{See my notes below}
Mishna one
These are the things that have no measure:
The Peah of the field, the first-fruits, the appearance,
[at the Temple in Jerusalem on Pilgrimage Festivals],
acts of kindness, and the study of the Torah.
These are things the fruits of which
a human being enjoys in this world,
while the principle remains for them in the World to Come:
Honouring father and mother,
acts of kindness,
and bringing peace between a man and his fellow.
But the study of Torah is equal to them all.
Explanation
The first part of the mishnah lists things that have no measure: the size of a field’s “corners,” whose produce is left for the poor; how many “first fruits” to bring to Jerusalem as an offering; and how often to appear at the Temple during Pilgrimage Festivals, or how large an offering to bring when one appears. “Acts of kindness” and “study of the Torah” also have no predetermined legal measure, but rather each person decides how much to do.
The second part of the mishnah lists acts which benefit a person both during his lifetime and in the World to Come. The “principle” of the heavenly reward for these deeds is reserved for the World to Come, while the “fruits” (i.e. the profits or interest) are enjoyed during his lifetime.
That have no measure: That is, they are things whose value cannot be measured.
Peah: The namesake of this tractate, the Peah is the "corner" of a farmer's field that must be reserved for the poor.
First-fruits: When the Temple in Jerusalem was standing, Jews would bring the first fruits of their produce to a kohen on Shavuot in the early summer, after which the kohen would ask them to explain the Torah. The amount of first-fruits that would be given to the kohen would be up to the individual, hence its inclusion here in things which lack measurability.
From Wikisource > http://bit.ly/hoOTza
Mishna two
One should not make the Peah less than
one-sixtieth of the entire crop,
And though there no definite amount is given for Peah.
It is all based upon the size of the field,
the number of poor who will be collecting it,
and the abundance of the crop.
Explanation
This Mishna says that when one fulfills the commandment of Peah he is obligated to give at least one-sixtieth of his crop (In Jewish law, one sixtieth is a common basis number for giving a minimum) as Peah. The Mishna goes on to say that if one has a big field with only a few poor coming to pick up food the sixtieth is based on the size of the field. If though one has a small field and more poor people coming to pick up food, one should base the sixtieth on the number of people coming. Additionally one with the later case should try to give more than the bare minimum. The Mishna concludes with the fact that one may not choose the Peah from only the inferior part of the crop and must include better produce also.
From Wikisource > http://bit.ly/fWBFrO
My notes =
Since the Torah is Written on the Heart
Since the Torah is written on the hearts of believers who follow Yehoshua the Messiah of Israel they look from the heart for how they might leave the corners of their fields of work for the poor. This requires rectification on the corporate level. Why? Because it is a mitzvah of the land of Israel. This is the blessing of Abraham. In order for the blessing of Abraham to be realized the time is come for the need of all the families of the earth to be blessed through Abraham to be realized and satisfied.
How do we know this? Mashiach is come, having given himself a ransom for Israel, though concealed for the sake of salvation by the gentleness of grace, until the hour when "the iniquity of the Amorites is full".
Peah is a Mitzvah of the Land of Israel
What does it mean that the mitzvah of peah is a mitzvah of the land of Israel? Simply, the Torah is commanded to Israel and the mitzvah of peah cannot be carried out in exile by the Jewish people. Nevertheless, insomuch that hope is in the heart of every Torah-hearted believer, Jew or Gentile, there is a desire for social justice.
Poverty and Inequity Are Not the Normal Design of Corporate Adam
What does the desire for social justice imply? It implies the lack of social justice. Poverty and inequity are not normal to the design of corporate Adam. This is the primary shofar cry of the Torah. What then is this cry for? It is for restorative justice. Wherever there is desire for social justice there is at the heart of this desire the root desire for restorative justice. Before there can be complete Biblical social justice, there is a need for the wrong that has come into the world to be rectified through the manifestation of true Biblical restorative justice. The need for the justice that can rectify the unrighteousness of corporate Adam is revealed by the desire found in all Torah-hearted people for the social justice promised by the Prophets.
The Refreshed Covenant
The Torah is in our hearts. This is the fist part of the Refreshed Covenant. The second part is "You will no longer say, 'Know the Lord!' They will all know Me - from the least to the greatest." This second part builds on the first part. This second part begins with the regeneration of the spirit of all Israel and goes on from this to the manifestation in all matters of complete equity in the practices of life which are involved in knowing the Lord, complete equity between the least and the greatest souls in Israel. The Vine with all its branches will be fully alive and bearing its complete abundance of fruit. This is the whole covenant that God made with Abraham and with all Israel on Mount Sinai refreshed in the blood of Mashiach.
The Regeneration of the Spirit of All Israel
What does it mean to speak of the regeneration of the spirit of all Israel? Even while the Torah is written on the heart of believers in the covenant word of God, of Jewish and non-Jewish believers, while Mashiach is concealed in heavenly places, the corners of the field of the whole land of Israel do not yet come together in covering the whole land.
What is this saying? It is saying that perfect social justice is not yet accomplished, even in any one particular act where it is whole-heartedly intended. Even in that righteous act social justice is not perfect yet. For no act of justice is complete until all is complete in all the land. This means that the regeneration of the spirit of all Israel, though it exists now cannot be entirely seen now. This does not mean that its power is any less.
Biblical Restorative Justice: The Blessing of Abraham
We still struggle from the heart for a Torah-true social justice that can prepare us for the dissolution of this world and the translation of all redeemed life into the new heavens and the new earth, where selfishness is gone and cannot return. That we still have this struggle is representative of the truth that Abraham is not fully blessed until all the families of the earth are fully blessed by blessing themselves through Abraham. That is to say, through the one covenant of God, the covenant that God made with Abraham.
There is, so long as Mashiach is concealed and revealed only to faith a need for restorative justice in the earth to be revealed, a justice that can manifest the rectification of the wrong that exists between Adam and God that is brought about by Adam, by the whole family of Adam. Only when this Biblical restorative justice is manifested can the hoped for social justice be manifested. The revelation of Mashiach is the midpoint between these two.
Seeing From the Vantage Point of The World To Come
Until then we continue to struggle with the exile wherein Israel is divided into two houses and one of those houses is constitued by the word of God for the time being as being non-Israel. Only from the vantage point of the world to come can it be seen that this "half" of Israel, which is under the branch of Joseph, has always been truly constitued as Israel, just as the other "half" which was openly preserved in this world under the branch of Judah.
From the vantage point of this world it cannot be seen. For this is a matter of the resurrection of the dead. Nevertheless, it is seen by God and by anyone who sees with God by faith that both houses are already as one in Mashiach. But again, this is concealed from sight as Mashiach is concealed from sight in the present hour.
Let Us Go On
This does not diminish the salvation that is in him, nor the unfolding of that salvation wherein the nations are corpartely blessed in that they are attached to the branch of Joseph, all under the name, Egypt, and Abraham's covenant is eternally refreshed. So, let us go on, toward the hour of the removal of the blindfold that is upon the world, when the justice of God that restores all things will be seen and God's social justice can be estabished in all the land of Israel, when the Redeemer reigns in Jerusalem, and brings his justice in all the earth, and the four corners of the field of righteousness in all the earth are all made to overlap one another, when in the Land of Israel Adam is restored whole, through the justice of God.
