I recently had the opportunity to speak at Connecticut College on the topic of poverty and its relief in Jewish thought. It was great fun, in part because the discussion helped me to better articulate something that has been bothering me for some time. The issue is this: Early rabbinic texts define a poverty line, usually as an objective value of assets (which is itself an interesting measure, as opposed to income, which is how we usually calculate it). If a person owns eligible property (there are some exclusions) of under 200 zuz, s/he is entitled to glean the leftover produce from the field and to receive some other minor forms of relief. The Mishnah, which promotes this approach, seems quite aware that it is engaged in an academic exercise. Who, after all, is going to certify that someone has met this standard and how? Even if there was such a certification (as there was in some medieval Jewish communities) who would check it at the entrance to a field? There seems to be a subtle acknowledgment of this problem in the very next passage of the Mishnah, that goes on to declare that if someone who is not entitled […]
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