Earlier we learned about two ways of understanding “you shall not” in the Torah, as “you should not” but if you do, it's done, or as “you cannot,” and your act is ineffective, represented respectively by Abaye and Rava.
The fourteenth challenge is against Abaye, from the laws of pe'ah, corners of the field, which one must leave for the poor. If he has not left some standing crop as pe'ah, he can leave it from the sheaves, or any time until the end of the harvest process. Rabbi Ishmael says that he can separate it even from dough. How can Abaye say that “it's done” for this transgression? Rabbi Ishmael teaches that the farmer never acquires pe'ah, but it always remains the property of the poor! Abaye answers that the Torah repeated the commandment to leave pe'ah, to emphasize that the farmer never acquires it.
In all fourteen cases Abaye and Rava actually agreed with each other, even if for different reasons. If so, where do they differ? Perhaps they argue about illegal interest, Abaye saying that the lender acquired it and does not have to return it to the borrower, while Rava saying that he does? – No, interest is more serious than that. Rather, they argue about a thief who stole an item and changed its shape. Does he acquire the item, but has to repay its value (Abaye), or does he not acquire the item and has to return it, even if he changed it (Rava).
Art: Theodore Gerard - The Little Thief
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