Parshas Ki Savo

Return of the Jewish Mafia
Or
Never Give Up!

Devarim 26:5-10 "You shall raise your voice and declare…I have brought the first fruit of the ground"

The requirement to bring the bikkurim/first fruits is conceptually related to the idea of his’chadshus – spiritual self-renewal.

When the Temple stood, owners of fruit trees were required each year to bring the new, first ripening, fruits to the Temple. There they would declare their gratitude to Hashem. They would also relate both all the troubles that the Jews had endured from their inception as a people and Hashem’s loving kindness and awesome wonders in saving them.

This declaration is detailed in the Torah:

“You shall raise your voice and declare before Hashem: ‘An Aramean destroyed my [fore]father [i.e. Lavan had sought to uproot everything when he pursued Jacob]. And he [Jacob] descended to Egypt, [intending a temporary] dwelling there, [together with his family group that were] few in numbers. He developed there into a great nation, mighty and numerous’”.

What the Torah hints to here is the following: We must constantly renew ourselves in our spiritual work, starting anew each time and not get bogged down with past events. We must not let our thoughts become confused, thinking about our past experiences, frustrations and times when the yetzer hara/evil inclination held sway. Rather we need to focus on the positive: Recalling all the loving kindnesses of Hashem and the wonders that He has done for us. This applies both on the individual level and on the national, historical level, from the time of our leaving ancient Egypt until this day.

Indeed, on the historical level we should recall all that occurred even before our ancestral family entered Egypt: How the Aramean, Lavan, pursued our forefather Jacob; the protracted conflict between them in their working relationship; Lavan’s fraud in downgrading Jacob’s wages ten times; Hashem’s prevention of any sustained harm. Furthermore, not only did Hashem prevent Lavan from harming Jacob, but He also enabled Jacob to rescue Rachel and Leah from Lavan’s evil grip. And from Rachel and Leah the Jewish world was built up, in perfect conception, through the holy tribes, the main vehicles of G-dliness in this world; the tribes were unblemished, all declaring together Hashem’s unity at Jacob’s deathbed. In respect to to the many events that have passed over the Jewish people, from then until now, “no mouth can possible relate it”.

Aspects of the national experience also take place on the individual level. Aspects of Lavan, Aisav, Egypt and the four kingdoms of exile with their entourage stand over every one of us. In fact they exercise control in every generation, both nationally and individually. They lord above every one of us, hoping to finish us off, Heaven forbid. But Hashem saves us from all of them. Meaning, Hashem saves us from all the pursuits, incitements, and temptations that the yetzer hara and his band employ against every one of us, at all times.

All of this [negativity] draws from an aspect of the klippos/evil forces of Lavan, Aisav, et al. For the provocation of the Jewish people by Lavan, Aisav and Egypt was also on account of the ba’al davar/the inciting evil force/[yetzer hara], having 'dressed' within them. And the ba'al davar incites us for one reason: Only because we walk the path of Hashem that had been trail blazed by our forefather Avraham – strong in emunah/belief in the single Deity, who closely supervises and rules over everything.

In every generation physical and spiritual adversaries rise up to prevent us from Heaven's work. However, Hashem is the one that helps us every time – as we say three times in the Shemoneh Esrei prayer: "…for Your miracles that are with us every day and for your wonders and benefactions at all times – evening, morning and afternoon. [You are] the [endlessly] Good One, for Your mercies are never exhausted. And You are the Merciful One, for Your kindnesses never end".

The only advice to escape all this: Have complete emunah in Hashem! Emunah is an aspect of his’chadshus/renewal, corresponding to (Eichah/Lamentations 3:23): "They [Your kindnesses] are new every morning; great is emunatecha/Your faithfulness". This means that we must understand the real truth – that we really know absolutely nothing at all and must strengthen ourselves with the holy emunah that we have received from our holy forefathers. We mustn't let anything in the world faze us from this, since we really know nothing other than [the two principles] "they say and they say" that Chazal/Our Sages teach us:

They say that we must break all the earthly desires in the world. It's not just avoiding sin - for we are required to flee from sin, as if from a fire. Rather, we must flee and remove ourselves as far as possible from even normal desire or movement that does not accord with the Creator's will, since it very greatly blemishes the Jewish soul and all the countless worlds that depend upon it.

But [also] they say that even if someone has transgressed whatever he has, even the entire Torah thousands of times, Heaven forbid, nevertheless ein shoom ya'oosh ba'olam k'lal – despair does not exist in the world at all. He just needs to start anew each time, because Hashem derives delight from the very dregs of humanity. Actually, this is Hashem's main greatness - when those people that are the very furthest from Him acknowledge Him and fortify themselves in emunah, thanking and praising the Blessed One, (as Rebbe Nachman explains in a number of places).

Therefore, we must start anew every time, as represented by the bikkurim/first fruits in their aspect of his’chadshus. This is the explanation of the exposition of Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 1:4) on the first word of the Torah: "BeReishis (In or "for" the reishis/beginning/first)" – "Hashem created the world for the sake of the bikkurim fruits, which are termed reishis/first". For the concept of renewal was the primary purpose in the creation of the world. It is related to the bikkurim and the "reishis/first", corresponding to "BeReishis/in the beginning Hashem created", that "for the sake of the reishis Hashem created heaven and earth". The main point in creating the heaven and earth was for the reishis that a person should start anew [his spiritual work] every time, as if today is the very start [of his existence]. This is the primary tikkun/rectification of the spiritual worlds, since Hashem himself actually renews these worlds, as expressed in (first blessing of the Shema) "in His goodness He renews daily, perpetually, the work of creation" and "He makes new things".

Consequently, after the section regarding bikkurim the Torah states (26:16): "Today Hashem commands you to do these statutes and judgments" [where Rashi comments "let them always be new in your eyes, as if He is commanding you today"]. It further says (27:9): "Today you have become a people", on which Rashi [also] comments "let it be in your eyes as if you have entered into the covenant with Him today". This is in accord with what we have said above, that the main concept of bikkurim is renewal every day. For it as if today we are entering into a covenant, [only now just] starting to train ourselves to enter into the holiness of a Jew.
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Yoreh De’ah Hilchos Bassar B’Chalav 4:13

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