לקוטי שיחות חלק ל״ד - כי תצא ב

Likkutei Sichos Vol. 34 – Ki Seitzei 2

1. Regarding the interpretation of the verse "When you come into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat grapes as you desire, to your satisfaction, but you shall not put any in your vessel," our Sages have said, "The verse speaks of a laborer."

The foundation for this interpretation is found in three opinions:

a) In the Babylonian Talmud, it is derived through a gezeirah shavah (an analogy based on similar wording) — "It says here 'when you come' and it says there 'the sun shall not set upon him'; just as there it speaks of a laborer, so too here it speaks of a laborer."

b) In the Jerusalem Talmud, it is learned from the continuation of the verse — "It is written 'when you come into your neighbor's vineyard,' one might think it speaks of any person, therefore it says 'but you shall not put any in your vessel,' implying that you may put in the vessel of your fellow. And who is this? This is the laborer." Similarly, in the following verse "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain — one might think it speaks of any person, therefore it says 'you shall not wield a sickle upon your neighbor's standing grain,' implying that one who has permission to wield is the laborer."

c) Rambam writes that it is evident from the verse itself — "When you come into your neighbor's vineyard, etc., and it is written 'when you come into your neighbor's standing grain,' it was learned from tradition that the verse speaks only of a hired worker. For if he were not hired, who permitted him to come into his neighbor's vineyard (or to come into his standing grain) without his knowledge? Rather, it says that when you come with the owner's permission to work — you may eat."

It can be said that Rashi, in his commentary on the Torah, also holds this view, as he writes: "When you come into your neighbor's vineyard — the verse speaks of a laborer," and similarly in the following verse "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain — this too speaks of a laborer."

From the fact that Rashi (a) only quotes the words "when you come into your neighbor's vineyard" (and similarly only "when you come into your neighbor's standing grain"), without the continuation of the verse (and not even hinting at it with "etc."), and (b) does not mention the gezeirah shavah from "the sun shall not set upon him" — it is proven that according to Rashi, it is known that "the verse speaks of a laborer" from the words "when you come into your neighbor's vineyard" themselves (and similarly from "when you come into your neighbor's standing grain").

The reason is understood simply, as Rambam writes — since it speaks of his neighbor's vineyard and his neighbor's standing grain — "who permitted him to come" without the owner's permission? Therefore, it must be said that "the verse speaks of a laborer."

2. It can be said that the difference between these three opinions is not only in the source of the interpretation but also in the content — they represent three ways of defining the law of a laborer eating during his work, which can be explained in several ways (in the language of the Tzafnas Paneach, in several aspects: from the perspective of the result, the action, or the laborer):

a) The laborer's eating is akin to a wage for the work (the result) he does for the employer, in addition to the wage the employer pays him for his work, he also eats from the fruits, etc., that he works with.

b) The laborer's eating is not for the work and benefit he provides to the employer, but rather his labor, his toil and effort in his neighbor's work, grants him the right to eat (during the act) from his fruits, etc.

c) His eating is not considered a wage at all — neither for the object of the work nor for the labor of the person — but it is a law in itself, that since he has the designation "laborer," the Torah granted him the right to eat from the fruits, etc., that he works with.

The practical difference between these approaches can be said to be similar to the question in the Gemara "Does a laborer eat from his own or from Heaven's?" Rashi explains there: "From his own — it is an additional wage that the Torah added for him, or from Heaven's, as a gift of kindness like other gifts for the poor."

According to the first approach mentioned above, that the laborer's eating is due to the work he does for the employer — it can be said that "he eats from his own," meaning this right is "an additional wage" for his work, and it is of the same type as his main wage (which is payment for his work), but it is "an additional wage... that the Torah added for him."

According to the third approach mentioned above — that this is a law due to the very designation and title "laborer" (and not due to the work he does) — it is like the perspective that "he eats from Heaven's," for just as the Torah granted the poor various gifts from the produce of the land, so too the Merciful One granted the "laborer" to eat from the produce of the land that he works with.

2. According to the second approach, which attributes the laborer's right to eat to his work and effort, there is room for both sides of the question: It is possible to say "he eats from his own," meaning that this is part of his wage. Just as he deserves his main wage for the work done for the employer, he also deserves an "additional wage" for his work and effort. Alternatively, one could say that it is not considered "wage" but rather a "gift of kindness," yet this gift is given to him only because of his work and effort, similar to the principle that if he did not provide satisfaction to himself, he would not receive the gift.

