"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, that you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you will bring from your land, which the Lord, your God, is giving you. And you shall put [them] into a basket and go to the place which the Lord, your God, will choose to have His Name dwell there." (Deut. 26:1-2)
Bringing good quality specimens of the first ripened fruits from one’s orchard to the Temple is an expression of thanksgiving to G‑d for His beneficence. In this regard, it is no different from the many other ways in which we give thanks to G‑d for His bounty. Thanksgiving to G‑d forms both a large part of the daily liturgy as well as many of the blessings we recite throughout the day. What distinguishes the commandment of the first fruits is that it is not only a declaration but also an act: we actually bring something to G‑d.
...we actually bring something to G‑d.By so doing, we demonstrate that everything in the world — even that which we have produced by our own efforts and which we should therefore rightfully be entitled to call our own — actually belongs to its Creator. Whatever "belongs" to us is really only entrusted into our care in order to enable us to fulfill our mission on earth: to make the world into G‑d's home.
Allegorically, the Jewish people are G‑d's first fruits, since the rest of creation was brought into being merely in order to function as the setting in which the Jewish people could fulfill their Divine imperative. Inasmuch as the Jewish soul is pure Divine consciousness, it is the epitome of the "home for G‑d" that creation was intended to be, the model for the rest of creation.
Just as the first fruits must be brought to the Temple, so is the Temple every Jew's natural home, by virtue of his natural, intrinsic G‑d-consciousness; every Jew's natural environment is proximity to G‑d.
...we should remember that we are "first fruits"...This consciousness should ideally pervade all aspects of our lives. Even when we are not actively engaged in overtly "religious" pursuits, we should remember that we are "first fruits" and live every moment in intimacy with G‑d.
Thus, the commandment to bring the first fruits is a tangible expression of our true relationship with G‑d. In this sense, it expresses much more than our thanksgiving to G‑d or the acknowledgement that He is the master of all creation; it demonstrates how we ourselves are essentially one with Him and belong together with Him at all times.
It is thus clear why the commandment to bring the first fruits is postured as an introduction to Moses' exposition of the covenant between G‑d and the Jewish people. It articulates the true depth of this covenant and indeed sets the tone for all that is to follow.
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