In Parashat Va’Eira, Hashem tells Moshe to give Bnei Israel the glad tidings of their coming redemption from their enslavement in Egypt.
The words are known as the four languages of redemption:(6:6)
’I have remembered My covenant. Therefore say to the Children of Israel:’I am Hashem, and I shall take you out from under the burdens of Egypt; i shall rescue you from their service; I shall redeemyou with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I shall take you to me for a people and I shall be a G-d to you’.
The parsha continues with a fifth expression:(6-9) ’and you shall know that I am Hashem your G-d, who takes you out from under the burdens of Egypt.
‘I shall bring you to the land about which I raised My hand to give to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov; and I shall give it to you as a heritage - I am Hashem.’
The Ohr Hachaim comments on the concluding passuk:’These words of the One Above are difficult - were those who left Egypt the ones who entered the Land?
‘This was not the case, but rather, their children who came there, whilst the whole generation who left Egypt, from the age of twenty and upwards, perished in the desert.
‘The query increases, when we note that Hashem - here - spoke in the language of an oath: לכן.
‘It therefore seems that the Source of Wisdom framed his words with wisdom, as - before saying ‘and I shall bring you to the land’, He said: ’And you will know that I am Hashem, who brings you to the land’ - and, in the absence of this, if you should anger Me, there is no promise whatsoever.
‘Hashem inserted this passuk - of ‘knowing that Hashem..- in the middle of His glad tidings - and not after them - to say, that this promise ‘to bring them to the land’, was conditional on them ‘knowing..’ as only then would ‘I bring them to the land’ - and not otherwise.’
As we noted, this generation that left Egypt sadly did not meet this condition, and it was only their descendants that entered the Land - and who are the subject of our Parasha - Parashat Ki Tavo - as we read:’It will be when you enter the Land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you as an inheritance.
The Parasha describes what they are to do - which Sifrei says is ‘the condition for them entering the promised Land.’
We can note that, in substance, it is an acknowledgement and a thanks, that it is a gift from Hashem - not ours by conquest or by right.
The Kli Yakar stresses this point:’We do not find the expression ‘and you shall inherit and settle it’ - as we do here - except here, and in the parsha of the King.
‘This is because, after settling and possessing the land, Israel ‘will grow fat and rebel against Hashem’, and seek for themselves rule in the manner of all the other nations.
‘For this reason, the objective of the parasha of Bikurim was to subjugate the haughtiness of their hearts, which - after the inheritance and possession likely will lead them to say that by their might and right, the land is theirs - and lead them to forget Hashem.
‘This is why it says: ’it will be when you enter the land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you as an inheritance..’, as, in fact, not as an inheritance do you enter the land, but only by virtue of it being given to you by Hashem, as a gift, on condition that you give Him His share, and keep all His commandments.
‘This, too, is why you are commanded with the Mitzvah of Bikurim - giving the first-fruits to Hashem - to subjugate your heart to Hashem.
‘And this is why the bringer is to say:’I said today to Hashem, your G-d’ - which is in the past tense - even though he had not yet said anything - to declare that: not as an inheritance, but because of the oath ‘that Hashem swore to your forefathers to give us’.
‘I testify that, as for myself, in bringing my bikurim, that it is from Hashem that this land is to me, as a gift and portion.
‘After you have acknowledged that ‘you brought’ the first fruits from ‘your land which Hashem your G-d, gave to you’ - as this land is not called ‘your land’ until after you have brought the bikurim - and, in the merit of the bikurim that you brought, you may take for yourself the produce of the land.
‘This, in essence, is the ‘telling’ that is referred to as:’And I said today.’
The Netivot Shalom brings the saying of the Sifre:’Do the said mitzvah, as in its merit you will enter the land’, and asks:’The commentators note that only after settling the land and its possession - which took fourteen years - Bnei Israel performed this Mitzvah, so what is the meaning of;’in its merit, you will enter the land?’
