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The commandments of the Torah were not given for the purpose of understanding. They were given for the purpose of connection, to forge a bond between man and the Creator. But, that doesn’t mean that we’re free from trying to understand the mitzvoth. In fact, the Torah itself sometimes gives reasons for the commandments. But, the Torah does not intend for us to accept these reasons as the only basis and the sole foundation for keeping the mitzvoth. It’s just that since G-d gave us inquisitive minds as well as the ability to act, He added reasons for some of the commandments in order to assuage our curiosity and encourage us to explore further. Additionally, some of the mitzvoth only become understood in the course of doing them (which could be one explanation of the phrase that the Jews uttered when they received the Torah; na’aseh venishmah – “we will do and then we will understand”). One such mitzvah is from our parsha (Ki Tavo) – the mitzvah of bikkurim – bringing from the first fruits of the land of Israel to the holy Temple.

There are several components to the mitzvah; identifying the first fruits even before they were ripened, harvesting and putting them into a basket and bringing them to the Temple, and finally waving them in the air with one of the Cohanim in the Temple while reciting a phrase from the Torah. All this took place only after the Jews finished conquering and settling the land of Israel. It involved only the seven species of produce that typify the land of Israel; wheat, barley, grapes, pomegranates, olives, figs and dates.

The phrase that was recited while waving the offering in the air also gives us a clue as to the meaning of the mitzvah. The person bringing the bikkurim would say, “Lavan the Aramean wanted to destroy my father, and he descended to Egypt and lived there for a little while, becoming a great, powerful and large nation while there. But, the Egyptians treated us cruelly and caused us suffering, imposing hard labor upon us. And we cried out to the Lord, G-d of our forefathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our suffering and our labor and the pressure applied upon us. And G-d took us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, imposing great fear, signs and miracles. And He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, I have brought the first of the fruits of the Land that G-d gave meŔ

The curious thing about this statement is that it does not mention all of the details of the Jewish suffering and travails from which they were rescued before arriving in Israel. It mentions only the rescue from Lavan (Yakov’s father-in-law, for whom he worked for twenty years) and the redemption from Egypt. If the point of the proclamation is to recall all of the kindness and all of the redemption of the recent Jewish past, why does it not mention such events as the splitting of the Reed Sea, the war with Amalek, finding the well in the desert and also receiving the manna? These were all among the kind events that G-d visited upon the Jews, and yet they are omitted from the statement in the Temple.

It might be answered that the Torah only mentions major events, such as the story of Lavan and the redemption from Egypt, and leaves out relatively minor events, such as the well and the manna, which resulted from the more important events. That is, the well and the manna accompanied the Jews in the desert, but the desert journey itself was a result of the exodus from Egypt. Therefore, the Torah requires that we mention the exodus when bringing the bikkurim, but does not require that we mention the well and the manna, which were only results, rather than main events. However, such an explanation fails to resolve another major omission; the story of Yakov and Esau, and how Yakov was saved from Esau’s plan to murder him. This was no minor event, nor was it the result of any other episode; Esau sought to murder Yakov physically, just as Lavan sought to destroy him spiritually (and harm him physically as well). Since G-d saved Yakov from his brother, it would have made sense to add this narrative to the proclamation of the bikkurim in the Temple, and yet the Torah neglects to do so.

The explanation of this question is to be found in the commentary of Rashi at the beginning of our parsha. On the words “and you will have inherited and settled it,” Rashi explains that the obligation to bring bikkurim did not apply until the Jews had conquered and divided the land of Israel among the tribes. This tells us that bikkurim was more than simple acknowledgment and gratitude to G-d for giving the land of Israel to the Jews. It expresses deep gratitude for now only giving the land but also providing the Jews with an opportunity to settle the land peacefully and permanently – this is why the mitzvah does not apply until the Jews “conquered and settled.” Expression of gratitude for the land alone could have taken place as soon as the Jews entered the land, but bikkurim expressed a much deeper appreciation for the opportunity, after all the centuries of persecution and suffering, to permanently settle the land of Israel. That is why it had to wait until after the land was conquered and divided.

Because the meaning of bikkurim is to express a deep sense of gratitude for settling in Israel, the proclamation in the Temple only mentioned those places in Jewish history where (up until that time) the Jews had been settled for long periods (twenty years in Aram, two hundred and ten years in Egypt), and nothing positive had come from it. In Aram and in Egypt, the local residents sought to persecute and destroy the Jews, rather than providing them with a peaceful, restful and secure existence. That is why, upon not only entering Israel, but settling it permanently, the Jews fulfilled the mitzvah of bikkurim by mentioning that while in the past they were unable to settle permanently and peacefully, here in G-d’s promised land, they were able to settle. For that, they brought the first fruits of the land – the bikkurim - and proclaimed their gratitude in the holy Temple. However, they did not mention the episode with Yakov and Esau, even though it is also an example of the kindness of G-d. Even though G-d rescued Yakov, this occurred while he was “on the road,” returning from Aram to Israel. Therefore, it was not an example of the kind of persecution that the Jews suffered while settled in for longer periods of time in Aram and Egypt, and could not serve as the basis of contrast for gratitude in the Temple.

Like everything in the Torah, there are inner dimensions to the mitzvah of bikkurim. The first fruits represent the soul as it comes down to earth to be enclothed in a body, and the performance of the mitzvah is in order connect the soul with its source above. There are two elements to the fulfillment of the mitzvah; the bringing of the fruit and the proclamation (“Lavan the ArameanŔ) in the Temple. The bringing of the fruit alludes to the elevation of the soul to its source, and the verbal proclamation that the Jews said in the Temple alludes to bringing that exalted holiness down and joining it with the body (this is from Ohr HaTorah of the Tzemach Tzedek, third Lubavitcher Rebbe, parshat Ki Tavo). And the reason that Aram and Egypt are mentioned in the proclamation is because both, in the realm of kedusha, or holiness, represent the descent and ascent of kindness to and from the upper spiritual realms to the world that we live in. In the case of Yakov, when he first left Beer Sheva, he “descended” to Haran (the place of Lavan), representing the descent of G-dliness from Above to below. And when he left twenty years later, he ascended with the holy sparks that he gathered in the household of Lavan. The same is true of Egypt; Yehuda initially descended to Egypt “to direct the Jews on the way,” and then the Jews gathered up the holy sparks during their two hundred year sojourn in Egypt. Ultimately, they emerged under the influence of open miracles and expressions of G-d’s kindness, and brought all the holiness to Israel. So, both Aram and Egypt represent the expression of G-dly kindness, both as the Jews descended to those places, and as they ascended to return to Israel.

The mitzvah of bikkurim has to be reflected inside of ourselves as well, regarding our own avodat HaShem – service of G-d. It is very easy to be concerned with our own spiritual welfare alone. We may seek only our own elevation to G-d via prayer and Torah study. The mitzvah of bikkurim tells us that it is not enough to ascend above; we must also do the kriah – the proclamation in the Temple – in order to bring down G-dliness into the world. In that way, not only we, but also the entire world, become permeated with G-dliness and spirituality.

From Likutei Sichot of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, ztz’l, vol. 14, pp. 93-98 Rabbi David Sterne, Jerusalem Connection in the old city of Jerusalem