(22) And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corner of your field, you also shall not gather the gleaning of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor, and for the stranger: I am Adonai your God.
Gleaning: the bits left behind during the harvest.
To glean: to gather the bits left behind during the harvest.
(יט) כִּי תִקְצֹר קְצִירְךָ בְשָׂדֶךָ וְשָׁכַחְתָּ עֹמֶר בַּשָּׂדֶה לֹא תָשׁוּב לְקַחְתּוֹ לַגֵּר לַיָּתוֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָה יִהְיֶה לְמַעַן יְבָרֶכְךָ יי אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּכֹל מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶיךָ. (כ) כִּי תַחְבֹּט זֵיתְךָ לֹא תְפָאֵר אַחֲרֶיךָ לַגֵּר לַיָּתוֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָה יִהְיֶה. (כא) כִּי תִבְצֹר כַּרְמְךָ לֹא תְעוֹלֵל אַחֲרֶיךָ לַגֵּר לַיָּתוֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָה יִהְיֶה. (כב) וְזָכַרְתָּ כִּי עֶבֶד הָיִיתָ בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם עַל כֵּן אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה.
(19) When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to collect it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that Adonai your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. (20) When you beat your olive-tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. (21) When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shalt not glean it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. (22) And you shalt remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing.
(א) אלו דברים שאין להם שעור. הפאה , והבכורים, והראיון, וגמילות חסדים, ותלמוד תורה. אלו דברים שאדם אוכל פרותיהן בעולם הזה והקרן קימת לו לעולם הבא. כבוד אב ואם, וגמילות חסדים, והבאת שלום בין אדם לחברו ותלמוד תורה כנגד כלם. (ב) אין פוחתין לפאה מששים. ואף על פי שאמרו אין לפאה שעור, הכל לפי גודל השדה ולפי רוב העניים ולפי רוב הענוה.
(1) These are the things that have no measure: The Peah [corner of the field that must be given to people experiencing poverty], the Bikurim [first-fruits that must be given to the Kohen], the appearance-sacrifice [at the Temple in Jerusalem on Pilgrimage Festivals], acts of kindness, and the study of the Torah. . . . (2) One should not make the Peah less than one-sixtieth [of the entire crop]. And although they [the Rabbis] say that there is no definite amount given for Peah, it is all based upon the size of the field and upon the number of poor [who will be collecting it] and upon the abundance of the crop.
The Hebrew word "ephah" (איפה) means a particular measure for grain, and "measure" in general. The Bible's ephah in modern terms is about 23 liters (5.1 imp gal; 6.1 U.S. gal), being ten times larger than the omer. The Book of Exodus records that an omer was equal to one tenth of an "ephah".
(14) And Boaz said unto her [Ruth] at meal-time: ‘Come, and eat of the bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar.’ And she sat beside the reapers; . . ., and she did eat and was satisfied, and left. (15) And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying: ‘Let her glean even among the sheaves, and put her not to shame. (16) And also pull out some for her of purpose from the bundles, and leave it, and let her glean, and don't rebuke her.’ (17) So she [Ruth] gleaned in the field until evening; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.