לקוטי שיחות חלק ב׳ - כי תבוא א

Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 – Ki Savo 1 – Bikkurim and the Joy in Serving Hashem

1. The current portion discusses the mitzvah of bringing the first fruits, which must be from the best produce that our holy land, may it be rebuilt and established speedily in our days through our righteous Moshiach, has yielded. This was when it was a land flowing with milk and honey, and from the very first fruits, before one took anything for oneself. These were brought to the Beis Hamikdash to thank Hashem, blessed be He, for the blessing He placed in the fruits of the land. The first fruits were not like other offerings to be burned on the altar, but rather to be given to the Kohen.

From this, we learn in both extremes: that the grain and fruits of the land, which grow after one has plowed, sown, and performed other labors, are not to be burned on the altar but are to be given to the Kohen.

2. Those connected with the growth of the fruits of the land took the first and best of them, not for themselves, but made them holy by giving them to the Kohen. At times, a claim might arise that after all the hard work and effort invested, even if one must give a portion for sacred purposes, why must it be specifically from the best and most beautiful? However, upon reflection, one comes to understand that such a claim can only exist when there is a lack of faith that the fruits of the land are "given to me by G‑d," and one thinks that "my strength and the might of my hand have made me this wealth." But after contemplating, one sees that this is contrary to simple faith, which exists in all Jews without exception; it just needs to be brought out so that it influences daily life.

Another lesson we learn from the same mitzvah is that the fruits are not burned on the altar in the Beis Hamikdash, but are given to the Kohen, who must use them: eat, etc., as is the law of the first fruits. This teaches that even the physical enjoyment and taste, if one prepares properly and sanctifies oneself, becoming like a "Kohen," can be utilized in holiness (by bringing it into the Beis Hamikdash, etc.), and serve G‑d through eating the fruits, just as one serves G‑d with other offerings by bringing them into the Beis Hamikdash, like a burnt offering and similar.

This is one of the foundations of Chassidic teaching: that one can and must serve G‑d not only during and through prayer and Torah study, but also while eating and through eating, during business and with business. It is, of course, understood that this form of serving G‑d requires deeper preparation, and the reward for this is greater.

In this sense, the mitzvah of the first fruits exists even during exile and even outside the Land of Israel. Even on a simple weekday, when one says from the depths of the heart about all that one has, that it is "given to me by G‑d," it becomes sanctified, to the point that pouring it can become a service, a service of G‑d.

In the mitzvah of the first fruits in its literal sense, when it was in the Beis Hamikdash, there was then the blessing that in the coming year he should...