3. This distinction is reflected in the three sources for the interpretation "the verse speaks of a laborer": (a) The teaching of the Jerusalem Talmud derived from the end of the verse "and you shall not put it in your vessel, but you may put it in your fellow's vessel... this is the laborer," (b) the gezeirah shavah in the Babylonian Talmud from "it is said later, the sun shall not set upon him," and (c) the derivation from the words "when you come into your neighbor's vineyard" themselves — "for if he had not hired him, who permitted him to come into his neighbor's vineyard?"

It can be said that the essence of the distinction between these teachings depends on the context of the matter being learned: According to the Jerusalem Talmud, which learns this from "and you shall not put it in your vessel, but you may put it in your fellow's vessel," which speaks about the actual work done for the employer, it holds that "he eats from his own," and the laborer's eating is like an "additional wage... that the Torah added for him" for his work.

According to our Talmud, which derives it from the gezeirah shavah of "the sun shall not set upon him," stated regarding the law of "on that day you shall give him his wage," this is a law concerning the person working, as the continuation of the verse states "and he sets his soul upon it — for this wage he risks his life, ascends the ramp, and hangs on the tree," meaning that the law of "on that day you shall give him his wage" is not so much about the actual work done for the employer, but rather about the self-sacrifice of the laborer for it. Similarly, in our case, the law of the laborer's eating is due to the laborer's effort and work.

Therefore, the Gemara questions whether the laborer's eating is "from his own or from Heaven's," as mentioned above, that for this approach, both sides are possible.

According to Rambam and Rashi on the Torah, who learn from the words "when you come into your neighbor's vineyard" themselves that "the verse speaks of a laborer," the laborer's right to eat is due to the very designation and title "laborer," which applies to him as soon as he is hired and comes into his neighbor's vineyard.

4. It is known what our Sages said, "What He [the Holy One, blessed be He] does, He tells Israel to do." From this, it is understood that the laws of the Torah regarding "laborer" and "employer" in their simple sense are based on "what He does," the conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He, towards the Jewish people. The work of the Jewish people in fulfilling the Torah and mitzvos is similar to the work of a "laborer," and the reward for mitzvos is the "payment" that the Holy One, blessed be He, gives to Israel for their actions and work.

This is also true regarding the law of the laborer's eating during his work — its foundation and root is the law of the "eating" of the Jewish people during their work in fulfilling the Torah and mitzvos.

It can be said that the foundation of the law of the laborer's eating during his work in the conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He ("what He does") is the "reward" of the physical promises in the Torah, according to the well-known explanation of Rambam. These are not "the ultimate reward for mitzvos" (since "the ultimate reward for mitzvos... 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 fulfill it with joy and good heart and engage in its wisdom always — He will remove from us all things that prevent us from fulfilling it... and will bestow upon us all the good things that strengthen our hands to do the Torah, such as abundance and peace and an increase of silver and gold so that... we may sit free to learn wisdom and perform the mitzvah in order to merit the life of the World to Come."

5. This is similar to the law of a laborer eating from the fruits he works with. This is not the payment or compensation for his labor, but rather what he eats during his work — akin to the physical promises that the Holy One, blessed be He, gives to the Jewish people in this world (the time of work, "today to do them"). This is not the payment for their work, but rather the removal of obstacles (during the time of work) so that they can perform their work in peace without disturbances.

Based on this, we can explain why the verse begins with the law "When you come into your neighbor's vineyard" (the laborer's eating "in the vineyard" he works in), and only afterwards explains "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain and pluck the ears, etc." At first glance, it is not understood, for the laborer's eating in your neighbor's vineyard seems to be a greater novelty than plucking ears in the standing grain. Therefore, it should have first stated the law "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain" and then added (a greater novelty) "When you come into your neighbor's vineyard." Why does it precede the law of the laborer's eating in the vineyard (from which one can learn all the more so and by logical inference regarding eating in the standing grain)?

According to the above, it can be said that the law of the laborer's eating in the conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He, with Israel — is more straightforward regarding "your neighbor's vineyard" (as our Sages say, "your neighbor is the Holy One, blessed be He") than regarding "your neighbor's standing grain."

The explanation of the matter:

"Vineyard" and "standing grain" allude to two types of agricultural produce, which are analogous to the two aspects in the blessing of Borei Nefashot — "their lack" and "to sustain the soul with them": "their lack" refers to things necessary for human existence, such as field produce (your neighbor's standing grain), "a land from which bread comes forth," as bread is essential for human existence, "bread sustains the heart of man"; "to sustain the soul with them" refers to matters of pleasure, which is the concept of the "vineyard" that produces fruits that add to human pleasure but are not as essential as bread.

