English translation — תצא ב

Talk b<pg>129</pg>

A.

In the explanation of the verse<sup>1</sup>

"When you come into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat grapes to your heart's fill, but you shall not put any into your vessel",

Our Sages, of blessed memory, said<sup>2</sup>

"The verse speaks of a worker."

The foundation for this interpretation we find in this three opinions:

a)

In the Bavli²

We learn the thing from a gezeirah shavah — "It is stated here 'coming' and it is stated there³

the sun shall not come upon him, just as there the verse speaks of an action, so too here the verse speaks of an action."

b)

In the Yerushalmi⁴

it is learned from the continuation of the verse — "It is written: 'When you come into the vineyard of your fellow,' [one might think] the verse speaks about any person; therefore the verse teaches: 'But you shall not put [any] into your vessel,' rather you may put into the vessel of your fellow; and which is this?

This is the worker"⁵.

And likewise in the verse after this⁶

"When you come into the standing grain of your fellow — [one might think] the verse speaks about any person; therefore the verse teaches: 'But you shall not lift a sickle upon the standing grain of your fellow' — [only] one who has permission to lift; and which is this?

This is the worker"⁷.

c)

The Rambam⁸

wrote that from this same verse it is proven — "When you come into the vineyard of your fellow etc. and it is written: 'When you come into the standing grain of your fellow,'

from the oral tradition they learned that the verse speaks only about a hired worker; for if he had not hired him, who permitted him to come into the vineyard of his fellow?

(And who permitted him to come)

into his standing grain without his knowledge?

Rather, thus it says: 'When you come into the owner's domain for work — you may eat'"⁹.

And one can say,

that also Rashi in his commentary on the Torah holds thus,

that he wrote: "When you come into your neighbor's vineyard — it speaks of a worker,"

and likewise in the verse after it "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain — even this speaks of a worker."

For from this that Rashi

(a)

did not quote from the verse except only the words "When you come into your neighbor's vineyard"

(and likewise only "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain"),

and not the continuation of the verse

(and even did not hint at it with "etc."),

and likewise

(b)

did not mention at all the gezeirah shavah from what is said below "the sun shall not go down upon him" — it is proven,

that according to Rashi we know that "it speaks of a worker" from the words "When you come into your neighbor's vineyard" themselves

(and likewise from "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain").

And the reason is understood simply,

as the Rambam wrote — since it is speaking about the vineyard of his fellow and the standing grain<pg>130</pg>

his fellow — "who permitted him to enter" without the owner's permission?

And it must be said<sup>10</sup>

that "the verse speaks of a hired worker."

2.

And one must say,

that the difference between these three opinions is not only in the source of the interpretation but also in the content — that they are three modes in the definition of the law of a worker eating during his work,

which can be explained in several modes

(and in the language of the Tzp"n in several matters¹¹

: from the aspect of the object,

the action,

or the subject)

:

A)

The eating of the worker is like a kind of wage for the work

(the object)

that he does for the homeowner,

that in addition to his wage that the homeowner pays him for his work,

he also eats from the fruits etc. that he works in.

b)

The eating of the worker is not for the work and the benefit that he causes to the homeowner,

but rather the work of the worker,

that he toils and exerts himself in the work of his fellow,

gives him the right to eat

(during the time of work)

from his fruits etc.

c)

His eating is not in the category of wages at all — not on the object of the work nor on the work of the person — but it is a law in itself,

since he has upon him the name "worker",

the Torah granted him to eat from the fruits etc. that he works in.

The practical difference between these manners, one could say,

that it is along the lines of the dilemma in the Gemara¹²

"Does a worker eat from his own [portion] or does he eat from Heaven's [portion]?"

that Rashi explains there: "From his own he eats — it is additional wages that the Torah added for him,

or from Heaven's [portion] as a gift of bestowing kindness like other gifts for the poor."

According to the first manner above,

that the worker's eating is due to the work he does for the homeowner — one could say that "from his own he eats",

that this right is

(in Rashi's language as above)

"additional wages" for his work,

and that is that it is of the same type as his primary wages

(which is payment for his work),

except that it is "additional wages...

that the Torah added for him".

To the third way mentioned above — that this is a law from the essence of the name and title "worker"

(and not from the work he does)

— this is like the side of "it is from heaven that he eats",

for just as the Torah granted the poor various gifts from the produce of the land,

so did Heaven grant the "worker" to eat from the produce of the land in which he works.

