Eilu Devarim — Things With No Measure
The Mishnah's list of things for which there is no measure — helping establish that Judaism recognizes an infinite dimension of ethical obligation that cannot be reduced to a fixed quantity.
The Mishnah's list (Pe'ah 1:1) of things 'for which there is no measure' — no upper limit — is one of the most important texts in Jewish ethics. These are: pe'ah (leaving the corners of fields for the poor), bikkurim (first fruits), re'ayon (the Temple pilgrimage offering), gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness), and talmud Torah (Torah study). The Talmud adds to this list: 'These are the things whose fruit a person enjoys in this world while the principal remains for him in the World to Come: honoring father and mother, acts of loving kindness, hospitality, and bringing peace between persons — and Torah study is equal to all of them.' The concept of 'no measure' is significant: unlike most mitzvot which have specific quantitative requirements, these activities cannot be quantified — they are inherently open-ended obligations that call for unlimited generosity.
These are things for which there is no measure: leaving corners of fields, first fruits, pilgrimage offerings, acts of loving kindness, and Torah study.
Emmanuel Levinas's concept of 'infinite responsibility' — the ethical claim the face of the Other makes on me is always in excess of any finite response — describes the phenomenological experience of the mitzvot that have 'no measure': the recognition that the other's need always outstrips one's capacity to respond.
Mishnah