The foundation of the commandment of bringing bikurim lies in our appreciation for the Creator, as expressed in the text read during the bikurim, when one recalls the kindness and goodness that our Creator bestowed upon us.

Rabbi Netanel Epstein

A. Chag Habikurim

Shavuot is also called Chag HaBikurim and Chag Matan Torah. Let us attempt to understand how the essence of these names are intertwined.

When a person brings his first fruits to the Temple, he recites the mikra bikurim, the scripture for the bikurim ceremony (Devarim 26:3-5):

וּבָאתָ אֶל הַכֹּהֵן אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו הִגַּדְתִּי הַיּוֹם לַה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ כִּי בָאתִי אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע ה' לַאֲבֹתֵינוּ לָתֶת לָנוּ. וְלָקַח הַכֹּהֵן הַטֶּנֶא מִיָּדֶךָ וְהִנִּיחוֹ לִפְנֵי מִזְבַּח ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ. וְעָנִיתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ לִפְנֵי ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה'.

"And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, 'I acknowledge this day before your G-d, the L-rd, that I have entered the land that the L-rd swore to our ancestors to assign us.' The priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the L-rd your G-d. You shall then recite as follows before the L-rd your G-d: "My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down Egypt …"

Why did the Torah divide the mikra bikurim into two parts? In the beginning, the person addresses the kohen: " And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, 'I acknowledge this day before your God, the Lord, that I have entered the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to assign us.'" After placing the basket before the altar, the person again addresses God: " You shall then recite as follows before the Lord your God: "My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down Egypt …"?

B. Gratitude

The underlying foundation of the mitzvah of bikurim is acknowledging G-d's kindness, expressed in the mikra bikurim, which is a recounting of the kindness and goodness bestowed upon us by our Creator, as stated by Rambam (Sefer Hamitzvot, Positive Commandment 132): "For we were commanded to recount His kindnesses which He has bestowed upon us and which have saved us." The narrative of goodness, beginning with Yaakov and Lavan and culminating with bringing the first fruits of one's land to the Temple, also encompasses the measure of humility, the ability of a person to recognize that everything comes from G-d, blessed be He, as Rambam said (Guide for the Perplexed III §39):

For he who brings the first fruits takes the basket upon his shoulders and proclaims the kindness and goodness of God. This ceremony teaches man that it is essential in the service of God to remember the times of trouble and the history of past distress, in days of comfort.

According to Rabbi Moshe Alshich (Devarim 26:1), this mitzvah, which expresses gratitude for G-d's goodness, "is most essential, for it is the foundation of all things and encompasses everything."¹

What is the trait of hakarat hatov?

Simply put, we are obligated to have gratitude to those who help us, as defined by the Jerusalem Talmud (Pe'ah 1:1): "The duty of honoring one's parents is a repayment of the debt for what they have done for him in his childhood," and as stated in Chayei Adam (I §67:1):

Since all the commandments of a son to his father and mother are repayment of the debt that the son owes to his father and mother for the good they bestowed upon him, whoever does not honor them is called wicked, as it is written, 'The wicked borrows, and cannot repay.'

In contrast, we find in various sources that there is an obligation to express gratitude even towards inanimate objects.

Examples include Moshe avoiding striking the Nile during the plagues of blood and frogs in light of his debt of gratitude to the river (Rashi, Shemot 7:19). Furthermore, on the Bavli (Bava Kama 92b), "Do not cast a stone into the well from which you drank," the Shitah Mekubetzet (ibid., s.v. vekatav) recounts an amazing story:

And our Rabbi of blessed memory related regarding his teacher Ria"f (Rabbi Yitzchak) of blessed memory, that there was an incident with a certain person and he did not want to judge him at all so that he would not cause him damage. He completely avoided this, since the former had fallen ill and went to this man's bathhouse, which he had in his house, and enjoyed the mentioned bathhouse. Afterward, the man invited him to stay with him until he recovered and honored him greatly and did much good to him, and he recovered. Later, this man's situation worsened, and his financial situation deteriorated until he was mired in debt and had to give money to creditors. The situation continued deteriorating to the point that he had to sell the mentioned bathhouse and give it to his creditors. Rabbi Yitzchak said: "I will not rule or instruct regarding this bathhouse, not in its sale nor assess its value, or anything else regarding it since I benefited from it." If this is true for inanimate objects, which do not feel, all the more so it applies to humans who feel harm and benefit. It would certainly be wrong to do so, and anyone who does it deviates from the path of morality and proper conduct."

We also find punishment for a lack of gratitude towards inanimate objects. Moshe was punished when he struck the rock that had benefited the Israelites, as the Midrash states (Yalkut Shimoni, Chukat, §763):

'What did the rock do to you, as it is said, "He would suck honey from the rock," and after it had done good, you struck it. You are not fit to lead My children anymore. I have already appointed someone else in your place. Take Yehoshua son of Nun.'

From here, we learn that we are charged with expressing gratitude even to inanimate objects. This begs the question: how can this trait relate to something that has no sensation and thus cannot intend to benefit humans at all?

