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(א) וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־תָב֣וֹא אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָ֑ה וִֽירִשְׁתָּ֖הּ וְיָשַׁ֥בְתָּ בָּֽהּ׃ (ב) וְלָקַחְתָּ֞ מֵרֵאשִׁ֣ית ׀ כׇּל־פְּרִ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר תָּבִ֧יא מֵֽאַרְצְךָ֛ אֲשֶׁ֨ר ה' אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָ֖ךְ וְשַׂמְתָּ֣ בַטֶּ֑נֶא וְהָֽלַכְתָּ֙ אֶל־הַמָּק֔וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִבְחַר֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ לְשַׁכֵּ֥ן שְׁמ֖וֹ שָֽׁם׃ (ג) וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִהְיֶ֖ה בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֑ם וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֗יו הִגַּ֤דְתִּי הַיּוֹם֙ לַה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ כִּי־בָ֙אתִי֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֧ע ה' לַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ לָ֥תֶת לָֽנוּ׃ (ד) וְלָקַ֧ח הַכֹּהֵ֛ן הַטֶּ֖נֶא מִיָּדֶ֑ךָ וְהִ֨נִּיח֔וֹ לִפְנֵ֕י מִזְבַּ֖ח ה' אֱלֹקֶֽיךָ׃ (ה) וְעָנִ֨יתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ לִפְנֵ֣י ׀ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֗יךָ אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י וַיֵּ֣רֶד מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וַיָּ֥גׇר שָׁ֖ם בִּמְתֵ֣י מְעָ֑ט וַֽיְהִי־שָׁ֕ם לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל עָצ֥וּם וָרָֽב׃ (ו) וַיָּרֵ֧עוּ אֹתָ֛נוּ הַמִּצְרִ֖ים וַיְעַנּ֑וּנוּ וַיִּתְּנ֥וּ עָלֵ֖ינוּ עֲבֹדָ֥ה קָשָֽׁה׃ (ז) וַנִּצְעַ֕ק אֶל־ה' אֱלֹקֵ֣י אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע ה' אֶת־קֹלֵ֔נוּ וַיַּ֧רְא אֶת־עׇנְיֵ֛נוּ וְאֶת־עֲמָלֵ֖נוּ וְאֶֽת־לַחֲצֵֽנוּ׃ (ח) וַיּוֹצִאֵ֤נוּ ה' מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם בְּיָ֤ד חֲזָקָה֙ וּבִזְרֹ֣עַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבְמֹרָ֖א גָּדֹ֑ל וּבְאֹת֖וֹת וּבְמֹפְתִֽים׃
(ט) וַיְבִאֵ֖נוּ אֶל־הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וַיִּתֶּן־לָ֙נוּ֙ אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָֽשׁ׃ (י) וְעַתָּ֗ה הִנֵּ֤ה הֵבֵ֙אתִי֙ אֶת־רֵאשִׁית֙ פְּרִ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תָּה לִּ֖י ה' וְהִנַּחְתּ֗וֹ לִפְנֵי֙ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ וְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֔יתָ לִפְנֵ֖י ה' אֱלֹקֶֽיךָ׃ (יא) וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכׇל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ ה' אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ וּלְבֵיתֶ֑ךָ אַתָּה֙ וְהַלֵּוִ֔י וְהַגֵּ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ׃ {ס}
(1) When you enter the land that your God ה' 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 your God ה' is giving you, put it in a basket and go to the place where your God ה' will choose to establish the divine name. (3) You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, “I acknowledge this day before your God ה' that I have entered the land that ה' 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 your God ה'. (5) You shall then recite as follows before your God ה': “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 ה', the God of our ancestors, and ה' heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. (8) ה' freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents,
9) bringing us to this place and giving us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. (10) Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, ה', have given me.” You shall leave it*it I.e., the basket of v. 4. before your God ה' and bow low before your God ה'. (11) And you shall enjoy, together with the [family of the] Levite and the stranger in your midst, all the bounty that your God ה' has bestowed upon you and your household.
ויאמר ה' אל אהרן בארצם לא תנחל וחלק לא יהיה לך בתוכם אני חלקך ונחלתך בתוך בני ישראל. למה נאמר? לפי שהוא אומר (במדבר כו) לאלה תחלק הארץ – הכל במשמע: כהנים לוים וישראלים וגרים ונשים ועבדים וטומטום ואנדרוגינוס במשמע.
