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This week’s Parasha opens with the declaration that a landowner makes when he brings his bikkurim, his first
fruits, to the Beis HaMikdosh – may it be rebuilt speedily in our days! – and presents them to the Cohen. It is a
BIIIIIG DEAL! Our Sages tell us that the people would adorn their carts – and even the animals that were
pulling the carts! – and that townspeople would come out to dance and sing before them as they travelled to
Yerushalyim.
All of us love Eretz Yisroel; many of us left our homelands and very secure situations to come here, out of a
sense that this is our home, where we belong. So I understand the rejoicing over the produce of The Land, but
I have a different question: Why are “FIRSTS” so special? The first fruits, the first borns, the celebrations at the
beginnings of things, when so many times our firsts are not our bests! Isn’t your challah or cholent better
now than your first attempt? Don’t you say Kiddush or Havdalah more smoothly now than when you were first
married? (I don’t want to get tough and ask about mistakes we all made as newlyweds and “new parents”…)
I think the answer is two-fold. First, there is always the joy of getting started; the end of the question of “will I
even get a shot?” There is always that nervous wonder in the back of our heads: will I meet my bashert and
marry, will I get to the age of adulthood, where my Mitzvos count… Naturally, then, when we pass those
milestones we have a joy mixed with relief. This explains why, in the declaration that we make in the Beis
HaMikdosh, we elaborate on how hard it was and how much we went through to get to this point: although
Hashem promised the land to Avraham Avinu, we were waiting & waiting & waiting for this day to come…
(BTW, this same declaration is the main body of the haggadah that we read on seder night. When the time
comes, I’ll ask you why we mention bikkurim on seder night, when it’s generally brought at Shavuos or Sukkos
time…)
Secondly, a beginning is…a beginning. A fresh start. Full of hope along with the nervousness, amazement with
the anxiety. The wonder of it all! And with tefilos in our heart – always – we bring these fruits and thank
Hashem for what he’s given us. These fruits are the tip of the iceberg (my husband told me that there is no set
amount that must be given, even one piece of fruit is enough according to the Torah), and we have so much
more, boruch Hashem, back home.
Which leads to the rather obvious point: this week we had our “bikkurim week” at school, our first week. And I
saw many of you – even veteran parents – bringing your precious little neshamos to school with that look.
That mix of hope, awe, and wonder over the nerves. Watching your children (some of whom had a more
innocent, unfiltered version of the same look, with possibly more nervousness, but also more hope and
wonder) take a Morah’s hand and enter the “new land of the gan.” (Am I going too far if I call it “The Promised
Land”: a classroom flowing with love, fun, new skills and information! Maybe…) This is a week to celebrate,
your child is starting a year of growth and development in an exciting, supportive, stimulating environment.
He and she will be bringing home projects and ideas that are exciting for them (and we hope you, too)
because of their newness.
I’m sure that the Cohanim smiled and rejoiced along with the landowners when the bikkurim were brought:
what Jew doesn’t rejoice at another Jew’s simcha? All the moreso if it were his son-in-law or good friend.
Please remember to rejoice with your child when they bring the fruits of their labors – projects, knowledge,
experiences – home with them. Remember, just like the Cohanim you have the greater portion
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