Peah 8:8-9

Peah 8:8

If a person has 200 zuz (enough for a year’s worth of food and clothing), he is not entitled to leket, shich’cha, peah or maaser ani (the various gifts for the needy). If he has even one zuz less than this, he may accept these gifts, even if a thousand donors were to give him simultaneously (because any one of them would push him into the 200-zuz bracket). If his property was mortgaged as collateral for a loan or as a security to pay the value of his wife’s kesubah (marriage contract) in the event of his death, he may accept the gifts for the poor. A person is not compelled to sell his house or possessions rather than accept these gifts.

Peah 8:9

If a person has 50 zuz that he uses to conduct business, he may not receive the gifts for the needy. If a person accepts these gifts when he shouldn’t, he will ultimately be legitimately needy. If a person doesn’t accept these gifts when he is entitled to them, he will ultimately be able to support others. Regarding such a person, Jeremiah 17:7 says, “Blessed is the man who puts his trust in God….” This verse also applies to a judge who delivers truly unbiased verdicts. If a person pretends to be blind or disabled in order to receive charity to which he is not entitled, he will ultimately become the thing he pretended to be, as per Deuteronomy 16:20, “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” If a judge accepts a bribe, which perverts justice, he will ultimately lose his sight as per Exodus 23:8, “…a bribe blinds those who have sight….”