One
senses something incredibly deep going on in
bikkurim, a seemingly simple mitzvah of
delivering the first produce of the seven
species up to Yerushalayim to the kohen. It is a
mitzvah whose protocol greatly transcends its
content. Consider the following mishnaic
snapshot of the 2nd temple annual
bikkurim parade :
How were the bikkurim taken up [to Jerusalem]?
All [the inhabitants of] the cities .. gathered
together and spent the night in the open place
.. early in the morning the officer said: 'let
us arise and go up to Zion, into the house of
the lord our god'.. Those who lived near brought
fresh figs and grapes, but those from a distance
brought dried figs and raisins. An ox with horns
bedecked with gold and with an olive-crown on
its head led the way. The flute was played
before them .. when they arrived close to
Jerusalem they ornamentally arrayed their
bikkurim .. the governors and chiefs and
treasurers [of the Temple] went out to meet them
.. All the skilled artisans of Jerusalem would
greet them:'brethren, men of such and such a
place, we are delighted to welcome you'.. when
they reached the temple mount even king Agrippa
would take the basket and place it on his
shoulder and walk as far as the temple court. At
the approach to the court, the levites would
sing the song: 'i will extol thee, o lord, for
thou hast raised me up, and hast not suffered
mine enemies to rejoice over me'.. The rich
brought their bikkurim in baskets overlaid with
silver or gold, whilst the poor used
wicker-baskets of peeled willow-branches
Not
bad for a little olive, a bit of fig, a shtick
raisin or piece of pomegranate. Almost sounds a
bit Hungarian. So why all this commotion?
Now
consider a few more unique halachic details:
a.
the residents of Jerusalem would take off work
to
b.
the bikkurim bringer would declare a
summary of Jewish history - something unique to
any korban or gift in the mikdash
c.
there was no minimum amount of bikkurim -
even the smallest amount suffices [not unique] -
but there was also no maximum amount - one could
declare their whole field bikkurim [yes
unique]
and
a few Rabbinic statements regarding our mitzvah:
a.
Do this mitzvah, for in its merit, you will
enter the land [Sifri]
b.
In the merit of bikkurim, the world was
created [Bereishis, Rabah, 1:6]
c.
In the merit of two things [..bikkurim],
Yisrael can plead before Hashem [Midrash
Tanchuma, Re'eh]
Simply put: Bikkurim is a big deal. It
stature dwarfs a simple tithe or even terumah.
Within its portals, our commentaries find
critical themes of
a.
Faith/Gratitude
- Hashem, even as it feels like I did all the
work, You Hashem are the source of my success [Sefer
HaChinuch]. I thank you for the fruit in
particular and the land in general [Alshich] -
for the land is yours [Abarbanel] and it is only
appropriate that I "pay back" a bit [Chizkuni]
b.
Reflection
- Personal and national. This fruit represents
the culmination of much hard work. That it comes
from Eretz Yisrael is the fulfillment of the
Divine promise and our national dream. [Chizkuni]
c.
Sacrifice
- Human nature greatly craves firsts. [first
smile, first shoes, first dollar made in
business] We are attached to firsts. Give what
you greatly value to Hashem.
A
final halacha captivates me: [Rambam,
Bikkurim, 3:5]
[Halachically],
eating Bikkurim is like eating terumah.
Bikkurim is stricter in that it is
forbidden to the onein [the one who
lost a relative that has not yet been buried]
Why is this so? Because bikkurim
requires simcha [joy] - a statement that is
borne out by the end of the bikkurim
section:
You shall rejoice with all the good that Ad-noy,
your G-d, gave you and your household; you, the
levi, and the proselyte in your midst.
One
might have been tempted to say that the Torah is
either urging us to be happy or describing the
natural state of affairs of the bikkurim
bringer. The fact that this verse serves as a
source[1]
prohibiting the onein from eating bikkurim
indicates that it is not merely a suggestion; it
is the law! The Torah strikingly declares: Be
Happy! Form and action will not suffice. The
striking nature of this requirement becomes all
the more curious given that simcha obligation
resides in but a few places in the Torah[2]
- leaving us to ponder the unique relationship
between simcha and bikkurim.
Before we try to figure it out, one must note
the remarkable symmetry in our parsha. The
Talmud points out that we read Ki Tavo the
Shabbos before the last Shabbos of the year - in
order to rid the year of its curses, a theme
that occupies the greater part of our parsha. We
want to enter the new year on a high note.
In
detailing those terrible punishments, the Torah
makes a brief and penetrating
comment:[Devarim,28:45-47]
All these curses shall come upon you and will
chase you and reach you until you are destroyed;
for you have not obeyed Ad-noy, your G-d, to
guard His commandments and His statutes that He
commanded you.. because you did not serve Ad-noy,
your G-d, with joy and goodheartedness, from
your bounty.
Our
parsha begins with the simcha imperative and
concludes by spelling out the consequence of a
simcha-less existence!
It
is these last troubling verses which the mind
instinctively protests:
a.
Is
that really true? -
Must one be happy when performing every mitzvah?
Do have to eat maror b'simcha? What about the
mitzvah of mourning or punishing the sinners.
Surely, simcha is not a halacha I every mitzvah.
b.
More to the point, is it fair? One who
does every mitzvah without simcha should be the
recipient of such terrible consequences. Barring
the few aforementioned instances, we do not
even find a mitzvah of simcha in the Torah?
Perhaps it is not happiness per se that is the
point. Indeed there is no requirement that every
mitzvah be done with happiness. It is the
mindset that is the key to the pasuk - for
happiness is a litmus test and a choice. If
indeed no one can have it all [except for the
other guy]; the question then becomes -what
dominates my frame of reference? What I have
or what I don't have?
To
the extent that I find simcha in what I have, be
it a figele or a shtick barley,
davka at the beginning of the yield, then I will
be develop the simcha trait in everything that
comes my way. Bikkurim - the mitzvah, is
celebrated with pomp and circumstance for it is
precisely in the small that the Torah seeks to
hammer home the message that it's all a gift.
More to the point the Torah reminds us to be
happy in all that Hashem gives you - for
within that gift is the most precious
relationship possible.
Concurrently, to those who feel entitled (kumtzach
mir), the Torah, in the terrifying tochacha,
resoundingly reminds us the root of all sin, not
a particular act begins with an emptiness, an
unhappiness. It is as if the Torah warns:
If you can not be happy with what you have
already, then who says when you get more, you
will yet reach the promised land of contentment.
Do you want to know why you have veered away -
why you were looking for love and joy in all the
wrong places? - it is because you were not able
to find it at home.
In
short, to gain happiness one must choose it.
Like all important things in life, it is an
avodah, a midah to be acquired - not a
particular amount of money.
As
we walk into Rosh Hashana, let us ponder all the
good that is already in our life: the good of
family, the good of health, the good of life
..[please fill in the blanks]. and the good of
being able to connect to the source of all truth
through His mitzvos
With great bracha for a wonderful new year,
Good Shabbos - Asher Brander
[1] Cf Pesachim 36b. Rashi
here based on R. Shimon [who says that a
kohen onein may eat bikkurim]
uses this pasuk to teach that the
bikkurim must be brought during the
time of simcha, i.e. from Shavuous
until Pesach. Chachamim however say that
an Onen may not eat bikkurim. It
could be that the Chachamim's source is
a comparison to ma'aser sheini. Cf.
Rabbeinu Bechayei who explicitly derives
from our pasuk the source that an onein
may not eat bikkurim.
[2]
One is with regard to the 1st
year of marriage, v'sim et ishto. The
other with regard to the mitzvah of
being happy on the regalim
