Parashat Ki Tavo – 5785
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz – Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites
The mitzvah of Bikkurim (first fruits), which opens our Torah portion, is described in the Mishnah:
“How does one set aside the first fruits? A person goes down into his field, sees a fig that has ripened, a cluster of grapes that has ripened, a pomegranate that has ripened, ties them with a reed, and says: Behold, these are first fruits…”
(Bikkurim 3:1)
Later, the Mishnah describes the wonderful atmosphere and joy that accompanied this mitzvah, a joy we do not find with any other mitzvah:
“How were the first fruits brought up [to Jerusalem]? All the towns of a region would gather together… and they would spend the night in the town square, not entering the houses. In the morning the appointed officer would proclaim: ‘Arise, let us go up to Zion, to the House of the Lord our God!’
Those who lived nearby would bring fresh figs and grapes, and those from afar would bring dried figs and raisins. An ox walked before them, its horns overlaid with gold, and a wreath of olive leaves upon its head. The flute played before them until they reached close to Jerusalem.
When they approached Jerusalem, messengers went ahead and adorned their first fruits. The governors, deputies, and treasurers came out to greet them… and all the artisans of Jerusalem would stand before them and greet them: ‘Our brethren, people of such-and-such a place, you have come in peace!’ The flute played before them until they arrived at the Temple Mount.
When they arrived at the Temple Mount, even King Agrippa would take the basket upon his shoulder and enter until he reached the courtyard.
When they reached the courtyard, the Levites would speak in song: ‘I will exalt You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and not allowed my enemies to rejoice over me…’”
(Bikkurim 3:1)
The essence of this joy is gratitude. When the bringers of the first fruits entered the Temple Mount, the farmer would carry his basket of fruits and proclaim: “I am not ungrateful! I thank You, Lord, for the good land and for these wonderful fruits!”
There is a detailed declaration in the Torah to be recited while holding the basket, the very essence of which is a description of the hardships our ancestors endured in Egypt and even before, contrasted with the goodness that now overflows upon us.
The first fruits were brought only from the “Seven Species” for which the Land of Israel is praised: wheat, barley, grape, fig, pomegranate, olive, and date. Why, then, does the Mishnah mention only fig, cluster of grapes, and pomegranate?
The Chassidic writings, based on the teachings of the Ari (Rabbi Isaac Luria, founder of Lurianic Kabbalah), explain that the Bikkurim, which express gratitude, serve as a rectification for the sin of the spies – whose essence was ingratitude.
In Parashat Shelach, read three months ago, we learn of the spies who went to scout the Land of Israel and brought back fruits of enormous size. Their intent was to frighten the Israelites in the wilderness, implying: “You are heading toward a strange land, with fearsome inhabitants and bizarre fruits.”
Which fruits did these ungrateful spies bring, that succeeded in turning the people’s hearts, until the nation wept that infamous “cry for nothing”?
“A single cluster of grapes… and some pomegranates and some figs.”
(Numbers 13:23)
These same three fruits, which symbolized the bitterness of the wilderness and the night of weeping – the night of Tisha B’Av – are cited by the Mishnah as the fruits marking the bringing of the Bikkurim, whose entire essence is joy and gratitude.
The world Is so beautiful when we look upon it with a good eye; when we bless its Creator and are filled with gratitude. The mitzvah of Bikkurim, which is about joy, stands in direct opposition to the sin of the spies, which was all about bitterness, sadness, false complaints, and baseless weeping – the “cry for nothing” that led to a true cry of mourning and loss.
Let us open our eyes and recognize the good that surrounds us. Let us learn to rejoice in our portion and to thank God:
“And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given you.”
(Deuteronomy 26:11)
