and provide for them; they are supposed to be unversed in business, destitute of advice, timorous, and of a tender spirit, and therefore must be treated with kindness and compassion; no advantage must be taken against them, nor any hardship put upon them, from which a husband or a father would have sheltered them. For YAHJVEH takes particular cognizance of their case. Having no one else to complain and appeal to, they will cry unto YAHVEH, and HE will be sure to hear them; for HIS law and HIS providence are guardians to the widows and fatherless, and if men do not pity them, and will not hear them, YAHVEH will. Note, It is a great comfort to those who are injured and oppressed by men that they have a EL to go to who will do more than give them the hearing; and it ought to be a terror to those who are oppressive that they have the cry of the poor against them, which YAHVEH will hear.

 

41.   Not to reap the entire field (Lev. 19:9; Lev. 23:²² ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap.) (negative). Probably it comes in here as a thing which the priests must take occasion to remind the people of, when they brought their first-fruits, intimating to them that to obey even in this small matter was better than sacrifice, and that, unless they were obedient, their offerings should not be accepted. It also taught them that the joy of harvest should express itself in charity to the poor, who must have their due out of what we have, as well as YAHWEH His. Those that are truly sensible of the mercy they receive from God will without grudging show mercy to the poor.

 

42.   To leave the un-reaped corner of the field or orchard for the poor (Lev. 19:⁹ …. nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the YAHWEH our El) (affirmative). Note, Works of piety must be always attended with works of charity, according as our ability is. When they gathered in their corn, they must leave some standing in the corner of the field; the Jewish doctors say, It should be a sixtieth part of the field; and they must also leave the gleanings and the small clusters of their grapes, which at first were overlooked. This law, though not binding now in the letter of it, yet teaches us, that we must not be covetous and griping, and greedy of every thing we can lay any claim to; nor insist upon our right in things small and trivial. That we must be well pleased to see the poor supplied and refreshed with the fruit of our labors. We must not think every thing lost that goes beside ourselves, nor any thing wasted that goes to the poor. That times of joy, such as harvest-time is, are proper times for charity; that, when we rejoice, the poor may rejoice with us, and when our hearts are blessing YAHWEH their Lord may bless us.

 

43.   Not to gather gleanings the fruit that have fallen to the ground while reaping, (Lev. 19: ⁹ nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest) During harvest time if any of the corn fall to the ground it must not be pick up. It is to remain for the poor. Sometime in our action, thing may fall to the ground, those this means that it should be given away.

 

44.   To leave the gleanings for the poor (Lev. 19:⁹ You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger) (affirmative). Elohim provide welfare even for the poor, however they must work for it. The farmer was obliged to leave some of the crop behind, but the poor must go and gather it them selves.

 

45.   Not to gather ol’loth (the imperfect clusters) of the vineyard (Lev. 19:¹⁰ ‘And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the YAHWEH our El.) (The large bunch of grapes one may harvest, however the small bunch, the one with a single Grape, should be left on the vine for the poor).

 

46.   To leave ol’loth (the imperfect clusters) of the vineyard for the poor (Lev. 19: ¹⁰ ‘And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the YAHWEH your EL. Deut. 24:21) (Sometime we need a standard by which to help us to determine when to or what to leave on the grape vine for the poor. Those small cluster of four or five grape, should not be harvest, that is a sign of stinginess.

 

47.   Not to gather the perfect (grapes) that have fallen to the ground (Lev. 19:¹⁰‘And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the YAHWEH our EL. Example when the men are harvesting the wheat those stalk that fall to the ground, even if it is a large stalk, do not pick it up after it has been fallen. A farmer in the redeemed community follows this policy or practice.

 

48.   To leave peret (the single grapes) of the vineyard for the poor (Lev. 19:¹⁰  ……nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard.) (The grape vine that has a single grape on branch must not reap it leave it for the poor. Those of us who have only developed one aspect of the Holy Spirit will not be harvest on that great day).

 

49. Not to return to take a forgotten sheaf (Deut. 24:¹⁹ “When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the YAHWEH our El may bless you in all the work of your hands.) This applies to all fruit trees. Ruth 2:¹⁵ And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. ¹⁶“Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.” The story of the wise and foolish virgin comes to mind. Those who had the door closed, on them will not be part of the wedding feast. It is imperative for us not to be a forgotten or left behind sheaf.

 

50. To leave the forgotten sheaves for the poor (Deut. 24:²⁰ When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow ) (affirmative). During the process of harvesting if you should forget a sheaf of wheat in the field do not return and pick it up, leave it for the poor. (negative). Those who are left behind will be with the stranger (unsaved) and the poor in spirit.

 

51. Not to refrain from maintaining a poor man and giving him what he needs (Deut. 15:⁷ “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the YAHWEH our EL is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother.) Giving to the poor is an obligation in Judaism, a duty that cannot be forsaken even by those who are themselves in need. Some teaches that tzedakah “charity” is the highest of all commandments, equal to all of them combined, and that a person who does not perform tzedakah is equivalent to an idol worshipper. This is probably overstatement, but it illustrates the importance of tzedakah in Jewish thought. Tzedakah is one of the three acts that gain us forgiveness from our sins. The High Holiday liturgy repeatedly states that YAHVEH has inscribed a judgment against all who have sinned, but teshuvah (repentance), Tefilah (prayer) and tzedakah can alleviate the decree. However, not all person who ask for help really needs help, but if a person is truly in need and has no way to obtain money on his own he should not feel embarrassed to accept tzedakah. No person should feel too proud to take money from others. In fact, it is considered a transgression to refuse tzedakah. One source says that to make yourself suffer by refusing to accept tzedakah is equivalent to shedding your own blood.

 

52. To give charity according to one's means (Deut. 15:¹¹ “For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.). According to Jewish law, we are required to give one-tenth of our income to the poor. This is generally interpreted as one-tenth of our net income after payment of taxes. Taxes themselves do not fulfill our obligation to give tzedakah, even though a significant portion of tax revenues in America and many other countries are used to provide for the poor and needy. Those who are dependent on public assistance or living on the edge of subsistence may give less, but must still give to the extent they are able; however, no person should give so much that he would become a public burden.