Oral Law Assignment Cara Cobden

   The mitzvot I chose to discuss for this assignment is from Leviticus 19:9. The mitzvot states: "You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger."
    I love this mitzvot dearly, as it is something my parents have taught me my entire life, and a moral I am so thankful to have instilled in me. I interpret this as saying that when you are abundant in your success, give back to the community around you or someone in need you happen to come across. It also makes a point to talk about leaving the fallen fruit, in my personal understanding, so that you will know that if your luck has unintentionally spread to other people, do not wish for it back but happily accept the fact that you do not need it for yourself while others do. It reminds me of how if you see a penny facing tales up, you should flip it so that it is lucky for the next person who finds it. Although it is a silly superstition, it is one which I believe to be beautifully intended and I still do it to this day, so that perhaps it will make someone happy who does believe in it. This is also something important to my family- and in a very literal way as we feed those in need of it every Thanksgiving and have been for the past 21 years.
   When my parents had just celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary, found out my mom was pregnant, and my dad had just opened his first restaurant, they decided they were too fortunate not to give back to the community around them. They decided that they would invite two homeless shelters that cater to families to my dad's restaurant for a Thanksgiving meal. My mom got a list of the children who would be attending and bought toys for each of them, and they get tickets to the family movie of the year. It is my absolute favorite tradition and one that I hope will continue for years to come.  This tradition, however, is one that only takes up a small portion of our year. There are many things that people can do in their everyday lives to follow this incredibly important mitzvot, whether it be donating money, time, or simply showing someone who needs emotional support that you care.

Thanksgiving
  The picture that I chose is, unsurprisingly, from this past Thanksgiving. I was very upset about missing Thanksgiving this year, despite being ecstatic to be in Israel. When I looked back at these photos, and saw this picture I was reminded that there are so many ways that I can give back, and this tradition is not about me. Rather, it is about giving back to the community when my family is in a position to do so and making people happy any way that we can. This will still happen whether I am in Israel or not, and I am just glad that there are countless people following this mitzvot everyday.


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