Why does it say again "va'Telaket"?
Malbim: She took only Leket, but not Shichechah.
Why did she beat it in the field?
Vilna Gaon, Malbim: There was no need for her to toil to carry home the straw together with the barley, so she removed the chaff in the field.
What is the significance that it was about an Eifah?
Malbim: We infer that she collected from a field four and a half [Beis] Korim 1 , for normally Leket is four Kavim per Kor (Yerushalmi).
This is [at least] four and a half times the amount that an Oni must give to his wife to eat per week 2 (Kesuvos 64b). (PF)
A Beis Kor is 75,000 square Amos. This is unlike Rashi's Perush (refer to 2:16:1:2) that Bo'az told the harvesters to drop extra. (PF)
Rashi (1:22) implies that this was on Chol ha'Mo'ed! One may reap only what is needed for the rest of the Mo'ed! She gathered sheaves, with straw attached; perhaps she underestimated how much barley is in the sheaves. Or, she needed to sell barley to buy other needs of the Mo'ed. (PF)
