Sefer HaChinuch ספר החינוך

The commandment to allow the wageworker to eat from the attached [produce] upon which he is working: That we have been commanded that the wageworker eats at the time of his work from that which he is working upon — when that thing is something that grows from the earth and its production has not been completed. And about this does it state (Deuteronomy 23:25), “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, etc.” And the [traditional] explanation [that] came about it (Bava Metzia 87b) is that the verse is speaking about a wageworker. And so [too] did Onkelos translate, “When a wageworker.” And so is it likewise written, “When you enter your neighbor’s field of standing grain, etc.” And they, may their memory be blessed, explained in the chapter [entitled] Hasokher et Hapoel (Bava Metzia 88b), that we learned from these two verses that a person eats that which is connected at the time of the production’s completion. And they elucidated there that it would be insufficient to learn that which we need [to learn] from one of the verses without the other.

It is from the roots of the commandment [that it is] to teach the Children of Israel to have a nice soul and goodwill; and through this the blessing of God will descend upon them. And it is true that fastidiousness towards the worker, that he should not eat that upon which he is toiling, while he is still toiling — and all the more so, if they are involved with that which grows from the ground, about which a person is joyful with the blessing of God that He has given him — is an indication of villainy and a very bad temperament. And I have already written several times that the curse and evils will cling to the evil and that good things will cling to the good — “a species with its species.”

From the laws of the commandment is what they, may their memory be blessed, said (Bava Metzia 87a), what is the difference between someone involved in what is detached and someone who is involved with what is attached: That the one involved with what is detached eats until he finishes his work, and once he finishes his work, it is forbidden for him to eat. But the one who is involved with what is attached — for example, harvesting and reaping — only eats when he has finished his work. For example, the harvester and the reaper would eat after they have filled the basket. (See Mishneh Torah, Hiring 12:2.) This is the law of the Torah, but the Sages said [that] because of returning a lost object to the owner — meaning to say, that they not idle from work — that they should eat while walking from one row to another and in their returning [from the vat]. And one who idles during the time of work, and eats, transgresses a negative commandment. And about this is it stated, “you must not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain,” as we will write in this Order adjacently in its negative commandments with God’s help (Sefer HaChinukh 577). And also that which they said about this matter (Bava Metzia 89a), that one who milks and one who churns and one makes cheese, and all that is similar to it does not eat, because [milk products] are not things that grow from the ground; [and] one who thins out onions or garlic — even though he detaches small ones from among the big ones — does not eat, because this is not the end of production; and it is not necessary to say that guardians of gardens and orchards and all that is attached to the ground do not eat at all. And [also] that which they said (Bava Metzia 89a) that the worker does not eat from something, the production of which is completed concerning tithing and challah-tithing. One who harvests and one who threshes and one who winnows and one who separates and one who reaps olives or grapes and one who crushes and all that is similar to these [types of] work eat from Torah writ. And the guardians of threshing floors and mounds and anything that is detached from the ground, the production of which has not been completed regarding tithes, eat from the laws of [what is practiced] in the state, but not from Torah writ, since a guardian does not do an act. (See Mishneh Torah, Hiring 12:8-9.) And with someone who does an act, there is no difference between when he does it with his hand or his foot or even with his shoulder — all of them eat from Torah writ. If he was involved with figs, he cannot eat grapes, as it states, “in your neighbors’ vineyard, and you may eat grapes” — meaning to say, and not something else. And one involved in this grapevine should not eat grapes of a different vine. And it is forbidden for the worker to suck the grapes, as it states, “and you may eat [grapes]” — and not sucking. And he should not eat a gluttonous eating, as it states, “and you shall be satisfied” — but not more. And the rest of the details of the commandment are elucidated in the chapter [entitled] Hasokher Hapoalim in Bava Metzia.

And [it] is practiced in every place and at all time by males and females. And one who transgresses it and does not allow his wageworker to eat in the mentioned manner, has violated this positive commandment.