And to the second way,

that this is from the labor and exertion of the worker — there is room for two sides of the question: it is possible to say "from his own he eats",

that this is part of his wages,

for just as he is entitled to

(the main)

his wages for his work that is done for the employer,

so is he entitled to "additional wages" for his labor and exertion¹³

; and it is possible to say,

that it is not<pg>131</pg>

In the category of "wage" is not but only "a gift of acts of kindness",

but this gift was given to him only because of his work and his effort,

in the manner of: Were it not that he did gratification for himself, he would not give me a gift¹⁴.

3.

And this is the difference between the three sources for the interpretation "the verse speaks of the actual [deed]"

—

(a)

The teaching of the Yerushalmi that is learned from the end of the verse "and into your vessel you shall not put,

but you may put into the vessel of your fellow..

this is the worker",

(b)

The gezeirah shavah in the Bavli from "it is said below 'the sun shall not set upon him'",

(c)

The teaching from the words "when you come into the vineyard of your fellow" themselves — "for if he did not hire him, who permitted him to come into the vineyard of his fellow" —

One can say,

that the content of the distinction between the above teachings,

depends on the content of the matter discussed in the place being learned:

To the Yerushalmi who learn this from what is written "and into your vessel you shall not put — but he puts into the vessel of his fellow",

that it speaks about the actual work that he does for the employer — it can be said that he holds that "he eats from his own",

and the eating of the worker is like a kind of "additional wage..

that the Torah added" for his work;

According to our Talmud,

that the learning is from the verbal analogy of "the sun shall not set upon him",

stated regarding the law of "on his day you shall give his wages" — this is a law from the perspective of the worker,

and as the continuation of the verse

("on his day you shall give his wages")

"and to it he lifts his soul — to this wage he lifts his soul to death,

he ascended on a ladder and hung on a tree"¹⁵,

and this means that the law of "on his day you shall give his wages" is not

(so much)

from the perspective of the actual work that he does for the employer,

but rather from the perspective of the self-sacrifice of the worker for it,

and similarly in our case,

the law of the worker's eating,

which is from the perspective of his exertion and his work of the worker

[And therefore it is asked in the Gemara: Is the worker's eating&lt;sup&gt;16&lt;/sup&gt;

"he eats of his own or he eats of Heaven's",

and as above that according to this approach there is room for these two sides&lt;sup&gt;17&lt;/sup&gt;

;

And according to the Rambam&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;

and Rashi on the Torah,

that from the words "when you come into your neighbor's vineyard" themselves we learn that "the verse speaks of a worker" — behold the right&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;

of the worker's eating is from the side of&lt;pg&gt;132&lt;/pg&gt;

the very name and description "worker"²⁰,

that applies to him immediately when he hires him and he comes²¹

to the vineyard of his fellow²².

4.

And behold, it is known what our sages, of blessed memory, said²³,

"What He

[the Holy One, blessed be He]

does, He tells Israel to do."

And from this it is understood,

that the laws of the Torah regarding "worker" and "employer" in their simple sense,

their foundation is — "what He does",

the conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He, towards the children of Israel,

that the service of Israel in fulfilling the Torah and commandments is similar to the work of a "worker",

and the reward of a commandment is the "payment" that the Holy One, blessed be He, pays to Israel for their action and work²⁴.

And so it is with the law of a worker eating during his work — whose foundation and root is the law of the "eating" of the children of Israel during their service in fulfilling the Torah and the commandments

(in the language of the Mishnah²⁵

"that a person eats their fruits in this world").

<pg>133</pg>

And one could say,

that the foundation of the law of a worker eating during his work in the conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He,

("what He does")

— is the "reward" of the material promises in the Torah,

according to the well-known explanation of the Rambam²⁶,

that they are not the "ultimate reward of the commandments"

(for "the reward of the commandments..

(is)

the life of the World to Come",

which is a spiritual reward),

but their purpose is,

that "the Holy One, blessed be He, gave us the Torah..

and promised us in the Torah that if we do it with joy and with a good spirit and meditate on its wisdom always — that He will remove from us all the things that prevent us from doing it..

and will bestow upon us all the good things that strengthen our hands to do the Torah, such as satiety and peace and abundance of silver and gold, in order that..

