“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 Adonai am your G-d.” – Lev. 23:22
Imagine yourself walking a long, weary road at high noon . . . the road is long, the sun brutal, you feel parched and faint….
Just when you think you can go no farther, you see farmland—a well of cool, clear water. . . fields of golden wheat. . . a lush vineyard. . . a grove of trees, boughs heavy with fruit. . .
You quench your thirst from the well. There for the taking are the corners of the fields. . . the gleanings, the forgotten sheaf. . . the remnants of the fruits of the vine . . . You sate your hunger.
“If two sit together and there are words of TorahThe Five Books of Moses, and the foundation of all of Jewish life and lore. The Torah is considered the heart and soul of the Jewish people, and study of the Torah is a high mitzvah. The Torah itself a scroll that is hand lettered on parchment, elaborately dressed and decorated, and stored in a decorative ark. It is chanted aloud on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbat, according to a yearly cycle. Sometimes "Torah" is used as a colloquial term for Jewish learning and narrative in general. [spoken] between them, then the ShekhinahThe feminine name of God, expounded upon in the rabbinic era and then by the Kabbalists in extensive literature on the feminine attributes of the divine. abides among them…” – Pirke Avot 3:2
MosesThe quintessential Jewish leader who spoke face to face with God, unlike any other prophet, and who freed the people from Egypt, led them through the desert for forty years, and received the Torah on Mt. Sinai. His Hebrew name is Moshe. brought down the Torah from SinaiAccording to the Torah, God, in the presence of the Jewish people, gave Moses the Torah on Mount Sinai (Har Sinai).. Our forebears, down to our mothers and fathers, have placed it in our hands. It is a vast, verdant field. Our sages and teachers from ancient days until today have cultivated its fruits.
We may be poor wanderers, poor in learning; we may not have mastered this weighty heritage. But it is our birthright. We can always reap the corners of this field, glean the fallen grain, claim the forgotten sheaf. It is our birthright.
May we rest in the warm embrace of the Shekhinah as we study Torah together, here and now, today and always.
