We go about our normal, daily lives here in Eretz Yisrael-The Holy Land. However something feels different, unique. There is a constant awareness that our existence is charged with meaning. How should we understand this?

I think the opening verses of this week’s parsha (Torah reading) is illuminating in this regard.

Our Parsha (Devarim, Chapter 26) starts as follows:
“And it will be, when you come into the land which the Lord, your God, gives you for an inheritance, and you possess it and settle in it”.

The Torah then describes the Mitzvah of Bikkurim- the first fruits. The farmer takes his first fruits (of the 7 species) and places them in a basket which he brings to Beit Hamikdash – The Temple. Once the kohen has taken the basket, the farmer says the following famous declaration:

“And you shall call out and say before the Lord, your God, ‘An Aramean [sought to] destroy my forefather, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there with a small number of people, and there, he became a great, mighty, and numerous nation.  And the Egyptians treated us cruelly and afflicted us, and they imposed hard labor upon us. So we cried out to the Lord, G-d of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our        affliction, our toil, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with great awe, and with signs and wonders. And He brought us to this place, and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground which you, O Lord, have given to me’. Then, you shall lay it before the Lord, your G-d, and prostrate yourself before the Lord, your God”.

These verses are really a great synopsis of Jewish history. They are so familiar to us because the Mishna in Masechet Pesachim (Chapter 10 ,Mishna 4) mandates that they form the central structure of the "maggid" (tale) on the Seder night. We tell the Pesach story by expounding upon these verses. Considering the content this makes sense.

The real question is understanding the relationship between these verses and the original context in Devarim.  An individual farmer bringing his first fruits of a given year to the Beit Hamikdash seems like a simple action, not that significant. The words that accompany this deed are so grandiose, that they appear to be disproportionate and exaggerated.

The question is strengthened if we contemplate the Midrash Tanchuma at the beginning of the Parsha. The Midrash states that when the farmer is in the Temple he actually turns to Hashem and requests mercy for himself, the nation and the land. The source given for this is the verse  at the end of the declaration for removing tithes, the following section in our Parsha:

 “Look down from Your holy dwelling, from the heavens, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given to us, as You swore to our forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey”.

This Midrash adds a whole new dimension to the mitzva of Bikkurim; Based on the text in the Torah, the farmer’s gaze is towards the past, seeing this event as an outcome of Jewish History. The Midrash adds that simultaneously his glance is also to the future, he uses this opportunity as a platform to request a blessing for the years ahead. He is asking Hashem to help the nation surge ahead towards its Destiny. The Rambam    incorporates both these aspects in his description of the mitzvah of Bikkurim in his book of mitzvot (mitzvah 132). The Rambam states that as the farmer brings the first fruits, he praises Hashem for all the past events and beseeches Him to continue them. 

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