Oral Law

“You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave

them for the poor and the stranger: I the Lord am your God” (Leviticus 19.10). For me, I understand this mitzvah as god telling us as humans not to be greedy. When God says to not pick your fallen fruit, I believe that he/she means that humans already have so much, and we should not take it all for ourselves. We should be thankful for what we have, and be willing to share some of our profits with those who are not as fortunate. In my daily life, I fulfill this mitzvot in a few different ways. First of all, I volunteer at a local soup kitchen in San Francisco called Glide Memorial Church. I believe that giving my time to help those who are hungry is a good way of filling this mitzvot. Another way of fulfilling this mitzvot is by giving tzedaka. During the summer, I work at a golf course as a caddie. Unlike some of my other friends who take all the money for themselves, I take about 10% and give it to non-profit organizations. As a Jew in the modern world, it is very easy to get caught up with ourselves and be extremely selfish. However, I believe that this mitzvot will help me stay on track of having good jewish values.

Ever since I was a little kid, I have been extremely passionate about whales. In captivity, they are 
mistreated and very depressed. This leads to short lives as compared to their wild counterparts. Also, whales in many parts of the world are subject to hunting by many groups of people including the Japanese. Personally, I feel somewhat responsible to help protect these beautiful creatures. In the last few years, I have boycotted whale/dolphin shows, and written letters to the owners of Sea world and other marine animal parks. On top of this, I make donations to Sea Shepherd's, an anti-whaling campaign in the Arctic Ocean. Also, when I get older, I want to work with whale conservation agencies to protect their future. I believe that this perfectly fits this mitzvot because it is me caring about something larger than myself. Giving my money/time to an important cause is exactly what this mitzvot asks for.