Too Close to IgnoreEsimerkki

Will you leave anything behind?

Gleaning the fields during harvest was established by God while the Israelites were still in the wilderness. This practice ensured that the poor would have a way to gather food and thus help prevent starvation. Boaz took the additional step of allowing Ruth to glean among the sheaves and ordered his harvesters to deliberately pull heads from the stalks and leave them for her and Naomi.

Today the practice of gleaning is an all-but-forgotten practice of antiquity, but gleaning of a different kind still persists. Some construction companies allow people to glean surplus building materials and scrap to either sell or use, thus continuing a long-standing practice of helping the poor.

Some things to ponder:

1. What kind of things could you "leave behind" for others to glean?

2. How can you assist others in their gleaning?