The Bikkurim ritual is an incredible expression of gratitude and this study session is focused on that value.
We are delighted to be part of the Days of Gratitude, a global initiative to focus on gratitude in its many forms, and the life-giving power it has to bring positivity and good into the world.
For more activities and ideas related to gratitude see www.gratitudedays.com
Introduction to Sources #1 and #2
The Bikkurim ritual, the offering of the first fruits of the yearly harvest, began starting on Shavuot. This ritual is a classic Jewish expression of gratitude. It takes place as the farmer begins to collect the first fruit from the fields and trees, after months of toil and investment, waiting for the hard work to, literally, “bear fruit”. The Torah commands that precisely at this moment, when one sees the fruits of their labor, one must pause, take note and acknowledge the gift they were given.
The Bikkurim ritual is described in the following text from the Torah and then further detailed in the text from the Mishnah.
As you read, pay attention to the following themes: time, place, identity, ritual and society.
(1) When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it, (2) you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God will choose to establish His name. (3) You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, “I acknowledge this day before the LORD your God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to assign us.” (4) The priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of the LORD your God. (5) You shall then recite as follows before the LORD your God: “My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. (6) The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. (7) We cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. (8) The LORD freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents. (9) He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. (10) Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, O LORD, have given me.” You shall leave it before the LORD your God and bow low before the LORD your God. (11) And you shall enjoy, together with the Levite and the stranger in your midst, all the bounty that the LORD your God has bestowed upon you and your household.
(ב) כֵּיצַד מַעֲלִין אֶת הַבִּכּוּרִים. ...
(ג) הַקְּרוֹבִים מְבִיאִים הַתְּאֵנִים וְהָעֲנָבִים, וְהָרְחוֹקִים מְבִיאִים גְּרוֹגָרוֹת וְצִמּוּקִים. וְהַשּׁוֹר הוֹלֵךְ לִפְנֵיהֶם, וְקַרְנָיו מְצֻפּוֹת זָהָב, וַעֲטֶרֶת שֶׁל זַיִת בְּרֹאשׁוֹ. הֶחָלִיל מַכֶּה לִפְנֵיהֶם, עַד שֶׁמַּגִּיעִים קָרוֹב לִירוּשָׁלָיִם. הִגִּיעוּ קָרוֹב לִירוּשָׁלַיִם, שָׁלְחוּ לִפְנֵיהֶם, וְעִטְּרוּ אֶת בִּכּוּרֵיהֶם. הַפַּחוֹת, הַסְּגָנִים וְהַגִּזְבָּרִים יוֹצְאִים לִקְרָאתָם. ... וְכָל בַּעֲלֵי אֻמָּנִיּוֹת שֶׁבִּירוּשָׁלַיִם עוֹמְדִים לִפְנֵיהֶם וְשׁוֹאֲלִין בִּשְׁלוֹמָם, אַחֵינוּ אַנְשֵׁי הַמָּקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי, בָּאתֶם לְשָׁלוֹם:
(ד) הֶחָלִיל מַכֶּה לִפְנֵיהֶם עַד שֶׁמַּגִּיעִין לְהַר הַבָּיִת. ...
(ו) עוֹדֵהוּ הַסַּל עַל כְּתֵפוֹ, קוֹרֵא מֵהִגַּדְתִּי הַיּוֹם לַה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ (דברים כו), עַד שֶׁגּוֹמֵר כָּל הַפָּרָשָׁה.
(2) How were the bikkurim taken up [to Jerusalem]? ...
(3) Those who lived near [Jerusalem] would bring fresh figs and grapes, while those who lived far away would bring dried figs and raisins. An ox would go in front of them, his horns bedecked with gold and with an olive-crown on its head. The flute would play before them until they would draw close to Jerusalem. When they drew close to Jerusalem they would send messengers in advance, and they would adorn their bikkurim. The governors and chiefs and treasurers [of the Temple] would go out to greet them, ... All the skilled artisans of Jerusalem would stand up before them and greet them saying, “Our brothers, men of such and such a place, we welcome you in peace.”
