Peah - פאה
Seder Zeraim | Tractate on Gifts to the Poor
About Peah
Masechet Peah (literally “corner”) deals with the agricultural gifts that landowners must leave for the poor during harvest. These include:
- Peah - The corner of the field left unharvested
- Leket - Individual stalks that fall during harvesting
- Shikchah - Forgotten sheaves left in the field
- Peret/Olelot - Grapes that fall during harvesting and small clusters in vineyards
The tractate opens with one of the most famous passages in all of Mishna—the list of mitzvot without measure—which is recited daily in the morning prayers.
Structure
Peah contains 8 chapters and 69 mishnayot.
| Chapter | Topic | Mishnayot |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitzvot without measure; minimum peah amount | 6 |
| 2 | What divides a field for peah purposes | 8 |
| 3 | Small plots and trees; when peah is given | 8 |
| 4 | When and how peah is taken; leket | 11 |
| 5 | More on leket; shikchah (forgotten sheaves) | 8 |
| 6 | More on shikchah | 11 |
| 7 | Laws of olelot (grape gleanings) and peret | 8 |
| 8 | Who qualifies as poor; distribution rules | 9 |
Time4Mishna Schedule
Week 3 (continued from Berakhot)
Day 15 (Thursday)
- Berakhot 9:5 - Peah 1:3 - Transition from Berakhot; mitzvot without measure
Week 4
Day 16 (Sunday)
- Peah 1:4 - 2:1 - Criteria for peah obligation; what divides a field
Day 17 (Monday)
- Peah 2:2-5 - Water channels; trees vs. grain; visual connection; species
Day 18 (Tuesday)
- Peah 2:6 - 3:1 - Chain of tradition; robbers and fields; plots among trees
Day 19 (Wednesday)
- Peah 3:2-5 - Striped fields; staged harvests; brothers dividing
Day 20 (Thursday)
- Peah 3:6 - 4:1 - Minimum field size; deathbed gifts; how peah is given
Week 5
Day 21 (Sunday)
- Peah 4:2-5 - Collecting peah; who may collect; leket rules
Day 22 (Monday)
- Peah 4:6-9 - Leket for olives and grapes; forgotten sheaves
Day 23 (Tuesday)
- Peah 4:10 - 5:2 - Who qualifies as poor; leket from standing grain
Day 24 (Wednesday)
- Peah 5:3-6 - Shikchah rules; forgotten sheaves in the field
Day 25 (Thursday)
- Peah 5:7 - 6:2 - More shikchah rules; olive trees and shikchah
Week 6
Day 26 (Sunday)
- Peah 6:3-6 - Shikchah for sheaves; ends of rows; two vs. three sheaves
Day 27 (Monday)
- Peah 6:7-10 - Two-seah sheaf; standing grain; what saves from shikchah
Day 28 (Tuesday)
- Peah 6:11 - 7:3 - Night harvesting; named olive trees; peret (fallen grapes)
Day 29 (Wednesday)
- Peah 7:4-7 - Olelot (defective clusters); thinning vines; fourth-year vineyard
Day 30 (Thursday)
- Peah 7:8 - 8:3 - Vineyard of olelot; when poor may collect; trustworthiness
Week 7 (end of Peah)
Day 31 (Sunday)
- Peah 8:4-7 - Minimum gifts to the poor; the charity dish and communal fund
Day 32 (Monday)
- Peah 8:8-9 - Who may take charity; final ethical teachings
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