(Bamidbar 18:20) "And the L-rd said to Aaron: In their land you will not inherit, and you will not have a portion in their midst. I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel.": Why is (all of) this stated? Because it is written (Bamidbar 26:53) "To these shall the land be apportioned," I would think that all are included — Cohanim, Levites, Israelites, proselytes, women, bondsmen, tumtum (those of uncertain sex) and androgynous (hermaphrodites); it is, therefore, written: "And the L-rd said to Aaron: In their land you will not inherit" — This excludes (from inheritance) Cohanim." (Ibid. 23) "And in the midst of the children of Israel, they (the Levites) shall not inherit an inheritance" — This excludes Levites. (Ibid. 26:55) "By the names of the tribes of their fathers shall they inherit" — This excludes bondsmen and proselytes (Ibid. 54) "A man, according to his numbers shall his inheritance be given" — This excludes tumtum and androgynous.
"According to which they would all be excluded from bringing or reciting Bikurim"
(א) ראשית בכורי אדמתך....
להוציא אריסין וחכירות והגולן והסיקריקון. (אשר ה' (אלהינו) [אלהיך]) להוציא גרים ועבדים. (נותן (לנו) [לך]) להוציא נשים טומטום ואנדרוגינוס. משמע מוציאן שלא יקראו ומוציאן שלא יביאו. תלמוד לומר תביא מכל מקום. ומה הפרש בין אלו לאלו, אלו מביאין וקורין ואלו – מביאין ואין קורין.
(1) (Exodus 23:19) "The first of the first-fruits of your land":....
to exclude (from the mitzvah of bikkurim) tenant-farmers, renters, thieves and extortionists. (Devarim 26:3) "which the Lord swore to our fathers": to exclude proselytes and servants. (Ibid.) "which the Lord your G d gives to you (singular)": to exclude women, tumtum (indeterminate gender), and hermaphrodite.
Does this imply that they are excluded from reading (the bikkurim declaration) or from bringing (the fruit)? It is, therefore, written (Exodus 23:19) "shall you bring" — in any event. And what is the difference between the former and the latter? The former bring and read; the latter bring and do not read.
(ד) אֵלּוּ מְבִיאִין וְלֹא קוֹרִין, הַגֵּר מֵבִיא וְאֵינוֹ קוֹרֵא, שֶׁאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לוֹמַר אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע ה' לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ לָתֵת לָנוּ (דברים כ״ו:ג׳). וְאִם הָיְתָה אִמּוֹ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, מֵבִיא וְקוֹרֵא. וּכְשֶׁהוּא מִתְפַּלֵּל בֵּינוֹ לְבֵין עַצְמוֹ, אוֹמֵר, אֱלֹקֵי אֲבוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל. וּכְשֶׁהוּא בְבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת, אוֹמֵר, אֱלֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם. וְאִם הָיְתָה אִמּוֹ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, אוֹמֵר, אֱלֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ:
(4) These bring [bikkurim] but do not read the declaration:The convert, since he cannot say: “Which the Lord has sworn to our fathers, to give to us” (Deuteronomy 26:3). If his mother was an Israelite, then he brings bikkurim and recites.
When he prays privately, he says: “God of the fathers of Israel,” but when he is in the synagogue, he should say: “The God of your fathers.” But if his mother was an Israelite, he says: “The God of our fathers’.
This distinction between bringing the bikkurim and offering a recitation is not in the text. The Rabbis are thus forced to artificially graft this distinction onto a verse that implicitly assumes that Levites, women, and slaves don’t bring bikkurim at all
Why do the rabbis take this approach? In other words, why do they assume that everyone, and not just Israelite males, brings bikkurim? Although they may be partially motivated by the desire to solve a perceived tension between the verses in Deuteronomy and those of Exodus, additional historical/sociological factors may be in play as well.
Biblical society was largely agrarian, in which native Israelites owned farms and grew crops. Levites and non-Israelites did not own farms, and thus would have been largely excluded from the practice of bikkurim for practical reasons. Rabbinic society, however, was heavily mercantile and city-based. The average Jew, including Levites, priests, and even (sometimes) unmarried women (such as widows), may have owned a house, but not a farm.
The shift in meaning of the word ger was also responsible for the rabbinic interpretation of the biblical law. In rabbinic society, gerim (literally “sojourners”) were not “resident aliens” as they were in biblical society (i.e., non-Israelites), but converts to Judaism who lived as regular Jews. Thus, the distinctions taken for granted in Deut. 26 between “landowning Israelite” and “sojourner” or “landless Levite” no longer made sense in rabbinic times.