In the service of G‑d, "standing grain" in the field represents the actual work as necessary; "vineyard" refers to the service of G‑d in a manner of pleasure. In other words, the work of the "field" (standing grain) is when one fulfills the supreme will out of compulsion and acceptance of the yoke, like the work of a servant, and then his actions are (mainly) in the manner required by the letter of the law — give me my duty and I will do it; and the vineyard is the work done with pleasure, meaning that he does not need to compel himself to fulfill the Torah and mitzvos, but he has vitality and pleasure in it, and then his fulfillment and performance are in the manner of beautifying the mitzvah and beyond the letter of the law.

Therefore, the verse begins with the law of the laborer's eating in his neighbor's vineyard, because this is more straightforward, that when a Jew serves G‑d in a manner of "vineyard," with pleasure, then certainly the Holy One, blessed be He, "will remove from him all things that prevent" him from doing it, and will bestow upon him "all the good things that strengthen" his hands to do the Torah, as the precise language of the Rambam mentioned above, "that if we do it with joy and a good heart, etc., (then) He will remove from us all things that prevent... and will bestow upon us all the good things that strengthen, etc."; and afterwards, the verse adds a greater novelty, that even "when you come into your neighbor's standing grain" — the necessary work, even in this the law of the laborer's eating applies, meaning 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 work.

This is also the precision in Rashi's language on the verse "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain" — "this too speaks of a laborer," which in the "wine of the Torah" in Rashi's commentary is to explain why indeed the Holy One, blessed be He, removes the things that prevent and bestows all the good things, etc., when a person's work is only "in your neighbor's standing grain" (and not with pleasure, "with joy and a good heart")? Rashi answers, "this too speaks of a laborer," since the work of Israel is in the manner of a "laborer," therefore, he eats from his work.

6. This will be understood by first explaining the three aforementioned ways in the concept of the laborer's eating — as they are in the conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He, with His people Israel — according to the well-known principle "these and those are the words of the living G‑d," it is understood that in the conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He ("what He does"), all three of these ways exist.

The explanation of the matter:

7. In the physical rewards themselves, there are, in general, three ways:

a) The fulfillment of a person's needs, essential matters, "bread to eat and clothes to wear" — so that a person can live and sustain themselves.

b) The removal of all things that prevent us from fulfilling Torah and mitzvos, such as illness, war, famine, and the like, and the bestowal of all good things, etc. — with two details in this: (1) This includes not only everything necessary for a person's life but also a state of rest and tranquility, (2) The removal of all the aforementioned obstacles and the bestowal of all good things in a manner that is beyond nature.

c) The perfection in physical rewards — "at that time there will be no hunger, no war, no jealousy, and no competition, for good will be bestowed abundantly and all delicacies will be as common as dust" — then the entire world will be in a state of perfection, etc. As is obvious, no matter how much rest and tranquility (physical) there is in this time, it cannot compare at all to the state of peace and tranquility in the days of Moshiach. As the Rambam writes, "For this reason, all of Israel, their prophets, and their sages yearned for the days of Moshiach so that they could rest from the kingdoms that do not allow them to engage in Torah and mitzvos properly, and they will find rest and increase in wisdom, etc." Thus, even though the Rambam elaborates (in the previous halacha) that when a Jew performs the Torah with joy and a good heart, the Torah promises that the Holy One, blessed be He, will remove from him all the obstacles, etc., and bestow upon him all the good things, etc. — nevertheless, the sages of Israel yearned for the days of Moshiach (and are not satisfied with the removal of obstacles and the bestowal of good things in this time), because the true rest will only be at that time.

8. It can be said that these three types of reward correspond to three ways in a person's service:

The reward for a person's service when it is only to fulfill their obligation — these are the physical rewards that are considered a payment for their work, just as they "deserve" payment at the end of their work for their service in Torah and mitzvos (the life of the World to Come), so too they deserve "additional reward," that obstacles will be removed from them, etc., and good things will be bestowed upon them, etc., during the work itself — but since this is considered "payment," it is only as much as is necessary for their life, "bread to eat and clothes to wear."

Higher than this — when a person serves G‑d "with joy and a good heart," and fulfills the mitzvos with embellishment and beyond the letter of the law, the Holy One, blessed be He, also behaves with them beyond the letter of the law, removing from them all the obstacles and bestowing upon them all the good things, etc., in a manner that is beyond nature as mentioned above.

However, these two ways are for the person, because since they serve G‑d, whether only as their obligation or also beyond the letter of the law, therefore, G‑d gives them measure for measure.

