Gleaning Fields and Loving Neighbors

This week's Torah portion (you read a portion of the Torah every Shabbat, and finish and begin again during the holiday Simchat Torah every year) happens to be the one that I read when I became a bat mitzvah. It is the portion that contains the Golden Rule, and a few other rules to keep holy.

This portion is especially attractive to me in light of this class, and this line in particular is really enlightening:

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not fully reap the corner of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.

ט. וּבְקֻצְרְכֶם אֶת קְצִיר אַרְצְכֶם לֹא תְכַלֶּה פְּאַת שָׂדְךָ לִקְצֹר וְלֶקֶט קְצִירְךָ לֹא תְלַקֵּט:

I included the Hebrew just because I think it's really pretty next to the English translation. 

Essentially, this line says that when harvesting the fields, the farmer must leave behind a portion of the harvest, and any leftover bits that fell to the ground while harvesting, for the less fortunate. That is, take what you need, and leave behind what you don't for those who are still in need. I think this is a beautiful concept to keep in the forefront of my mind, as so often I find myself surrounded by things that seem, at first, necessary but are, in reality, luxuries. I find that sometimes I lose perspective while in school, and am so intent on work and my own social agenda. This portion came at the perfect time (as reminders always seem to do) as Finals have a way of making everyone insane/blind to joys or problems other than their own (and I am at fault too!). 

There are a lot of other commandments in this reading. Things like "don't lie" or "don't steal" are next to a commandment for letting your fruit trees grow for three years, waiting another year, then finally it is permissible in the fifth year to harvest the fruit. The juxtaposition of very practical advice with moral obligations suggests that this portion is meant for a community to adopt with eventual development into a cohesive unit with a conscience. I love being a student, especially at Smith, because it allows me the opportunity to gain a wealth of knowledge that may lead to change for the better, and hopefully engage part of a community. The study of the Torah and its commandments is supposed to be because you think it is the right thing to do (the Hebrew word 'lishma' means "for its own sake") and I want to leave the corners and the gleanings; I might just need those occasional reminders.