It's All A Gift

We call it pushing the buttons, really trying to understand why am I acting this way? Why does this make me react this way? Why do I, why do I have this issue when it comes to this kind of person or this kind of situation? Anyway, Parashat Ki Tavo opens with a, a scenario that is one of the most evocative emotionally, and joyous, joyous, exuding, exuding [laughs] joy experiences in the whole Torah, and that is the commandment of the first fruits, the Bikkurim.

And Moshe is commanding the children of Israel.

Don't forget the whole context of the Book of Deuteronomy, which is so amazing because Moshe Rabbeinu's about to take his leave of the people, and he is preparing them to go in, and he's not g- joining them, but he's preparing them of the different life that they're gonna lead, a, a life that, a life that is so focused on God consciousness.

So he's commanding them now, this mitzvah, the commandment of the first fruits, which is basically the idea that a, a farmer is growing one of the seven species of the land of Israel.

Seven speci- specific species that are, that the land is praised for.

And there's a whole description in the Mishnah, which of course is the oral Torah, which is, which tells us exactly how all of the commandments are fulfilled.

And the Mishnah tells us how this, this fellow goes into his field, and he sees that something has ripened, and he ties it.

Let's say he has a pomegranate or a date or a grape cluster, and he sees that it's ripened and it's ready, and he ties it with a band, you know, like a sign, like a red rubber band or something.

He ties it to distinguish it, and he declares, in so many words, "This is the f- is the first fruits." So it's not just like a, an idea, "Oh, I'll take something representative." It's the very first fruits.

And these first fruits he brings to Jerusalem with tremendous, um, pomp and circumstance, with tremendous, tremendous extravaganza.

There's a whole idea that, that, um, caravans are going all through the country during this season.

The season starts at, at Shavuot time, and it actually ends at Sukkot, or even, even a little bit later till Hanukkah, depending on what.

And, uh, these caravans are making their way through the land, and they're converging, and they're all meeting up, citizens from all over the land, and they're bringing their first fruits to the holy temple in Jerusalem.

And there, the farmer is going to be making this, um, confession it's called.

It's actually called the confession of the first fruits to the Kohen.

Standing in front of the altar-

Right

... which of course is where Adam was created.

[laughs] So the whole thing is, is so powerful.

I'm standing in f- in the very place from where my forefather Adam was brought into the world, and I'm holding up this basket of fruits, and, uh, and i- it's like he's taking part of the basket, and the Kohen is grabbing the basket together with him, and they're raising it up together, and they're making this incredible declaration, which if you examine it in chapter 26 here in the beginning, it's, it's almost like a, an encyclopedic reading of very concise history of, of Am Yisrael, of the Jewish people, that he's saying that he, that he's a part of.

And it's actually an offering.

It's actually like, it's like an, it's like a, one of the Korbanot.

It's an offering which he brings to the Kohen.

But if you think about what's really going on here- It's so amazing because it's descri- it's described as being very, very joyous in all the r- rabbinic literature in the Mishnah and all the Mishnah, and in all the Midrashim.

But here, the verse just tells us so, so, in so many words.