Geirim Bikkurim 

By Rabbi Berach Steinfeld

In Shmos 22:20 the Torah tells us that one should not oppress a convert as we were all converts when we left Mitzrayim. In Shmos 22:21 the Torah tells us not to cause pain to a widow or orphan as if you do cause pain and he davens to Hashem then Hashem will listen to him. In a few pesukim later the Torah teaches us the Halacha of Bikkurim that one has to bring the first fruit that grows on his tree to the Bais Hamikdosh. The question is why do the halachos of not oppressing a convert and or a widow or orphan right next to the halachos of Bikkurim? The Ramban says that if one does bother these poor people Hashem says as soon as they scream to me, I will listen to them and I won’t need anything else. Why does Hashem take care of them in such an extreme fashion?

 The first fruit that grows one who goes into his field and sees it ripened he wraps around the fruit a red string and thereby is makdish it. Why does Rashi need to say that he goes into the field it is obvious that he went to the field otherwise how else would he know that the fruit ripened?

 We can explain this based on Rashi in Devarim27:3 where the torah says that you will come to the Kohein of your day and age and tell him I am acknowledging today that I am not a KofuyTova, (a denier of the good done to him.) He says that I came to this land that Hashem swore to our forefathers to give to us. He is actually standing in the Bais Hamikdosh so what exactly is he saying that Hashem gave us the land of Eretz Yisroel? This is what Rashi explains that he is actually being Makir Tov to Hashem that he was zocheh to Eretz Yisroel. The Chinuch in Mitzvah 406 explains the mitzvah of reading the parsha of Bikkurim is to wake us up to appreciate what Hashem does for us and by saying words that is what reminds us to appreciate it. We even recount the history of all the times Hashem save Yaakov Avinu. We thank Hashem for the past and we daven for the future. This teaches us the mida of hakaras haTov.

 How does a person reach the point that he can have hakaras haTov is only by showing humility and knowing that all the work one does in the field can be worthless unless Hashem wants it to be effective? A BaalGaaveh thinks that when he gets good it is coming to him. He does not realize it is a gift from Hashem. On the other hand, one who has humility knows that he is not deserving of all the chessed Hashem gives him and thereby is makir tov to Hashem.

 The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim 3:39 says that reading parsha of Bikkurim shows that the person is humble. He goes ahead and brings a basket of fruit on his own shoulder and thanks Hashem in the process. He remembers that we were slaves in Mitzrayim and the many times Hashem helped us get out of the tzorois. This keeps the person humble and not a baal gaaveh as we know the passuk in Devarim 32:15 says that unfortunately when Jews had plenty many times, they started pushing their religion away. To combat this problem, we are always reminding ourselves our humble beginnings.

 This is especially relevant when it comes to a farmer who could easily fool himself into thinking that it is his great work that produced the beautiful fruit. We tell the person when you go into the field and find one fruit that ripened it is like he found something that happened without his work as the rest of the field is not ripe yet. It evokes a tremendous hakoras HaTov to Hashem and brings him to daven that the rest of the field should follow suit. There is no better way to show appreciation to Hashem then by helping the unfortunate and showing that we are on the same level as them without Hashem we are helpless and in that zchuss we are zocheh to all the good.

 May we all be zocheh to be makir tov to Hakadosh Boruch Hu and to properly help all those unfortunate.

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