Gleaning a Lesson

Yesterday's Torah reading included the Mitzvos of לקט, שכחה ופאה. These are the Torah's requirements to leave for the poor and sheaves that drop or are forgotten while harvesting, as well as the edge of your field. I saw an interesting explanation on this from the Rikanti on which I would like to expound.

He explains that these items are given to the poor because they reflect how a poor person sees himself. He sees himself as if he were dropped by God, so we give him the sheaves that are dropped. He feels forgotten, so he is given anything growing that is forgotten during the harvesting process. He is living on the edge of society, so he is given the grains that grow on the edge of the field.

My wife suggested that the idea behind this is that we are doing the impoverished person a kindness by showing him that we really understand how he views his own situation. To make a person feel "gotten" is a great kindness.