Moreover, as the Temple had been destroyed and no actual mitzvah of bikkurim was performed, the rabbis did not need to adjust any actual practice or custom. Instead, they were free to re-envision bikkurim in a way that made more sense for their society.
And yet, the solution offered by the Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael does not entirely level the playing field. The group that was once excluded frombikkurim was still excluded from reciting the declaration. But the Midrash in the Mekhilta is not the last word on the subject. As we shall see, certain rabbinic texts all but obliterate any distinction between groups even for mikra bikkurim.
See: Bikkurim: How the Rabbis Made a Mitzvah for Male Landowners More Inclusive, Rabbi Yoseif Bloch, Yeshivat HaKotel, TheTorah.com
Maimonides
You ask me if you, too, are allowed to say in the blessings and prayers you offer alone or in the congregation: “Our God” and “God of our fathers,” “You who have sanctified us through Your commandments,” “You who have separated us,” “You who have chosen us,” “You who have inherited us,” “You who have brought us out of the land of Egypt,” “You who have worked miracles to our fathers,” and more of this kind.
Maimonides in his letter to Ovadiah the convert (Twersky trans.)
the Jew begins his declamation with the words, “My father was a wandering Aramean.” Yes, we have seen from the Mishna in Bikkurim (as well as Kiddushin 3:12) that the religious status of the child is determined by the mother, most probably because the fetus is inextricably intertwined with the mother as long as it is in the mother’s womb. Nevertheless, there is an important DNA contribution of the father which cannot be denied. This gives rise to a special halakhic category for a child who is born to a gentile mother and a Jewish father, known as “zera Yisrael,” Israelite seed.
Such a child is not considered to be a Jew and does require a process of conversion. However, most decisors throughout the generations have felt it to be incumbent upon the Jewish community to encourage conversion for such individuals and to be as lenient as possible in order to effectuate these conversions. An important and even monumental work called Zera Yisrael was published in 2012 by Rabbi Haim Amsalem (former M.K. Shas), in which he documents the relevant responsa, which suggest that “the religious court is duty-bound to convert” the individual with zera Yisrael status (Piskei Uziel, 64:4).
Indeed, in our daily prayer, after the Shema and before the Amida, we praise the Lord whose “words are alive and extant, devolving upon our fathers and upon us, upon our children and upon our future generations, and upon all the generations of the seed of Israel, Your servants…”
What is this reference to “seed of Israel”? Our children and our future generations have already been mentioned? Michael Freund, Director of Shavei Israel, pointed out to me (during an unforgettable trip to India for meetings with the Bnei Menashe) that this must be referring to those who have Jewish DNA from their paternal – but not maternal – side, Zera Yisrael! It is especially incumbent upon us to reclaim these exiled seeds of Abraham and Sarah and restore them to their land and their Jewish ancestory!
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Shabbat Shalom: Ki Tavo 5783 (Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8)
דשאני התם דכתיב ולביתך לומר דקרא אינו אסמכתא אלא גזירת הכתוב הוא ואף על גב דלית ליה קרקע מידי, משום דאשתו כגופו.
This case is different, as it says “And to your house.” This is no mere allusion, but a biblical decree. Even though the husband possesses no land of his own, his wife is like his body.
Quoted by Yoseif Bloch (ibid) The 14th century French Talmudist, R. Crescas Vidal, addresses this in his Novellae on Gittin
(ד)....וּלְפִי דַעְתּוֹ שֶׁל בֵּן, אָבִיו מְלַמְּדוֹ. מַתְחִיל בִּגְנוּת וּמְסַיֵּם בְּשֶׁבַח, וְדוֹרֵשׁ מֵאֲרַמִּי אוֹבֵד אָבִי, עַד שֶׁיִּגְמֹר כֹּל הַפָּרָשָׁה כֻלָּהּ:
(4) ... And according to the intelligence and the ability of the son, his father teaches him about the Exodus. When teaching his son about the Exodus. He begins with the Jewish people’s disgrace and concludes with their glory. And he expounds from the passage: “An Aramean tried to destroy my father” (Deuteronomy 26:5), the declaration one recites when presenting his first fruits at the Temple, until he concludes explaining the entire section.
