{"id":12021,"date":"2026-07-06T00:04:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T21:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12021"},"modified":"2026-08-03T15:25:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T12:25:38","slug":"17-06-04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-06-04\/","title":{"rendered":"04. Shik\u1e25a"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"direction: ltr\">If one forgets grain or fruit in the field, it is a mitzva to leave it for the poor, as the Torah states: \u201cWhen you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to take it; it shall be for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands\u201d (Devarim 24:19). The same law applies to fruit left on trees, as the Torah continues: \u201cWhen you beat your olive tree, you shall not remove its glory after you; it shall be for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow\u201d (Devarim 24:20).<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">The mitzva of <em>shik\u1e25a<\/em> applies at two stages. First, if one forgets grain or fruit during the harvest or picking, he may not return to harvest or pick it. Second, if he forgets sheaves of grain or bundles of fruit while bringing them to the place where the field\u2019s or orchard\u2019s yield is gathered, he must leave them for the poor (MT, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 1:6).<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">If the forgotten grain or fruit comprised the large measure of two <em>se\u2019a<\/em> \u2013 approximately 14.4 liters \u2013 it is not considered <em>shik\u1e25a<\/em> and belongs to the landowner. The Torah speaks of \u201ca sheaf in the field.\u201d A sheaf is a small or medium bundle of grain, not a large quantity that has the status of a stack. This limit applies only when the forgotten produce was all in one place. If, however, sheaves or fruit were forgotten in several places throughout the field or orchard, each location is considered separately. Therefore, as long as each place contained less than two <em>se\u2019a<\/em>, all of it must be left for the poor, even if the combined total is one hundred <em>se\u2019a<\/em> or more (MT, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 5:18).<sup><a id=\"_te01ftnref6_5\" class=\"aup1\" href=\"#_te01ftn6_5\">[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">If the forgotten sheaves or bundles were adjacent to one another, two adjacent sheaves or bundles still have the status of <em>shik\u1e25a<\/em>. Three adjacent sheaves or bundles, however, are not <em>shik\u1e25a<\/em>, even if the three together amount to less than two <em>se\u2019a<\/em>. Similarly, if one forgot to pick two consecutive trees, they are <em>shik\u1e25a<\/em>; if he forgot three or more consecutive trees, they are not <em>shik\u1e25a<\/em> (MT, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 5:14\u201316). If one forgot a tree with a distinctive identity \u2013 for example, one that produced especially delicious fruit or stood in a distinctive location \u2013 it is not <em>shik\u1e25a<\/em>, because the orchard owner remembers it even without seeing it (MT, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 5:23\u201324).<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">The mitzva of <em>shik\u1e25a<\/em> is unique in that it comes to a person from Heaven, without his intending it. The Sages tell of a pious man who once forgot a sheaf in his field and was filled with joy. He told his son: \u201cGo and offer on my behalf a bull as a burnt offering and a bull as a peace offering,\u201d in gratitude for the mitzva that God had arranged for him (<em>Tosefta<\/em>, <em>Pe\u2019a<\/em> 3:8). For most mitzvot, a person acts with awareness and intention. This mitzva is different: he fulfills it without awareness, because God brings it into his hands in order to bless him. As the verse states: \u201cWhen you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to take it; it shall be for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands\u201d (Devarim 24:19).<\/p>\n<div>\n<hr style=\"direction: ltr\" size=\"1\" \/>\n<div style=\"direction: ltr\"><a id=\"_te01ftn6_5\" href=\"#_te01ftnref6_5\">[5]<\/a>. According to Rambam (MT, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 5:22), if one forgot one or two trees, they have the status of <em>shik\u1e25a<\/em> even if each tree contained more than two <em>se\u2019a<\/em>. In his view, the two-<em>se\u2019a<\/em> threshold applies only to forgotten sheaves, not to trees. <em>Sha\u2019arei Tzedek<\/em> rules likewise. Raavad, R. Shlomo Sirilio, and <em>Pe\u2019at ha-Shul\u1e25an<\/em>, however, maintain that the two-<em>se\u2019a<\/em> threshold applies to trees as well. Thus, if a forgotten tree contains two <em>se\u2019a<\/em> or more, it does not have the status of <em>shik\u1e25a<\/em>. This also appears to be the view of R. Shimshon and Rosh. Their position is compelling, since the basic mitzva of <em>shik\u1e25a<\/em> applies to forgotten quantities that are not especially large.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If one forgets grain or fruit in the field, it is a mitzva to leave it for the poor, as the Torah states: \u201cWhen you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to take it; it shall be for the stranger, the orphan, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[227],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-06"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>04. 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