(that)

we may sit free to study wisdom and perform the commandment so that we merit the life of the World to Come".

And this is like the matter of the law of the eating of the worker from the fruits that he works in,

that this is not the wage and payment for his work,

but rather,

what he eats during his work — in the manner of the material provisions that the Holy One, blessed be He, gives to the Children of Israel in this world

(the time of work,

"today to do them"²⁷),

that this is not payment for their work,

but rather,

the removal of the hindrance

(during the time of work)

so that they can do their work with ease, without confusions etc.

5.

Based on this, one must explain the reason that the verse begins with the law "When you come into your neighbor's vineyard"

(the eating of the worker "in the vineyard" in which he works),

and only afterwards explains "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain and you pluck ears etc."

For superficially it is not understood,

since the eating of the worker in his neighbor's vineyard has in it,

superficially,

a greater novelty than plucking ears in the standing grain,

and if so, it would have been proper to preface the law of "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain" and afterwards to add

(a greater novelty)

"When you come into your neighbor's vineyard".

And why does it preface the law of the eating of the worker in the vineyard

(from which one can learn by a fortiori and a fortiori regarding the matter of eating in the standing grain)?

And according to the above, it can be said,

that the law of the eating of a "worker" in the conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He, with Israel — it is more simply regarding "your fellow's vineyard"

(as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said²⁸

"your fellow — this is the Holy One, blessed be He"),

than regarding "your fellow's standing grain."

Explanation of the matter:

"Kerem" and "Kamah" allude to two types of produce of the land,

which are analogous to the two matters in the blessing of Borei Nefashot — "their deficiency",

and "to keep alive through them a soul"²⁹

: "their deficiency" are the things necessary for the existence of man,

like the produce of the field

(the standing grain of your fellow),

"a land from which bread comes forth"³⁰,

that bread is necessary for the existence of man,

"bread that sustains the heart of man"³¹

; "and to keep alive through them a soul" refers to matters that are for pleasure,

and this is the matter of "kerem" which produces fruits that add to the pleasure of man but are not a necessary thing like bread.

And their meaning in the service of G-d,

that "Kamah" which is in the field is the actual work as is necessary; and "Kerem" refers to the service of G-d in a manner of pleasure.

That is: the work of "field"

(standing grain)

is when he fulfills the will of the Most High out of coercion and acceptance of the yoke,

like the work of a servant,

and then his deeds are

(mainly)

in a manner necessary according to the line of law — give me my obligation and I will do it; and "kerem" is the work that comes from pleasure,

and that is that he does not need to coerce himself to fulfill the Torah and commandments,

but rather he has in this vitality and pleasure,

and then his fulfillment<pg>134</pg>

And his doing it is in the manner of hiddur mitzvah and beyond the letter of the law.

And therefore the verse began with the law of a worker eating in his fellow's vineyard,

because this is a more obvious matter,

that when a Jewish person serves G‑d in a manner of "vineyard",

out of delight,

then certainly that the Holy One, blessed be He, "will remove from him all the things that prevent" him from doing it,

and will bestow upon him "all the good things that strengthen" his hands to do the Torah,

and precisely according to the language of the aforementioned Rambam "that if it is done with joy and good spirit etc.

(then)

He will remove from him all the things that prevent..

and He will bestow upon us all the good things that strengthen etc."; and afterwards the verse adds a greater novelty,

that also "when you come into the standing grain of your fellow" — the obligatory service,

also in this the law of a "worker" eating,

that is, that the Holy One, blessed be He, removes the things that prevent and bestows all the good things that strengthen the hands so that he can perform this service.

And this is also the precision of Rashi's language on the verse "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain" — "even this the Scripture speaks of an actual [laborer]",

that his intention

(in the "wine of Torah" in Rashi's commentary)

is to explain,

why indeed does the Holy One, blessed be He, remove the hindering things and bestow all the good etc.,

when the service of man is only "in your neighbor's standing grain"

(and not out of delight,

"with joy and with a good heart")?

And Rashi answers,

"even this the Scripture speaks of an actual [laborer]",

for since the service of Israel is in a manner of "laborer",

therefore,

he eats from his work.

6.

And this will be understood by prefacing an explanation of the three aforementioned modes in the category of eating of a "laborer" — as they are in the conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He, with His people Israel — for according to the known principle "these and those are words of the living God"³²

it is understood,

that in the conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He,

("what He does"),

there exist all these three modes.

