Written by Hindy, כ אלול תשפ”ב, September 16, 2022
Is our relationship with God about the ‘give and take’?
This week’s parsha, Ki Tavo, includes the mitzvah of Bikkurim-First Fruits. At each beginning of the harvest season, Jewish farmers are obligated to tie a red string around each of the “first fruits” grown in their fields, and later bring these “first fruits” to the Beit Hamikdash as a contribution. This beautiful concept of coming together to share our moments of righteous pride, in this case, our gratitude for a bountiful crop, is also in a sense a call for sharing our matanot-gifts (in Hebrew).
“You shall rejoice with all the goodness that Hashem, your God, has given you and your household-you and the Leviim, and the convert in your midst.” After addressing the Bikkurim, and our exchange with others, Ki Savo goes into the gratitude we are inclined to feel because of God. This gratitude stems from the matanot given to us by God, and it is all in favor of joyous celebration. Following that, the Torah brings up Ma’aser-tithes to be taken. Ma’aser is a donation which consists of taking a tenth of our earnings or our produce and giving it to the needy. Nowadays, we take Ma’aser from every single one of our paychecks, and give that tenth to tzedakah. Ma’aser should not be seen as giving a gift, but an obligation.
Both Bikkurim and Ma’aser have to do with other people. But, do those mitzvot affect our relationship with God as well? Yes, but our intentions are not for God to take notice then place us on a pedestal, but to instead truly want to bring our first fruits, and truly want to take a tenth of our earnings and give them to charity. In this Jewish month, Elul, Hashem is ‘in the field’. He is close to us, all we need to do is approach Him. Meeting Him ‘in the field’, sharing a conversation, pleading with Him, it’s all an exchange. God wants us to speak, God wants us to yell, God wants us to sing to Him. We should not see our current proximity with God as a fearful thing, rather He is a parent waiting for us to open up to Him. All exchanges enrich relationships, when they are not about the “give and take”. Our relationship with Hashem is no different.
The exchanges brought up in this week’s parsha all carry a lesson. When Bikkurim are brought, they are brought as a gift, to the Kohanim, to Hashem, to our families. We do not need anything in return. We aren’t meant to expect anything in return, and expect a give because we took from our personal crops. We go into our fields, and take the first fruits, the beautiful, bountiful fruits, and bring them as a contribution. Although at this time we may not have a Beit Hamikdash to bring them to, we can all look inwards to find our Bikkurim. Once we find them, we must tie a metaphorical string to separate them, and to remind us to share- and contribute our Bikkurim.
Ma’aser is no different. It is a contribution we give, but never one we expect to receive. Yet, the mitzvah of Ma’aser teaches us to look at what we have gotten from life, what we have earned, and to separate some of it to give back. We must look at our earnings, at our experiences, at what we have learnt, and decide what we must return. As Viktor Frankl taught us; “Not what you want from life, but what life wants of you.”
May we all share and contribute our Bikkurim, and earn to give back through our Ma’aser.
Ksiva Vchasima Tova and Shabbat Shalom,
Hindy