Stand Up!
Mitzvos come in many varieties and are all good. However, a Mitzvah stands out when it is done with excellence; both objective and subjective. We should acknowledge those whose Mitzvah observances express that excellence.
Bikkurim: Gratitude par Excellence
The beginning of this week’s parsha discusses the Mitzvah of Bikkurim. When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, Jews were obligated to bring their first and choice fruits to the Temple. The underlying rationale for this Mitzvah was the idea of gratitude. Specifically, it expresses gratitude for the Land of Israel and gratitude for all the bountiful fruits it yielded.
Thanking G-d for all the good that He has blessed us forms the basis of many of our rituals, such as reciting blessings before and after we eat as well as many of our prayers. However, the theme of gratitude is nowhere as pronounced as it is in the Mitzvah of Bikkurim.
So special was this ritual, that it was accompanied with huge fanfare. Bringing the first fruits to Jerusalem involved music, decorations and many other enhancements. Central to the observance of this Mitzvah was the great joy one had to display in its performance. And while the Torah emphasizes the need for joy in all that we do for G-d, joy was particularly important for the observance of the first fruit ritual.
Honoring those who Perform a Mitzvah
Another interesting aspect of the ceremony of bringing Bikkurim was the Mishnah’s requirement that when people were walking towards Jerusalem, with their baskets of fruits, all the onlookers had to stand up to honor those who were on their way to perform this beautiful Mitzvah. Even those engaged in work—who would normally not be required to interrupt their work to honor anyone else— would have to stand to honor those who performed this Mitzvah.
The Talmud thus declares: “Come and see how precious performing a Mitzvah in its time is: While workers do not have to stand up when a Torah scholar passes, they do have to stand up for them (those who bring the Bikkurim).”
Let us try to understand why the Talmud singles out Bikkurim for such honor. While many authorities of Jewish law extend this requirement of standing in the presence of those who perform all Mitzvos, the mere fact that it was stated specifically in reference to the Mitzvah of Bikkurim suggests that there is something unique about this Mitzvah.
What is it about this Mitzvah that is so special?
Another question that can be raised, why does the Talmud refer to a Mitzvah performed “in its time?” Obviously, if one does a Mitzvah in an improper time—for example, if one were to blow Shofar during Passover and eat Matzah during Rosh Hashanah—that would not constitute a Mitzvah for which one must show honor. If one were to don Tefillin on Shabbos it would not require that we honor the person because it is not a proper Mitzvah. Why then the need to stress “in its time?”
The following explanation is partially based on a thought by the Chassidic scholar Rabbi Aryeh Fromer, of blessed memory, who headed the famed Chachmei Lublin Yeshivah in pre-war Poland, and who was murdered by the Nazis (may G-d avenge his blood):
Excellence not just a Choice
Every Mitzvah we do is an act of service to G-d. A Mitzvah by definition is an act that requires of us to give of our time, energy and resources for a cause that G-d deems worthy. Some Mitzvos require greater sacrifice than others.
Now there are certain Mitzvos that one could perform with minimal sacrifice and it would still constitute a Mitzvah. Obviously doing the Mitzvah with more dedication, beauty and excellence will enhance the Mitzvah, and is preferable. However, even minimal sacrifice would still be acceptable. One can give a hungry person bread and water and it will still constitute a Mitzvah. However, the Mitzvah would greatly be enhanced if he gives the starving person a gourmet meal. This indeed is emblematic of all the Mitzvos.
Bikkurim is unique in this regard. The giving of one’s choice first fruits is not just an enhancement of the Mitzvah; it is its very essence. The idea of Bikkurin is to take that which is most precious to us—our first and best fruits that we normally cherish for ourselves and are loathe to part with—and give it to G-d.
This is in regard to the objective aspect of the Mitzvah.
Giving Begrudgingly Not an Option
With respect to the subjective part of the Mitzvah, i.e., the attitude we have when we do the Mitzvah, one can do a Mitzvah begrudgingly or happily. The ideal, of course, is to perform each and every Mitzvah with great enthusiasm and joy. However, even when that joy is lacking it is still regarded as a Mitzvah, albeit devoid of the important component of joy.