The explanation lies in the understanding that gratitude is not necessarily due to the effort and toil expended by the benefactor, but rather, our obligation of gratitude arises from the mere reception of benefit, even without the benefactor's effort and toil. Therefore, gratitude is applicable even to inanimate objects—not because of the effort and toil the former expended, but rather because of the benefit we received from them.²

In this way, by showing gratitude even to objects that lack feelings, a person acquires hakarat hatov as a character trait not necessarily dependent on the emotional state of the other party. Hence, failing to have gratitude for inanimate objects constitutes a character flaw, as Meiri explains (Bava Kama 92b) regarding the ingratitude of throwing a stone into a well from which one has drunk: "Anyone who does this demonstrates a lack of good character and a debased and despicable nature." Showing gratitude to inanimate objects fosters the trait, so a person will subsequently express gratitude to people who benefit them.³

C. Components of the Mikra Bikurim

In light of this, we can understand the two parts of the mikra bikurim:

Initially, a person addresses the priest - "And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "I acknowledge this day before your G-d, the L-rd, that I have entered the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to assign us.'" In this statement, the person declares that he is not ungrateful, as Rashi comments (Devarim 26:3, s.v. ve'amarta eilav: "And say to him - that you are not ungrateful." In doing so, the person acknowledges and admits to the priest, to whom he owes no gratitude, that he has acquired and embedded the trait of gratitude within himself. Only afterward can the person turn to G-d, to whom he owes gratitude for the many blessings He has bestowed – "You shall then recite as follows before the L-rd your G-d: 'My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt. …'"

D. Gratitude as a Prerequisite for Receiving the Torah

The trait of gratitude is the prerequisite for receiving the Torah. The midrash (Shemot Rabbah, Yitro §28) describes the dispute between the angels and Moshe:

And Moshe ascended to G-d... At that moment, the ministering angels sought to harm Moshe. The Holy One, blessed be He, made Moshe's face resemble that of Avraham. G-d said to them, 'Are you not ashamed before him? Is this not the one you descended to and ate in his house?' G-d said to Moses, 'The Torah was given to you only because of Avraham, as it is stated, "You have ascended on high, you have taken gifts from mankind," and the term "mankind" here refers to Abraham, as it is stated, "the great man among the giants. "

On the verse (Shemot 20:17), “Be not afraid; for G-d has come only in order to test you, and in order that the fear of G-d may be ever with you, so that you do not go astray,” Ramban explains (ibid.) that G-d's revelation at Mt. Sinai, which other nations did not merit, serves to test the Israelites whether they will repay Him for this kindness:

G-d has done you a great kindness by showing you His glory, something He did not do for any other nation, to test whether you will repay Him for the good He has done for you, making you His chosen people... Therefore, I will hold you accountable for all your sins, for the nations are not obligated to Me as you are, for I have revealed Myself to you face to face.

According to Ramban, the purpose of G-d's revelation in giving the Torah serves as the key to its acceptance.

Rabbi Moshe of Trani (Beit Elokim, Shaar HaTefilah, chap. 5) sheds light on this topic, explaining that there was a reason not to give the Torah to the Israelites because they were descendants of Adam, who was ungrateful to G-d. Therefore, how could they receive the Torah, whose prerequisite is acknowledging G-d's goodness?

To eradicate this negative trait, G-d commands the Israelites to sanctify themselves before receiving the Torah:

For the purpose of "and sanctify them today and tomorrow" was the sanctification of the soul and its purification from impurities in the body. This involves distancing oneself from the negative traits and habits they were accustomed to until now. And since this was not sufficient to purify them completely due to their continued habituation to those bad traits and qualities, G-d further purified them when their souls left their bodies upon hearing the voice of G-d and returned [their souls] to them pure and clean, without any trace of those negative traits.

Thus, we can understand the Mishnah (Avot 3:14), which describes the relationship between G-d and Israel as that of a father to his children, particularly at the time of receiving the Torah: "Beloved are Israel, for they are called children of G-d... Beloved are Israel, for they were given a precious vessel... for I have given you good doctrine; do not forsake my Torah." The trait of gratitude is powerfully expressed in the relationship between a father and his children, and this trait testifies to the children's ability to receive the Torah.

Furthermore, since the condition for receiving the Torah is gratitude, the Torah is called "the Torah of Moshe," as the prophet states (Malachi 3:22): "Remember the Torah of Moshe, My servant." The source of Moshe's name comes from the words of Pharaoh's daughter (Shemot 2:10): min hamayim mishitihu, "For I drew him out of the water." If indeed this is the reason for Moses' name, it would have been more appropriate to call him Mashuy, drawn from the water, rather than Moshe, one who draws others.

To this, Seforno answers (Shemot 2:10): "The reason she called him Moshe was to indicate that he would save others; 'as indeed I drew him out of the water after he was placed there.' This was only by Divine decree, so that he would save others."

This name instilled the trait of gratitude in Moses, who would save others due to his gratitude for being saved by Pharaoh's daughter. Indeed, the Talmud (Sotah 12b) states that the day Moshe was saved was the 6th of Sivan: "The ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, should the one who is destined to receive the Torah on Mt. Sinai on this day be struck on this day?" It follows, then, that the trait of gratitude was ingrained in Moshe, and it was this trait that constituted the condition for him receiving the Torah and delivering it to Israel, as the Talmud states (Nedarim 38a): "The Torah was given only to Moshe and his descendants... Moshe acted with generosity (tovat ayin) and gave it to Israel, and the verse states about him: 'A man with generosity (tov ayin) will be blessed.'"