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 Shabbat Parashat Ki Tavo| 5767Moreshet ShaulFrom the works of Hagaon Harav Shaul Yisraeli zt”l - The Special Privilege of the Farmer - Notes for a derasha on parashat hashavua, courtesy of R. Yisrael Sharir
[This derasha was apparently delivered to Rav Yisraeli’s community of K’far Haro’eh, one of the early religious agricultural settlements.]
In the declaration that one makes when bringing the first fruit (bikurim)to the Beit Hamikdash, one declares: “I am saying today to Hashem, your G-d, that I have come to the Land that Hashem swore to our fathers to give to us” (Devarim 26:3). The Ramban comments: “With this fruit that I have brought, I have declared and thanked Hashem that he brought me to the Land.” It is hard to understand the connection between the declaration and thanks and this simple fruit, as if it is the proof that Hashem brought him to the Land of Israel. Why do the thanks come at this time and not at another?
The depth of the understanding of the mitzva of bikurim is as follows. In all mitzvot there is a revelation of Hashem’s love for every Jew, from the biggest of the big to the smallest of the small. This finds expression in the very profound role of Divine Providence in all of a person’s affairs, which affected his life well before he came with his produce before the altar.
Imagine the simple farmer from some far-flung location. He spends his whole day going from the stalls of his cows to the chicken coops. He knows not day or night, as he is working seemingly endlessly. He is far from the nearest city and does not know what winds of change are transpiring there. Specifically this farmer is the one that the mitzva of bikurim is focused on.
It is as if the Torah is saying the following: “Dear farmer, who one might think does not know what goes on beyond his silos and the concern for the sustenance of his family. Gather in a basket a little of the produce that Hashem has blessed you with: a few grapes, some stalks of barley; add in a pomegranate. There is only one condition I have. It should be the produce of your land, the fruit of your land, whether it is a lot or a little, whether it is this or is that. It should be from your land, something that you toiled over, that you nurtured. You took your fruit, not to the market for everyone to sample and perhaps buy. Rather, you took your feet and walked to the great and holy place. You, simple farmer, for whom just the mention of the Beit Hamikdash is enough to conjure up thoughts of holiness and awe, do not be afraid. Come inside with your offering. Hashem has seen your path in life, and He has approved of your actions. You shall ‘respond and say.’ You shall tell everything that happened.”
Hashem apparently wants to hear what His “Hebrew” has to say. Tell what happened. Why does the rye look so ragged? Why did you not grow figs this year? Was there blight? Yes, yes, Hashem wants to hear from you. Yes, from you, whom the “big shots” from the city do not want to let in to their house, if not through the back door; from you He wants to hear. He wants to receive an offering from you; it is your land.
A rich man, as much as he may want to pay for this mitzva, if he sits in the city, detached from the land, he will not be able to fulfill this mitzva. Then, when the one who fulfills the mitzva sees all of the honor he is accorded because of it, he will feel holy emotions and will pronounce: “I say today.” Only today and now do I feel and appreciate that I am not a poor farmer. I know that the Great Above the Great sees and hears and cares to know what is happening in my life. Now I can declare that I have come into the Land that Hashem swore to give and did give to us.
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Ki Tavo