‘Further, what is so special in mitzvat bikurim, over other mitzvot, that in its merit, they would enter the land? Especially, as it has no specified measure, so that it is satisfied by even a minute offering.
‘The answer is - as our sages have handed down to us - that it is based on two foundations: אמונה faith, and קדושה: sanctity.
‘The Emunah that Hashem alone creates and conducts all that occurs, and that He alone did, does and will do all that occurs - this ensuring that we know that man’s might and deeds and all his machinations, are, in themselves, of no avail.
‘The second foundation: sanctity, means that a Jew subordinates all his stiff-neckedness and desires, to Hashem.
‘Both of these matters are included in the mitzvah of bikurim: Emunah - after all his toil over the year, he merits to see the fruits of his labor ripen on the tree, yet marks it, saying: this is for Hashem.
‘He thereby exhibits his clear faith that he knows and believes that it was not his might and efforts that produced this bounty, but that it was Hashem who gave his hand the power to do so - by bringing this first fruit to Hashem - which is the most precious in his eyes - he is affirming that all is, and comes from, Hashem.
‘As to sanctity, it is the nature of man, on finally seeing the fruits of his toil, grow and mature, for it to be the subject of his desire to savor it - yet he then goes down to his field, and marks this jewel, at the same time declaring that it is to Hashem who gave- assuredly he is thereby ceding to Hashem all his desire and pleasure - and, this he applies to all his physical matters.
‘By performing the mitzvah of bikurim in this manner, he may enter the land, as by elevating these earthly matters to Hashem, he will also so act on entering the land, and respect and maintain the sanctity of the holy land.
‘We can now understand why the declaration of the bringer, only mentions:’my forefather served the Arami, and descended to Egypt’ - and not the other travails which befell our people - as the Arami and Egypt represent the greatest depths of impurity - from which Hashem delivered us , and now - I hereby bring the first fruits of the land which you - Hashem - gave me, showing that I have ascended to the clearest Emunah, that all is what Hashem gave me, and to the necessary level of sanctity, to offer all my desires, to Hashem.
‘This is the underlying meaning of the declaration: באתי אל הארץ: that I attained the objective of entering the land, which is to elevate all my earthly deeds and to give them to Hashem.’
Rav Yitzchak Karo expounds:’Our parsha raises a number of questions: Why did Hashem command the bringer of the bikurim to say:’I said today to Hashem, your G-d, that I came to the land..’ - Hashem and indeed, all who resided in Jerusalem, saw this.
‘What need was there for relating that :’An Arami my father served, and he descended to Egypt’ - what need was there to mention Egypt ? Could it not have simply said: ’And now I brought the first-fruits..?
‘Let us preface the answer to these questions, by saying that Hashem wanted to perfect and refine the character of the people engaging in the mitzvah of bringing bikurim.
‘The refinement is so that we should be good and righteous people - good in two respects: one to be complete in himself and not be a glutton, as many bad things befell gluttons -such as poverty and premature death.
‘The second, to be good with people, and not be haughty, as this leads to not respecting others and many other bad traits.
‘The mitzvah of bikurim - as against this - will bring completeness. First, it will ensure that the bringer is not a glutton, as he gives the very first and choice of his fruit - which he so desires - and he brings it with a blessing also, saying:’This is bikurim’, his heart thereby being submissive, and he will not be a glutton.
‘The second, is that because of the bikurim, he will not be haughty, this by his coming before the Kohen of the day - even if the Kohen the least of people in his character, and the bringer of the bikurim, a high and mighty personage - saying before him:’I have come today..’, this breeding humility.
‘From this, it will follow that the bringer will also ‘be good’ to the One Above, thereby atoning for both the past and the future.
‘The past, for the lack of faith of the spies, who said that Hashem lacked the ability to bring the people into the land, as the inhabitants were mightier than Him.
‘The bringer of the bikurim atones for this, by declaring that Hashem brought them to the land as He promised the Avot - thereby atoning for the past.
