Shabbos Parashas Ki Savo - 5775

Shabbos Parashas Ki Savo - 5775

Rabbi Hal Miller

Hashem shall give you bountiful goodness, in the fruit of your womb and the fruit

of your animals and the fruit of your ground, on the ground that Hashem swore to

your forefathers to give you. [Devarim 28:11]

Our parsha spends a lot of time going through the curses and blessings, the reward or

punishment of the people for their observing or breaking the Torah laws. It goes on to

promise a bountiful yield from our work. It discusses the commandment of bringing

the first fruits.

In a couple of weeks, at Rosh Hashanah, we reach the end of the Shemittah year. We will

be able, for the first time since last Rosh Hashanah, to plant, till, cultivate, and otherwise

work the land. It seems that these commandments were given together for a reason.

What do you do at the end of Shemittah? Does bikkurim (the first fruits) mean anything

different with regard to the first of the new crop in the first new year of the new shemittah

cycle, as opposed to what it means in any other year? Certainly, we have the same

obligation this year to bring the first fruits offering as we would in any other year.

The bikkurim commandment did not state "every year but Shemittah." But how else

should we look at the commandments of bikkurim and Shemittah?

Rav Hirsch writes that "keeping Shemittah doesn't lead to success in morality, rather keeping

morals leads to success in Shemittah." This indicates that there's more to Shemittah than

just the agricultural benefits of resting the land. When the people first came out of the desert

into the land, they were obligated in first fruits. They were also obligated to cleanse the

land of idolatry, and to observe the moral laws of the Torah. They accepted these

obligations and went to work.

Today, with more than half of the Jewish people still outside the land, the majority of Jews

have only a small obligation with regard to Shemittah. Without the Temple, the bikkurim

commandment is, at least partially if not fully, suspended for the time being. But this is

not a reason for us to fail to do what we can. We are obligated to prepare for the future

when we will be able to fulfill all the mitzvos again, but there is more.

If the only benefit to bikkurim and Shemittah was the rejuvenation of the agricultural

capabilities of the land, we could debate the value of both of these mitzvos today.

Science has given us ways to fertilize. We can't bring offerings without a place to bring

them. So why would we observe either of these laws?

As did our ancestors, coming out of the desert, we must perform these mitzvos as best

we can now because there is something greater involved. Not only do we prepare for

the time we are all gathered again in our land (may it be soon!), but our observance

is proof that we have each made personal progress in observing other laws, the laws

of morality. It is proof that we have, individually and collectively, accepted the Torah

and G-d's mastery, in our generation and for all time. This is the road to redemption,

just in time for Rosh Hashanah.

Not just in the garden, but all through life, it's time to get back to work.