The
214th prohibition is that we are forbidden from taking the sheaves which were
forgotten (shik'cho) during the
harvest process.
The
source of this commandment is G‑d's statement, "[When you reap your harvest] and forget a
sheaf in the field, you may not go back for it."
This
law applies to all produce, whether it grows on the ground or on a tree.
This
mitzvah is also in the category of lav shenitak l'aseh (a prohibition with
a remedial positive commandment). Therefore, if one transgressed and took it,
one is required to return it to the poor. [This positive requirement] is
derived from the verse, "It must be left for the stranger, the orphan,
and the widow."
The
details of this mitzvah are explained
in tractate Pe'ah.
[The Rambam
now gives a detailed explanation of the law of a lav shenitak l'aseh, which applies to all 5 agricultural mitzvos mentioned above.]
You
should be aware of our basic principle that whenever a prohibition has a
corresponding positive commandment, one does not receive lashes [for the
prohibition] as long as he fulfills the positive commandment. If he does not,
however, he does receive lashes.
If,
for example, he harvested an entire field without leaving pe'ah, he still does not receive lashes after the
harvesting, and is required to give from the grain which was already cut. So
too, if the wheat was already threshed, ground into flour, and kneaded into a
dough, he must give an amount of dough which corresponds to the portion of the
field he should have left.
If
the wheat was completely lost or burned, however, he does receive lashes, since
he did not fulfill the corresponding positive commandment. How much more so [he
would receive lashes] if he destroyed them himself — through eating them, for
example.
[The Rambam
now quotes the Talmudic passage which discusses the law of a lav shenitak l'aseh. When the Gemara lists the mitzvos in this category, only pe'ah
is mentioned, not the other four agricultural mitzvos. The Rambam
therefore proves that when it says pe'ah,
the other mitzvos are also included.]
Do
not make the mistake of misinterpreting the statement in Makkos [which discusses the subject of lav shenitak l'aseh], "There is this one
mitzvah [sending away the mother bird]
and another," where the Gemara
concludes that "another" refers to pe'ah.
You might think that this means only pe'ah
[is considered a lav shenitak l'aseh,
not the other four mitzvos], but this
assumption would be incorrect. "Another" really means pe'ah and any mitzvah
which has the same law as pe'ah,
since the prohibitions of peret, leket,
shik'cho, and olelos all can be
violated through action [not only passively], and like pe'ah can fit both opinions — kiymo
v'lo kiymo and bitlo
v'lo bitlo.
[We
know that these other laws are included in the category of pe'ah] since the verse which teaches us the positive commandment of
pe'ah, "Leave them over for the poor and the
stranger," follows the mention of pe'ah,
leket, peret, and olelos. The
complete statement reads, "Do not completely harvest the corners of your field (pe'ah); do not pick up the stalks which
fall during harvest (leket); do not
pick the olelos in your vineyard; do
not pick up peret (individual fallen grapes) in your vineyard. Leave them
over for the poor and the stranger." Similarly, regarding shik'cho, the verse says, "[When you reap your harvest and forget a
sheaf in the field,] you may not go back for it. It must be left for the
stranger, the orphan, and the widow."
Therefore,
since the Gemara says that pe'ah is a lav shenitak l'aseh, and derives its positive command from the
verse, "Leave them over for the poor and the stranger," we learn that all these
five prohibitions are also in the category of lav shenitak l'aseh [although the Gemara mentions only pe'ah]. As long as it is
still possible for him to fulfill it, although he has not yet done so, he still
does not get lashes — we just command him to fulfill it. The only time he
receives lashes is when we know he has transgressed the prohibition and there
he has no possibility of fulfilling the positive commandment.
You
should understand this principle and keep it in mind.