Explanation of the matter:

In the physical promises themselves there are,

in general,

three ways:

a)

Fulfilling the needs of man,

necessary matters,

"bread to eat and a garment to wear"³³

— so that man can live and subsist.

b)

Removing all the things that prevent us from fulfilling Torah and mitzvos, such as illness and war and famine and the like,

and bestowing all the good etc. — and two details in this:

(a)

This includes not only all that is necessary for the life of man, but also a state of rest and tranquility,

(b)

Removing all the things that prevent

(the aforementioned)

and bestowing all the good in a manner that is not according to nature.

3)

The completeness in physical promises — "at that time

(that)

there will be no hunger nor war nor envy nor competition, that the good will be bestowed abundantly and all delicacies will be as common as dust"³⁴

— that then the entire world will be in a state of perfection etc.,

and as understood simply,

that as much as there will be a state of rest and tranquility

(physical)

in this time,

it is not at all comparable to the state of tranquility and rest of the days of Mashiach,

and as the Rambam wrote³⁵

that "because of this all Israel, their prophets and sages, yearned for the days of Mashiach, so that they may rest from the kingdoms that do not allow them to engage in Torah and mitzvos properly, and they will find repose and increase in wisdom etc."

Thus,

that even though the Rambam elaborated

(in the preceding halacha)

that when a Jewish person performs Torah with joy and goodwill, the Torah promised that the Holy One, blessed be He, will remove from him all hindering things etc. and will bestow upon him all the good etc. — nevertheless,

the sages of Israel then yearned for the days of Mashiach

(and they are not satisfied with the removal of<pg>135</pg>

the hindrances and the bestowal of good things in this time),

because the true repose will be only at that time.

7.

And it must be said,

that these three types in the manner of reward are corresponding to three modes in the service of man:

The reward for the service of man when it is only to fulfill his obligation — they are the material promises that are in the category of reward for his service,

for just as a payment is "due" to him upon completion of his work for his work in Torah and commandments

(the life of the World to Come),

so is an "additional reward" due to him,

that obstacles etc. will be removed from him and goodness etc. will be bestowed upon him during the time of the work itself — but since this is in the category of "payment",

it is only according to what is necessary for his life,

"bread to eat and a garment to wear"³⁶.

Beyond this — when a person serves G-d "with joy and a good heart",

and fulfills the commandments with beautification and beyond the letter of the law,

the Holy One, blessed be He, also behaves with him beyond the letter of the law,

and removes from him all the hindering things and bestows upon him all the good etc.,

and in a manner that is above nature as mentioned.

However,

these two manners,

are for the sake of the person,

that because he is a servant of G-d,

if only according to his obligation,

or also beyond the letter of the law,

therefore,

the Holy One, blessed be He, gives him measure for measure.

But there is a third way — that the removal of obstacles and the bestowal of good things is not in order to benefit the person,

but rather for the sake of the service itself.

Since service of G‑d in completeness is not possible except with the removal of all obstacles and the bestowal of all good things,

therefore,

the Holy One, blessed be He, brings about this situation,

so that the service will be proper³⁷.

And it may be said,

that this depends on the fact,

that the person serves G‑d in a manner that he feels that his entire existence is nothing other than that he is an "agent" of the Holy One, blessed be He.

That not only does he fulfill Torah and commandments,

or also acts beyond the letter of the law,

but furthermore,

that he has no matter in his life aside from service of G‑d,

and in the language of the Rambam³⁸

"serves G‑d constantly".

And since his entire existence is only that he is an "agent" of the Holy One, blessed be He,

a servant of G‑d,

therefore,

the Holy One, blessed be He, brings about the situation that his service can be in the utmost perfection,

without any obstacle at all.

And this will be the situation of the children of Israel at that time,

that then "the occupation of the entire world will be only to know G‑d alone"³⁴,

meaning that there will be no other occupation aside from service of G‑d,

"free for Torah and its wisdom"^*38

— and therefore then will be the true rest,

until the day that is entirely Shabbat and rest for the life of the worlds³⁹.

