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The Torah mandates four frameworks to help the poor.
The first (and formerly primary one) was agricultural.[1] The poor were entitled to harvest five agricultural gifts for themselves. (See the next section.)
The second was charity, which took care of their remaining needs.
Third was the tithe for the poor (ma’aser ani). Field owners, after giving a tithe (tenth) of their produce each year to the Levites (as we will explain in 17:7 and 24:4), were required to tithe again. During the third and sixth years of the seven-year cycle, this second tithe was given to the poor. This allowed them to live in relative comfort for two years out of every seven. (See section six below.)
Fourth was the inclusion of the poor in holiday celebrations hosted by the pilgrims to Jerusalem. These included offerings brought then, as well as food that could be eaten only in Jerusalem (such as the second tithe in the first, second, fourth, and fifth years of the cycle), which the poor were invited to eat
[1] These agricultural mitzvot were exclusive to the Land of Israel.
