Maharal on the Sedra

Building the King's House and Garden

Vayikra 23:22 - And when you harvest the harvest of your land, do not finish the corner of your field, and do not glean the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the stranger - I am Hashem your God.
Rashi: This commandment is repeated here to obligate the transgressor twice. Rabbi Avdimi said in Rabbi Yosef’s name: Why is it fitting to place this commandment in the midst of the holidays, Pesach and Shavuot on one side and Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur on the other? It is to teach you that one who properly gives leket, shikcha and pe’ah is considered to have built the Holy Temple and offered his sacrifices in its midst.
Gur Arye: Offering a sacrifice is giving one’s money to Hashem. It is called AVODA [service, work], for a servant is owned by his master, and any wealth he has belongs to that master. When the servant of Hashem brings Him a sacrifice, he admits that what he “owns” belongs to Hashem. Similarly, giving charity in the form of leket, shikcha, and pe’ah amounts to the giving of his wealth to the poor, which is like an offering to Hashem, as it is written [Mishlei 19:17], “the giver to the poor is lending to Hashem.” Borrowing does not pertain to the poor, who have no means to repay, but the gift to the poor will be repaid by Hashem, who compensates the deficiencies of His creatures. Therefore, Hashem is obliged to “repay” the “loan” of he who gives to the poor.
The gifts of our verse are distinct from the generic charitable gifts that Torah requires [D’varim 16:11], for these latter are free willed gifts, gratuities [chanina], involving mercy for the recipient.  But the gifts obligated by our verse decreed as an obligation are certainly a higher order commandment.  The stronger the commandment, the more praise- worthy its accomplishment, as the rabbis said [Kiddushin 31a], “one who is commanded and does, is greater than one who does without having been commanded.”  The reason for this is that the one commanded fulfills Hashem’s will.
What can we compare this to? Consider two men. One builds a house for the king and the other builds a garden. Because the house is needed and used by the king, it is dearer to him than the garden, in which he only occasionally strolls. If Hashem specifically obligates us to give leket, shikcha and pe’ah, giving it is a direct fulfillment of His will. In other words, the “commanded” house/leket are examples of the Prime Cause [lla] driving the deed, while the “not-commanded”/garden/charity rep- resent examples of people [alui] driven deeds. The former are closer and dearer to Him.
A free-will gift to the poor is not a sacrifice, but rather a loan to Hashem, as it is written, “the giver to the poor is lending to Hashem.” But the giving in our verse is decreed, required, compulsory, a total gift to Him, a complete fulfillment of His will, a true sacrifice.

• Other Maharal on the Sedra
• Where is Yehuda's Rod Today?
• The Command to Teach Your Children the Holy Tongue
• The Impact of a Righteous Person on a Place