Parshat Ki Tavo introduces the two mitzvot of mikra bikkurim, the declaration of the first fruits and viduy ma’aser, the declaration of the tithes, against the backdrop of Parshat Ki Teitzei’s list of laws connected to the land of Israel. In his article, R. Yaacov Steinman[1] notes that as the finale of this series these two mitzvot serve as “meta-mitzvot” which celebrate our observance of all mitzvot in the land. This celebratory aspect is manifested in the declarations associated with each mitzvah. Additionally, taken together both mitzvot depict a reciprocal relationship of giving between G-d and Bnei Yisrael.
Further analysis of the contexts and declarations of mikra bikkurim and viduy ma’aser reveals their celebratory and jovial nature as fundamental to a relationship with G-d. Mikra bikkurim is an annual mitzvah when the farmer brings his first fruits to the Temple. In the bikkurim declaration, the bringer of first fruits relates the history of Bnei Yisrael’s sojourning from Yaakov’s wanderings to Bnei Yisrael entering the land. Viduy ma’aser is said in the fourth year of the shmittah count, after the three year ma’aser cycle is completed. In the declaration the individual states how he gave the tithes, ma’aser ani and ma’aser rishon, to the appropriate parties, the Levite, the convert, the orphan, and the widow. He also makes a second statement regarding ma’aser sheini that he did not misuse the tithe for forbidden purposes. For both statements the declarer asserts that he did “as he was commanded.” To cap off the declaration he issues a prayer to G-d.
Common to both mitzvot is the giving away one’s produce as a gesture of subservience to G-d. However, the parallel extends further. The Talmud, Pesachim 36b, states the verse “And thou shalt rejoice in all the good” teaches us that the declaration of bikkurim must be stated during a time of joy, which is the time period from Shavuot to Sukkot when farmers gather their produce[2]. Similarly, Rashi comments that joy is manifested in viduy ma’aser since the command fulfilled by the individual who separated and allotted tithes was that he “rejoiced and made others rejoice[3]” - he rejoiced by eating his ma’aser sheni in Yerushalayim, and he made others rejoice by giving ma’aser rishon and ma’aser ani to the needy. Therefore, both of these declarations, one a historical narrative and the other a personal confession and prayer, must be made on the basis of “שמחה” - joy. The root of this joy is the understanding that one has fulfilled his responsibilities; it is a joy of self-fulfillment. In a similar vein, the Maharam states that the individual who brings the first fruits is likened to one who has fulfilled all of the mitzvoth.[4] This echoes the idea that a realization of full potential is integral to the mitzvah of bikkurim, and thus serves as the background for great joy.
At this seminal moment when the Nation of Israel is about to initiate a covenant with G-d and enter the Land of Israel, they are given these mitzvot which speak of a future where G-d is encountered in times of joy. This deeply contrasts with the relationship Bnei Yisrael had with G-d throughout Egypt and the desert, when G-d answered Bnei Yisrael when he heard them in distress – “and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob”[5] additionally Bnei Yisrael were only receivers of G-d’s bounty but not givers. In the Land of Israel, that will change. Bnei Yisrael will be givers as well and once Bnei Yisrael have reached this stage of independent action in the Land of Israel then they can truly relate to G-d out of joy, for true joy flows from a sense of accomplishment, an arrival at destiny, as the one who brings bikkurim declares: “I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the land which the LORD swore unto our fathers to give us”[6].
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