וּבְמֹפְתִים. זֶה הַדָּם, כְּמָה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְנָתַתִּי מוֹפְתִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ.
"And with wonders" - this [refers to] the blood, as it is stated (Joel 3:3); "And I will place my wonders in the skies and in the earth:
And when he says, "blood and fire and pillars of smoke" and the ten plagues and "detsakh," "adash" and "ba'achab," he should pour out a little wine from his cup.
אובד אבי. מלת אובד מהפעלים שאינם יוצאים ואילו היה ארמי על לבן היה הכתוב אומר מאביד או מאבד ועוד מה טעם לאמר לבן בקש להאביד אבי וירד מצרימה ולבן לא סבב לרדת אל מצרים
והקרוב שארמי הוא יעקב כאלו אמר הכ' כאשר היה אבי בארם היה אובד והטעם עני בלא ממון וכן תנו שכר לאובד והעד ישתה וישכח רישו והנה הוא ארמי אובד היה אבי והטעם כי לא ירשתי הארץ מאבי כי עני היה כאשר בא אל ארם גם גר היה במצרים והוא היה במתי מעט ואחר כן שב לגוי גדול ואתה ה' הוצאתנו מעבדות ותתן לנו ארץ טובה ואל יטעון טוען איך יקרא יעקב ארמי והנה כמוהו יתרא הישמעאלי והוא ישראלי כי כן כתוב:
A WANDERING ARAMEAN. The word oved (wandering) is an intransitive verb. If Aramean referred to Laban then Scripture should have read mavid or me’abbed. Furthermore, what reason would Scripture have had for stating, Laban sought to destroy my father and he went down to Egypt? Laban did not cause Jacob to descend to Egypt.
It thus appears to me that the term Aramean refers to Jacob. Scripture, as it were, reads, when my father was in Aram he was “perishing.” That is, he was poor, he had no money.
Similarly oved (perish) in Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish (Prov. 31:6). Let him drink, and forget his poverty (Prov. 31:7) is proof. The meaning of our phrase thus is, a perishing Aramean was my father.
Its import is, I did not inherit the land from my father, for my father was poor when he came to Aram. He was also a stranger in Egypt. He was few in number. He then became a large nation. You O Lord took us out of slavery and gave us a good land. Let the one who disputes not argue, “How could Jacob be called an Aramean?” Look, we find the same with Ithra the Ishmaelite who, as Scripture clearly states, was an Israelite.
וטעם אל הכהן אשר יהיה בימים ההם ... ובאת אל הכהן אשר יהיה זו היא שר' יוסי הגלילי אומר וכי תעלה על דעתך כהן שאינו בימיך אלא כהן שהוא מוחזק וכשר לך באותן הימים היה קרוב ונתרחק כשר
AND THOU SHALT COME UNTO THE PRIEST THAT SHALL BE IN THOSE DAYS — ... This is what Rabbi Yosei the Galilean says, And would it occur to you to come to the priest that is not in your days? Rather, [I must say that the verse requires one to come to] the priest who is considered by you to be established and fit in those days. Kinsmen who have ceased to be kinsmen are qualified.
ושמחת בכל הטוב AND THOU SHALT REJOICE IN EVERY GOOD THING — From this they (the Rabbis) derived the law that the recital on the occasion of bringing the first fruits is made only during the joyful period of the year — from Pentecost till the Feast of Tabernacles — when a man is gathering in his grain, his fruits, his wine and his oil; but from Tabernacles onwards until Chanucah if he brings these, he does not make the recital (Pesachim 36b).
It would seem that the rabbis’ concern was not really about the declaration but about avoiding distinctions among Jews. This is most clear in the case of converts, who gradually become viewed as full heirs of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Even women slowly gain acceptance, although the reluctance to hear a non-male voice seems to be an all-but-insurmountable goal. In modern times, this too has finally begun to change.
Yoseif Bloch (ibid)
הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא דִּי אֲכָלוּ אַבְהָתָנָא בְאַרְעָא דְמִצְרָיִם. כָּל דִכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכֹל, כָּל דִצְרִיךְ יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח. הָשַּׁתָּא הָכָא, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּאַרְעָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל. הָשַּׁתָּא עַבְדֵי, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּנֵי חוֹרִין.
This is the bread of destitution that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Anyone who is famished should come and eat, anyone who is in need should come and partake of the Pesach sacrifice. Now we are here, next year we will be in the land of Israel; this year we are slaves, next year we will be free people.