Emor 5786 – Force Me

This week’s Parsha, in the middle of the Chagim, reminds us of the mitzvos of Peah and Leket—leaving the corner of the field and any dropped grain for the poor.

Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, in Oznayim LaTorah (19:9), draws a sharp distinction between two types of “taxes” mandated in the Torah: the gifts given to the Kohanim and the portions left for the poor.

The first type of payment is what we might call a service tax. The Kohanim were the public servants of their time, working in the Beis HaMikdash and teaching Torah. Because they were legally barred from owning land, the Terumos and other gifts given to them by farmers were not considered charity. Rav Sorotzkin explains that this functioned as a form of professional salary. As a quasi-business arrangement, the farmer even had the right to choose which Kohen to give to, and he was required to give the best of his crops—creating a sense of accountability and professional respect.

However, when the Torah discusses providing for the poor, the rules change entirely. Regarding the corners of the harvest or fallen produce, the Torah does not say “give” to the poor; it says “leave” it for them. Rav Sorotzkin explains how the Torah walks a delicate line between obligating the wealthy landowner to give, while at the same time avoiding embarrassing the poor.

By commanding the landowner simply to “leave” a portion of the field and walk away, the Torah changes the status of the recipient. The poor person does not have to knock on a door or hold out a hand. Instead, they enter the field with a legal right, collecting what has been left for them as if they were partners in the land. This teaches the landowner that they do not truly own every inch of their profit, and it teaches the recipient that they are citizens with rights, not beggars at the mercy of others. In reality, Hashem could have provided the poor person with more than enough without tzedakah; however, He created inequality so that those with wealth could choose to use it to become generous and charitable.

The modern tax system is designed to redistribute wealth, with the richest paying the most and those on lower incomes being net beneficiaries. When this is done through legal force, is it just—and does it encourage generosity in a way that builds us as people?

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