DEUT1481 Read the required Torah verses when bringing first fruits to the Beit HaMikdash. Through verbalizing one’s true and correct thoughts, their truth and correctness will become absolutely clear, for not only will the mind grasp them; the heart will grasp them too. This principle lies at the basis of the mitzvah reading the aforementioned versus when bringing the bikkurim to the Beis HaMikdash. When Hashem and His great kindness sends His blessings upon us in our fields in the Holy Land, and the land yields the first fruits of the season, each landowner is commanded to bring these fruits to the Beis HaMikdash. There, when he hands over these foods to the Kohen, he is commanded to verbalize true thoughts--verses of the Torah--so that they penetrate to his heart. Particularly at this time, it is fitting to remind oneself that everything that one has comes from Hashem. To this end, one reads verses that recall but a few of the great kindnesses that Hashem has bestowed upon us and the nation as a whole. The person bringing his bikkurim begins by reading aloud verses about how Hashem saved Yaakov Avinu from the hands of Lavan. Then he reads that Hashem saved our entire nation from terrible subjugation in Egypt. Standing in the presence of the Kohen praising Hashem, he then asks that Hashem's blessing rest upon him always. His heart fills with gratitude and praise for Hashem, and thereby he, in fact, is fitting to be blessed, which is pleasing to Hashem, Who wants to bestow good and shower kindness upon His people. The Chinuch adds that when we stand before Hashem in prayer and make requests of Him, we must say every word very carefully. In addition, when we express ourselves in our words, we must choose our words with great care and express them sincerely. Remember and guard this principle, and apply it when you pray.

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DEUT1482 The import of the Jubilee and sabbatical years, however, goes even beyond ownership of the land by the Deity. For these observances signify a reaffirmation by the Jew that the Deity is the primary factor in any economic success. A long list of mitzvot can be presented to demonstrate this idea, but perhaps the most interesting ones are those of the First Fruits (bikurim). Deuteronomy 26:1-11. To the farmer, the first fruits are very special, as they represent the beginning of a successful venture. Yet, the Torah obligated the Jew to take these first fruits to Jerusalem each year and present them to the priest. In itself, this presentation may not sufficiently demonstrate the concept of thankfulness. What does underscore it is the confession that accompanied the bringing of these first fruits. Every Jew was required to recite a confession at the Temple in which he described how an insignificant little family went down to Egypt, grew rapidly, but was enslaved and persecuted. It was only God’s love, and His power over the forces of nature and man, that redeemed this family (that is, Israel) from their slavery, carried them through the dangers of the desert, and brought them into the Land of Israel. The thankfulness expressed in the confession was for the God-given land, its fertility, its crops, and its first fruits, all granted simply through the grace of God. Nothing could be more indicative of Judaism’s teaching of man's utter dependence upon God for his economic welfare then this confession.

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DEUT1483 See [[DEUT1689]] Deuteronomy 32:15 forsook SINAI2 72-3

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DEUT1484 The Mishnah (Bikkurim iii) which glowingly records the joyous procession of those bringing the first-fruits between Shavuot and Sukkot into the Temple where they recited the prayer of gratitude (Deuteronomy xxvi. 1-11), stipulates that if the first-fruits were tardily brought after the termination of Sukkot, no such recitation was allowed. Why? One should not wait for the last moment before discharging dues. Man must give according to his means, not according to his meanness. The classic Biblical example of such meanness in giving is to be found in the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis iv. 1-15). There we are told that Cain brought some "fruit of the ground as an offering unto the Lord", but Abel "brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof". (Genesis iv. 3-4). "The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and his offering, He had not respect". (Genesis iv. 4-5). Had mankind learned the moral of this story from the beginning, it would have been spared much suffering. It would seem, however, that though man is gradually making the earth yield its secret weapons of destruction, such as the atomic and hydrogen bomb, he has not yet learned the elementary truths of the sanctity of life and the need for kindliness. Mankind has climbed the mountains of scientific discoveries but its soul it has left in the valley below. For it spends most of its energies in acquiring goods but not the good. When will mankind learn that there are no pockets in the shrouds in which we are clothed when our eyes are closed?

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DEUT1485 To speak of a realistic and practical approach to God may seem to the uninitiated to use wrong terms when applied to the eternal verities of life. Yet realism and tangibility are not associated only with those things which can be touched or handled. Judaism has one grand purpose: to extract from life the beauty inherent in all things created by God. (Hence the blessings to be recited on all occasions.) To do so, it has pictured the world not as a torture chamber, in which our food is mixed with tears and our blessings with delusion; but as a field made glorious by opportunities ever before us, or by misery and pain which prove often the gateways to a better life. "That thou mayest live and rejoice with all the good things that God has given thee" [this verse] is the incentive behind many a command made by the Torah.

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DEUT1486 See [[DEUT696]] Deuteronomy 14:29 eat TELVOL2 200-1

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DEUT1487 See [[LEV316]] Leviticus 19:9 gleanings OXFORD 345-6

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DEUT1488 Declare having properly separated and given the required tithes. Man is the most sublime creation on earth, and the feature that most clearly sets him apart from animals is his power of speech. By virtue of this God given power, it is obvious that compared to animals, mankind lives on an entirely different plane of existence. Owing to the sublime nature of the power of speech, we find many people who take great pains regarding every word that they say, while they are not so concerned about their sinful actions. Compared to their concern over what they do, they are more concerned about what they say, lest they blemish this holy faculty. Separating tithes is a very important matter in its own right, but its importance is magnified because Levites and Kohanim, Hashem’s servants in the Beis HaMikdash, depend upon tithes for their livelihood. Accordingly, Hashem wants the Jewish nation to take special care to separate tithes properly. He wants us to take no personal benefit from them and give them as required. For these reasons He commands us to come to the Beis HaMikdash and verbally declared before Him that we have allocated the tithes properly and that no produce intended for the Levites or Kohanim was mishandled or remains in our possession. Requiring this verbal declaration ensures that we do everything that we must regarding the tithes, for who is not afraid of uttering a lie in the Beis Hamikdash?

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DEUT1489 Do not eat of the second tithe or of any other hallowed food when a close relative has died and is not yet buried. When a Jew eats of the second tithe, which has to be consumed in Jerusalem, or when he eats of any other hallowed meat or food, it is as if he partakes of food from the table of Hashem. At a time when a person is stricken with grief over the death of a loved one, it is inappropriate for him to approach the table of the King. In addition, the eating of the meat of an offering contributes to the atonement of the person who brought the offering. Without question, those who brought offerings would eat meat with this thought in mind, with reverence and devotion, hoping that by so doing, they would draw closer to Hashem. When someone is shrouded in grief, or is worried, unsettled and fearful, his mind is not capable of such thoughts of holiness. At such a time, therefore, it is not fitting for him to eat from the meat of an offering.

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DEUT1490 R. Huna b. R. Acha said: Come and see how great is the power of the doers of a mitzvah, for all instances of "Look down" [in Scripture] augur curses and this one augurs blessings; and, what is more, it is followed by (verse 16): "This day" [for the materialization of the blessing] (Yerushalmi Ma'aser Sheni 5:5)

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