And based on this, it can be said that this is the novelty

(in the inner dimension of the &lt;pg&gt;136&lt;/pg&gt;

matters)

In the precise language of Rashi on the verse "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain" — "Even this the Scripture speaks of in actual deed": Even though it discusses the labor of "your neighbor's standing grain,"

not labor out of delight but in the manner of compulsion and acceptance of the yoke as above,

nevertheless,

since the true essence of each and every Jew is that he is a "deed" of the Holy One, blessed be He,

and everything he does is a matter of service of God

(for we are commanded&lt;sup&gt;40&lt;/sup&gt;

"In all your ways know Him")

— therefore,

he also eats during his work,

that all the material promises are assured to him so that his service will be out of rest and tranquility — in utmost perfection&lt;sup&gt;41&lt;/sup&gt;.

Rather,

that if his service is "in your neighbor's vineyard",

service out of delight — then he merits to "and you shall eat..

to your soul's satisfaction",

and this is eating with delight,

until satiety; but when his service is only out of acceptance of the yoke,

"you shall rise from your neighbor",

then he merits only to "and you shall pluck ears with your hand",

without pleasure.

8.

And in the manner of Chassidus, one can explain the matter of the eating of the worker during the work in greater depth — that this refers to the pleasure from the work itself.

And this is,

because the service of the children of Israel causes satisfaction above,

as our sages, of blessed memory,⁴²

"satisfaction before Me that I said and My will was done",

and the eating of the worker from the work of his neighbor that he is engaged in,

indicates the pleasure of the person from this that he knows that his service causes satisfaction to the Holy One, blessed be He.

And in this there is a distinction between the two modes of service — "When you come into the vineyard of your fellow" and "When you come into the standing grain of your fellow":

When the service of the person is out of delight,

he comes and enters the "vineyard of your fellow"

(this is the Holy One, blessed be He),

meaning that he feels the delight of the Creator⁴³.

And this is the inner interpretation of "and into your vessels you shall not give" — because the delight of the Creator is above the measurement of "vessels",

and this is the novelty in the verse,

that although the discussion is about a Divine light that is above vessels,

nevertheless,

since the person serves God out of delight,

"and you shall eat..

to your soul's satisfaction",

he merits that this light shines within him inwardly,

like food that becomes blood and flesh like his flesh,

and even to the extent that it works in him satiety,

"to your soul's satisfaction"⁴⁴.

And when the service of man is in the manner of coercion,

then he merits to come to "the rising of your fellow": "rising" indicates greatness and exaltation,

and that is,

that since in his service the matter of the yoke and acceptance of the kingship of the Holy One, blessed be He, is felt,

therefore he merits to feel the revelation of His kingship, may He be blessed,

"the rising of your fellow",

that this light comes in exaltation⁴⁵,

and therefore it is not stated in the verse regarding the eating of the stalks,

for this light does not shine in the inwardness

(so much),

but nevertheless also this light influences the man,

until actual deed,

"and you shall pluck stalks with your hand",

that since his service is in deed

(and in the manner of coercion),

therefore the light is drawn down until very low,

until the vessel of deed of the man,

"your hands".

9.

And through the service of the children of Israel in the two manners mentioned above,

out of acceptance of the yoke and coercion<pg>137</pg>

(you shall rise before your fellow),

and from delight

(the vineyard of your fellow),

and especially in the month of Elul — the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows upon the children of Israel all their needs in addition to necessary things,

bread to eat and a garment to wear,

also all the good things that strengthen our hands to do the Torah,

abundance of peace and abundance of silver and gold,

to each one of the children of Israel,

and it is obvious — a good writing and sealing,

for a good year and

(also)

sweet,

in children, life, and sustenance

(and all this)

abundantly,

And it is a fitting preparation for the service of Rosh Hashanah,

that "the commandment of the day is with the shofar"⁴⁶,

that through the shofar we cause that you shall crown Me over you,

as our sages, may their memory be blessed, said⁴⁷

"Crown Me over you..

And with what? With the shofar",

the drawing down of the kingship of the Holy One, blessed be He,

and also "shofar" is from the expression "improve your deeds"⁴⁸,

which is the matter of delight,

that through the shofar we draw down from the innerness of delight through the entire order of descent⁴⁹,

until we merit the true delight that will be revealed in the future,

that all the delicacies

(of the world)

are esteemed as dust,

and the occupation of the entire world will be only to know the Lord³⁴,

with the coming of our righteous Mashiach, speedily,

(From the talk of Shabbos Parshas Ki Seitzei 5745)