What are Peret and Olelot?

Leviticus 19:10: Peret — fallen individual grapes; Olelot — small clusters. Both left for the poor and stranger.

How did the grape gleanings work?

The poor followed the vintage, gathering fallen grapes and small clusters. The vintage was systematically incomplete.

What does Naboth's vineyard contribute?

1 Kings 21 shows the vineyard as covenant heritage. The contrast: Peret/Olelot assumed leaving the edges; Jezebel took the whole thing by murder.

What is Isaiah's vineyard parable about?

Isaiah 5:1-7: God expected justice and righteousness from His vineyard. The grape gleaning commands were one form of that expected fruit.

Why were both grapes and grain covered?

The covenant economy was comprehensive — no food category exempt. Every harvest left something for those with no harvest.

Commandment #77 · Positive · Social & Ethical Laws

Leave Fallen Grapes and Small Clusters for the Poor — Peret and Olelot

פֶּרֶט וְעוֹלֵלוֹת

Source: Leviticus 19:10 · Maimonides, Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive #77

Fallen grapes and small clusters in the vineyard belonged to the poor by divine right. The vintage, like the grain harvest, was designed to be incomplete.

וּפֶרֶט כַּרְמְךָ לֹא תְלַקֵּט

"Neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor."

Leviticus 19:10 — Open in Torah Reader

The Vineyard's Systematic Incompleteness

Just as grain fields had Peah, Leket, and Shikcha, the vineyard had Peret (fallen grapes) and Olelot (small clusters). Every agricultural system had built-in poverty provision. The comprehensiveness showed this was systematic — covering all food categories.

Naboth's Vineyard: The Extreme Violation

הָשֵׁם חָלִילָה לִּי

"The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee."

1 Kings 21:3

1 Kings 21: instead of leaving the edges, King Ahab and Jezebel took the entire vineyard by murder. Naboth's refusal — 'The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee' — was a covenant principle. Elijah's condemnation was immediate and total.

Isaiah's Wild Vineyard: What the Grapes Were For

וַיְקַו לְמִשְׁפָּט וְהִנֵּה מִשְׂפָּח

"And he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry."

Isaiah 5:7

Isaiah 5:1-7: God planted Israel as His vineyard and looked for justice (mishpat) and righteousness (tsedakah). Instead He found oppression and a cry. Failing to leave grape edges for the poor was one symptom of the wild-grape failure the whole vineyard represented.

Key Figures

Isaiah's Vineyard — The National Metaphor

His parable shows the vineyard gleaning commands expressed at the largest scale: Israel was God's vineyard and justice for the poor was the expected fruit.

Naboth — The Vineyard Martyr

His story shows the extreme form of vineyard violation — taking everything by murder instead of leaving the edges.

Study Questions

For reflection and group study

The vineyard had Peret and Olelot as the grain field had Peah, Leket, and Shikcha. What does systematic coverage of all agricultural products say about the covenant economy?

See Lev 19:9–10; Deut 24:19–22

Isaiah said God looked for justice and found oppression. How do the grape gleaning commands relate to the justice Israel's divine vineyard required?

See Isa 5:1–7; Lev 19:10; Amos 4:1

Naboth's case shows the trajectory from 'leave the edges' to 'take everything by murder.' What does this extreme illustrate?

See 1 Kgs 21:1–19; Mic 2:2; Isa 5:8

Both grain and grape commands required leaving before the owner finished taking. What does 'leave before you finish' say about the Torah's understanding of ownership?

See Lev 19:9–10; Ps 24:1; Deut 8:17–18

Leviticus 19:10 explicitly includes the stranger. Why specify the foreigner?

See Lev 19:10; 34; Deut 24:19–22; Ezek 47:22

Read this commandment in the original Hebrew.

Open Leviticus 19:10 in Torah Reader

← Shikcha Next: Bikkurim →All Studies