‘As to the future, that they would not sin - as they would remember in good times, all the bad that they had suffered, and their poverty - this being alluded to in their declaring:’An Arami our father served’, meaning:I don’t think that the land from which I grew these bikurim, I inherited it from my ancestors, as Yaakov was impoverished and served others - and I am not saying that I inherited it from my ancestors - rather, they descended to Egypt and dwelled there in small numbers, and grew to be numerous and mighty - yet, with all this, they were afflicted and enslaved by the Egyptians - and our fathers did not depart from there by force - but Hashem took us out by His mighty Hand, and brought us to this land; so, here is our offering of our first fruits - so too, in good times, we will not transgress, as we will remember the bad times’ and Hashem’s chessed, ‘and not transgress then.’
A parting gem from Rav Aryeh Leib Heiman, who proffers that, by this parsha, we are thanking Hashem for fulfilling the promise of the fifth language of Hashem’s promise to Bnei Israel - in Parashat Va’Eira - and brilliantly dovetails with the matter raised by the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh, that we brought at the outset.
The Rav opens, by asking: ‘Why, at the Seder, when we started with our disgrace, and finished with praise, did our Sages bring the parsha the bringer of the bikurim says, of ‘An Arami my forefather served’, and not psukim of other matters from Sefer Shemot, which are the source of the description of our suffering?
‘A simple answer is that, due to the limited attention span of children - who, as we are told, are the main actors to whom Seder night is directed - we bring the bikurim declaration, which is an extract of the Egyptian subjugation.
‘Why - in that case - do we need to say - as the bringer of the bikurim does ‘I have declared today to Hashem, your G-d, that I came to the land’ - why is the language הגדת לה' : used?
‘Surely to allude to another place where similar language is used: at the Seder - ‘והגדת לבנך לאמור: ‘ and you related to your son, saying’.
‘Perhaps our Sages meant - by using the same language - to teach that the words of acknowledgement said by the bringer of the bikurim, should be said at the time of והגדת לבנך:’and you shall relate to your son’ - when, you are to relate the story, at the Seder table!
‘We can advance another true reason, why the parsha of bikurim should be said at the Seder table: In Parashat Va’Eira, the four languages of the redemption promised by Hashem, appear - as against which, the four glasses are drunk at the Seder - but there is a fifth promise:’And I will bring you to the land which I promised to give to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, and I will give it to you as an inheritance, I am Hashem.’
‘As against this promise, we pour a fifth glass at the Seder - the ‘glass of Eliyahu’.
‘Now, when the bringer of the bikurim’ who merited to see this fifth promise fulfilled, when he brings his offering to the Mikdash, there is no greater proof than this, that Hashem has fulfilled His promise!
‘The parsha of the bikurim is the proof of this - which is why the bringer declares:’And He brought us to this place, and gave us this land, the land of milk and honey.’
‘This explains why the bringer, in his declaration, says to the Kohen:’I said today to Hashem, your G-d, that I came to the land..’, which is self-evident.
‘The reason is, that after this parsha is read at the Seder, the word ‘today’, has a clear meaning - the declaration of the bringer of the bikurim was to be made in the period between Shavuot and Sukkot.
‘This means that the bringer of the bikurim to the Mikdash, says before Hashem:’At the last Seder (which took place a few weeks or months earlier), I already ‘said’ part of this parsha - before relating the story of the exodus from Egypt - but not all of it - only the story of the suffering and the redemption from it.
‘’Today’, I complete what I left unsaid - and add and declare that Hashem also fulfilled His promise:’And I brought you to the land’ - the language of the fifth promise.
‘Today’, therefore - ‘I told Hashem, your G-d, that I came to the land which you promised to your Avot to give to you.’
‘Thereby, all of the promises of Hashem, to Bnei Israel have been fulfilled!’.
לרפואת נועם עליזה בת זהבה רבקה ונחום אלימלך רפאל בן זהבה רבקה, בתוך שאר חולי עמנו.