(4) The flute would play before them, until they reached the Temple Mount. ...
(6) While the basket was still on his shoulder he recites from: "I acknowledge this day before the LORD your God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to assign us” (Deuteronomy 26:3) until he completes the passage.
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When and where does this ritual take place?
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What is the content of the proclamation that is said when bringing the fruits to the temple?
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What, in your opinion, is the connection between the proclamation and the ritual and what function does it serve?
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Note the closing verse of the text in Deuteronomy. What is the result of this ritual and who should be included in it?
Introduction to Sources #3 and #4
Once we understand the Bikkurim ritual and how it works, now we can connect it to gratitude. The texts below make this connection.
Some commentaries see the main goal of this ritual as a way to instill and develop a sense of gratitude and even go as far as to say that the world was created for this commandment.
See #3 below. The midrash is picking up on the fact that the Torah specifies that a person has to go the priest in the Temple "and say to him" the declaration. Why is it important to say it out loud, and to the priest directly? The answer the midrash gives is, because it creates an attitude of gratitude.
- Do you agree that saying something out loud and directly has an impact on gratitude? Why or why not?
- Can you think of examples in your own life when this has been true?
Text #4 goes even further to argue that the world was created so that we could do the mitzvah of Bikkurim.
- What kind of world do you think is (or could be) created with the ritual of Bikkurim?
- What would hope or expect to see in a society or culture which takes Bikkurim seriously?
(א) ואמרת אליו. שאינך כפוי טובה.
(1) (Devarim 26:2) "and you shall say to him": that you are not ungrateful for (His) good.
(ב) אמנם בשום לב אל מה שהגדילו רז"ל בב"ר התמיהא הזאת נבא עד תכונתה באומר בראשית ברא כו' בשביל מצות בכורים שנאמר בה ראשית בכורי אדמתך ברא אלקים את השמים כו' כי הלא יפלא מה גדלה המצות הזאת שעליה לבדה נברא העולם.
על כן צוה לנו יתברך נקח מראשית כל פרי האדמה ונשים בטנא ונוליך עד מקום כבודו יתברך באומרים לפניו יתברך לא לנו ה' לא לנו כי הכל שלך ולהורות כי ממנו יתב' הכל הנה ראשיתו בטנא לפני כסא כבודי כאשר יובא לפני בעל הכרם.
ובזה תלוי קיום כל התורה והוראה עיקרים אל היות זאת בינתו ית' הלא גלה ופי' במשנה זו ובמצוה זו שאל"כ למה חרד על שוה פרוטה את כל החרדה והכבוד ובגלל הדבר הזה הטיבו אשר דברו ז"ל שבשביל מצות בכורים נברא העולם
We should pay attention to what our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, taught (in Bereshit Raba 1:6), this wonderous thing that they said that the world was created for the commandment of Bikkurim (bringing of the first fruit), since in both the word “reishit”- beginning- appears. What a wonder it is how crucial this commandment is, that for it alone, the world was created…
And this is the reason that the Blessed be He commanded all of the honor and detail described in the Mishnah, to teach them not to be ungrateful, but rather recognizing that it all comes from God. And they bring the first fruits as a way of respect, this is all that God requested in return for everything He created. For the entire world was created for humans, but for man to be appreciative of the good and that he praises Him and not be ungrateful, and on this, the existence of the entire Torah is dependent.
Now that there is no longer a temple, the Bikkurim ritual, as described above, no longer takes place. The Lubavitcher Rebbe points out one difference between the ritual of Bikkuirm and other Jewish expressions of gratitude is specifically the fact that it is a ritual. It is a commitment that leads to action. It does not stay in the realm of words or emotion.
- What contemporary ritual could you design and take upon yourself, to embody the meaning and values of the original ritual of Bikkurim?
