As we have learned, grapes are the only tree fruit to which a mitzva parallel to leket applies. This mitzva is called peret. In addition, grapes have another distinctive mitzva: leaving the olelot for the poor, as it says: “You shall not strip your vineyard bare, nor shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard” (Vayikra 19:10). Thus, the Torah gives the poor a larger share of the grape harvest. From the vineyard owner’s perspective, it is fitting that he share with the poor the produce that brings him special joy. From the perspective of the poor, they too should be able to rejoice in the wine they prepare from the grapes of peret and olelot.
Peret comes from a word meaning “separated.” It refers to individual grapes that become detached from the cluster during the grape harvest. If, while picking a cluster, one or two grapes fall, they must be left for the poor. If three or more grapes fall, they belong to the vineyard owner. Similarly, if the cluster falls to the ground and one or two grapes become detached from it, they must be left for the poor; if three or more become detached, the vineyard owner may take them. If one or two grapes fall at a time, then even if many grapes fall there altogether, they all belong to the poor. If, however, the cluster became entangled in leaves and therefore fell to the ground, or if a thorn caused the picker to drop it, then even if one or two grapes became detached from the cluster, they do not have the status of peret, since they did not become separated in the ordinary course of the grape harvest (MT, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 4:15–16).
Olelot are small, underdeveloped grape clusters. Compared to ordinary clusters, they are like infants beside adults. A regular grape cluster is made up of pesigim – smaller branching stems on which the grapes grow. When grapes grow densely along the cluster, the upper pesig rests on the grapes beneath it, forming what looks like the cluster’s “shoulder,” while the end of the lower pesig hangs downward like a “drop.”
The olelot that must be left for the poor are clusters lacking both a shoulder and a drop. If a cluster has either of these features, it is not an olelet. If there is doubt, one must leave it for the poor, because uncertain gifts to the poor belong to the poor. If an entire vineyard consists of olelot, the entire vineyard belongs to the poor (Mishna, Pe’a 7:4; MT, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 4:17–21).[6]
[6]. The Yerushalmi gives another criterion for defining olelot (Pe’a 7:3): the grapes must be so sparse that, if the cluster were placed on a tray, each grape would touch the tray. This is the ruling of Rambam and Raavad (MT, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 4:18), as explained by Kesef Mishneh and Mahari Kurkus. R. Shimshon and Rosh, however, understand the Yerushalmi differently. In their view, it does not add a further criterion to the definition of olelot. Rather, it addresses a separate case: if an isolated grape is separated from the cluster by the distance of a tabla – a measure whose precise size is unknown – that grape has the status of olelot. If the distance is less than that, it does not.
The Mishna states the general rule: “Doubtful leket is leket” (Mishna, Pe’a 4:11). Similarly, regarding olelot, it states: “If there is doubt, it belongs to the poor” (Mishna, Pe’a 7:4). The basis for this rule is the verse, “Vindicate the poor and destitute” (Tehilim 82:3), which the Sages interpret to mean: “Vindicate him from what is yours and give it to him” (Ḥullin 134a). This means that once the obligation of gifts to the poor certainly applies to a field, or once the crop in question is certainly of a type to which these gifts apply, any doubt about particular stalks or clusters is resolved in favor of the poor.
If, however, the doubt concerns whether there is any obligation at all – for example, whether the species keeps in storage, or whether it is gathered all at once, as discussed above in section 1 – one is exempt. In such cases, the ordinary rule of monetary claims applies: the burden of proof rests on the claimant (Mahariṭ 1:39:6; Ḥatam Sofer, Nedarim 7a; Ḥazon Ish, Ma’asrot 7:10).