In this regard, Bikkurim is also unique. The giving of the first fruits had to be accompanied with joy. Joy was not an enhancement of the Mitzvah it is its very heart and soul.
Bikkurim thus is the ideal Mitzvah both objectively and subjectively. It represents the ultimate in giving—the objective aspect of a Mitzvah—and the ultimate in the attitude one brings to the performance of the Mitzvah— the subjective aspect of the Mitzvah.
In its Proper Time
Now when we perform a Mitzvah on a lower level—either objectively speaking or subjectively speaking—our Mitzvah is lacking. We cannot say that we performed the Mitzvah in its proper time, because at the time one does the Mitzvah there is something lacking; either in the Mitzvah act itself or the mindset of the one who does the Mitzvah.
Needless to say, we should never desist from doing an inferior type of Mitzvah, for, as the Talmud states—and has been discussed in earlier essays—“One should do a mitzvah even if it is for an ulterior motive, because from the ulterior motive one will eventually do it for the pure motive.”
In other words, many of the Mitzvos we do are presently lacking, but will eventually be vindicated in the future when we mature and do Mitzvos properly. These “deficient” Mitzvos will be “rehabilitated” and made whole.
This may be the meaning of the Talmud’s description of Bikkurim as a “Mitzvah in its proper time.” Bikkurim, because it is a Mitzvah that demands that we perform it on the highest level of excellence—objectively and subjectively—does not have to wait to be vindicated. The performance of this Mitzvah is unique; it is the paradigmatic perfect Mitzvah that evokes a sense of admiration and reverence for the performer of the Mitzvah. It is thus incumbent on us to stand in their presence. l’havdil, it is like the crowd standing for the pitcher who pitches a perfect game.
Many of the Mitzvos we perform today may lack the maturity and sophistication of Bikkurim, which will be vindicated and elevated in the Messianic Age, when the world will reach a state of spiritual maturity. At that time, each and every Mitzvah we do will be akin to the Mitzvah of Bikkurim.
Contemporary Model of a “Perfect” Mitzvah
One notable exceptions to the general rule—that the Mitzvos we do now are lacking in completeness—I believe, is the Mitzvah of dedicating a new Torah scroll. Anyone who has witnessed the joy and excitement that accompanies this celebration cannot help but to be moved and enthused by it. It is a Mitzvah that evokes admiration and joy. It’s a Mitzvah for which we can all stand!
It is no wonder that the Mitzvah to write a Torah Scroll is the Torah’s very last Mitzvah. Being last in Jewish tradition is a sign of its endearment to G-d and to us, as the saying goes, “acharon, acharon chaviv.-the very last is the most beloved.”
It is also interesting that the Mitzvah to write a Torah scroll is mentioned in the parsha (Vayeilech) that follows on the heels of our parsha, Ki Savo, the one that discusses Bikkurim.
Perhaps, the message this juxtaposition conveys is that while the “perfect” Mitzvah of Bikkurim is limited to the period in which we had the Bais Hamikdash, and only applies to one who has first fruits, etc., writing a Sefer Torah can replicate the same “objectively and subjectively perfect” dynamic of Bikkurim, at all times and in all places and situations.
There is another parallel between these two Mitzvos:
Bikkurim, are a metaphor for the Jewish people who. like the First Fruits are also called “the beginning.”
Likewise Torah is called, ”the beginning.” And the first word of the Torah “Bereishis” has actually been translated as: “two beginnings.” And it is because of these two beginnings (Torah and Israel) that G-d created the world.
Please join my family and the JDC community in our celebration of the completion and dedication of a new Torah scroll—in memory of my illustrious father of blessed memory, Rabbi Meyer Greenberg—Sunday, September 13th at 2:00 PM, for a most moving and powerful Mitzvah.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Ki Savo by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