But there is a third way — where the removal of obstacles and the bestowal of good things is not to benefit the person, but for the sake of the service itself. Since the complete service of G‑d is only possible with the removal of all obstacles and the bestowal of all good things, therefore, G‑d brings about this state, so that the service can be as it should be. It can be said that this depends on the person serving G‑d in a way that they feel their entire existence is only as a "worker" of G‑d. Not only do they fulfill Torah and mitzvos, or even go beyond the letter of the law, but furthermore, they have no interest in their life other than the service of G‑d, in the words of the Rambam, "always serving G‑d." And since their entire existence is only as a "worker" of G‑d, serving G‑d, therefore, G‑d brings about the state that their service can be in complete perfection, without any hindrance at all.

And this will be the state of the Jewish people at that time, when "the occupation of the entire world will be only to know G‑d alone," meaning there will be no other occupation besides the service of G‑d, "free to engage in Torah and its wisdom" — and therefore, then there will be true rest, up to the day that is entirely Shabbat and rest for eternal life.

7. The precise wording of Rashi on the verse "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain" — "This too speaks of a worker": Even though it discusses the work of "your neighbor's standing grain," which is not work done out of pleasure but rather through coercion and acceptance of the yoke, nevertheless, since the true existence of every Jew is that they are a "worker" of the Holy One, blessed be He, and everything they do is an aspect of serving G‑d (as we are commanded "In all your ways, know Him") — therefore, they also eat during their labor, having been promised all physical blessings so that their service can be with tranquility and peace — in complete perfection.

However, if their work is "in your neighbor's vineyard," work done out of pleasure — then they merit "and you shall eat to your heart's content," meaning eating with pleasure, up to satisfaction; whereas if their work is only through acceptance of the yoke, "your neighbor's standing grain," then they merit only "and you shall pluck the ears with your hand," without pleasure.

8. According to Chassidus, the matter of a worker eating during labor can be explained more deeply — this refers to the pleasure derived from the work itself. This is because the work of the Jewish people causes satisfaction above, as our sages say, "It is a satisfaction before Me that I said, and My will was done." The worker's eating from the labor they are engaged in indicates the person's enjoyment from knowing that their work causes satisfaction to the Holy One, blessed be He.

There is a distinction between the two types of work — "When you come into your neighbor's vineyard" and "When you come into your neighbor's standing grain":

When a person's work is done with pleasure, they enter "your neighbor's vineyard" (this is the Holy One, blessed be He), meaning they feel the pleasure of the Creator. This is the inner meaning of "and you shall not put it into your vessel" — because the pleasure of the Creator is beyond the measure of "vessels," and this is the novelty in the verse, that even though it speaks of a divine light beyond vessels, nevertheless, since the person serves G‑d with pleasure, "and you shall eat to your heart's content," they merit that this light illuminates them internally, like food that becomes blood and flesh as one's own, until it brings about satisfaction, "to your heart's content."

And when a person's work is through coercion, then they merit to come "into your neighbor's standing grain": "Standing grain" indicates greatness and exaltation, meaning that since in their work the aspect of the yoke and acceptance of the sovereignty of the Holy One, blessed be He, is felt, they therefore merit to feel the revelation of His sovereignty, "your neighbor's standing grain," that this light comes in exaltation, and therefore the verse does not mention eating the ears, because this light does not illuminate internally (as much), but nevertheless, this light also affects the person, even to actual action, "and you shall pluck the ears with your hand," since their work is in action (and through coercion), therefore the light extends down to the lowest level, to the person's vessels of action, "your hand."

9. Through the work of the Jewish people in the aforementioned two ways, through acceptance of the yoke and coercion (your neighbor's standing grain), and through pleasure (your neighbor's vineyard), especially in the month of Elul — the Holy One, blessed be He, provides the Jewish people with all their needs in addition to the necessities, bread to eat and clothes to wear, also all the good things that support us in fulfilling the Torah, abundance of peace and wealth, to each and every one of the Jewish people, and certainly — a good and sweet inscription and sealing, for a good and (also) sweet year, with children, life, and sustenance (and all this) in abundance.

This is a fitting preparation for the service of Rosh Hashanah, where "the mitzvah of the day is with the shofar," through which we achieve "Crown Me as your King," as our sages say, "Crown Me as your King... and with what? With the shofar," drawing down the sovereignty of the Holy One, blessed be He. Additionally, "shofar" is from the root meaning to improve your deeds, which is the concept of pleasure, through which the shofar draws from the innermost pleasure throughout the entire order of creation, until we merit the true pleasure that will be revealed in the future, when all the delights (of the world) will be as common as dust, and the entire world's occupation will be solely to know G‑d, with the coming of our righteous Moshiach, speedily in our days.