Pulling grain from the ear is not the same as picking from a
plate of food. It is indeed gathering food, perhaps considered harvesting in one
sense of the word.
This is an interesting point.
Shammai argued it was harvesting. Hillel argued it was not harvesting because
like the 1st and 7th day of Unleavened bread (which are Shabbats) you would cook
and prepare food (which involves manufacturing heat to cook) yet it was not
considered profaning the Shabbat. In like manner, peeling heads and rubbing them
in your hands to chew the grains (according one one thought) is not harvesting
and is not viewed as work. It's considered providing nourishment for a single
meal to provide comfort for man on Shabbat, for Shabbat was made for the comfort
of man. I personally believe in the liberal understanding of Hillel while you
apparently take Shammai's conservative understanding.
Thankfully, Hillel won out in the end (unless you speak with an antimissionary who sides with Shammai to prove Yeshua is a false Messiah... much like you just did. If you and the Antimissionary are correct, your faith could be worthless).
--slade
