Corner of the field

Martin Perlmutter

About Martin Perlmutter

I’m a producer of interactive media, a writer and an activist. My wife, Miki Raver, ran programs at Is-Free in 2008. I was lucky enough to accompany her, did some work in the kitchen, took care of the goats with Eitan Mizrachi and had an extraordinary cycle of seasons there. Along the way I painted (and continue to paint), and forged some lifelong bonds. I regard Isabella Freedman Jewish Spiritual Retreat Center as my spiritual home — a linkage of soul and space in which I am in good company.

About Corner of the field

I lived at Isabella Freedman for most of 2008. One day I wandered over to the Sadeh, looking for something pretty to paint. With no knowledge of the Pe’ah, I was attracted to the voluptuous disorder of the corner of the field and painted the attached. Later I came to understand the significance of reserving the corner for the needy and have often reflected on what it was that really called me to that tableau. As I understand it, the pe’ah is the portion of cultivated land that is not to be shorn of its fruit. This is the portion that belongs to the One and to the poor.