Rabbi Sholom Twerski
August 27, 2026
וְהָיָה כִּי־תָבוֹא אֶל־הָאָרֶץ... וְלָקַחְתָּ מֵרֵאשִׁית כׇּל־פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה
When you enter the land…you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil
The Torah tells us in the mitzvah of Bikkurim that we take from the first fruits. This is seemingly quite significant as we see from the first pasuk of the Torah.
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ׃
בִּשְׁבִיל הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁנִקְרֵאת רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכּוֹ (משלי ח'), וּבִשְׁבִיל יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁנִקְרְאוּ רֵאשִׁית תְּבוּאָתוֹ (ירמיה ב'); בשביל מצות ביכורים שנקראין ראשית.
The world was created for the Torah which is called, “רֵאשִׁית”, for Klal Yisroel which is called, “רֵאשִׁית”, and for the Bikkurim, which are called, “רֵאשִׁית”.
While we may begin to understand why the Torah and Klal Yisroel are necessary for the creation of the world, what is it about Bikkurim that is so essential? What lies behind this mitzva?
R’ Motti Neuburger suggests that the beginning of the understanding lies at the end of last week’s parsha which discusses the mitzva of destroying Amalek. Amalek provides a counterexample of רֵאשִׁית.
וַיַּרְא אֶת־עֲמָלֵק וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר רֵאשִׁית גּוֹיִם עֲמָלֵק
They, too, are called רֵאשִׁית - but in the negative sense. The Bikkurim are coming in some way to undo the negative effects of Amalek.
One idea is that while Amalek makes the argument that everything is Mikreh- happenstance (אֲשֶׁר קָרְךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ), when we bring Bikkurim we demonstrate that even what seems like regular nature, crops and harvests, is attributed to Hashem. We bring the fruit of our labor and make a declaration thanking Hashem for bringing us out of Mitzrayim and granting us a portion in Eretz Yisroel.
The Toras Chaim enlightens us with another idea. The Gemara at the end of Meseches Sanhedrin tells us a story.
רַב אָשֵׁי אוֹקֵי אַשְּׁלֹשָׁה מְלָכִים. אֲמַר: לִמְחַר נִפְתַּח בְּחַבְרִין. אֲתָא מְנַשֶּׁה, אִיתְחֲזִי לֵיהּ בְּחֶלְמֵיהּ. אָמַר: חֲבֵרָךְ וַחֲבֵירֵי דַּאֲבוּךְ קָרֵית לַן?
One day Rav Ashi ended his lecture just before reaching the matter of the three kings. He said to his students: Tomorrow we will begin the lecture with our colleagues the three kings, who, although they were sinners, were Torah scholars like us. Manasseh, king of Judea, came and appeared to him in his dream.Manasseh said to him angrily: You called us your colleague and the colleagues of your father? How dare you characterize yourself as our equal?
מֵהֵיכָא בָּעֵית לְמִישְׁרֵא הַמּוֹצִיא? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: לָא יָדַעְנָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מֵהֵיכָא דְּבָעֵית לְמִישְׁרֵא הַמּוֹצִיא לָא גְּמִירַתְּ, וַחֲבֵרָךְ קָרֵית לַן? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אַגְמְרֵיהּ לִי, וְלִמְחַר דָּרֵישְׁנָא לֵיהּ מִשְּׁמָךְ בְּפִירְקָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מֵהֵיכָא דְּקָרֵים בִּישּׁוּלָא.
Manasseh said to him: I will ask you, from where are you required to begincutting a loaf of bread when reciting the blessing: Who brings forth bread from the earth? Rav Ashi said to him: I do not know. Manasseh said to him: Even this, from where you are required to begin cutting a loaf of bread when reciting the blessing: Who brings forth bread from the earth, you did not learn, and yet you call us your colleague? Rav Ashi said to Manasseh: Teach me this halakha and tomorrow I will lecture and cite it in your name during my public lecturedelivered on the Festival. Manasseh said to him: One cuts the loaf from where it crusts as a result of baking.
אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מֵאַחַר דְּחַכִּימַתְּ כּוּלֵּי הַאי, מַאי טַעְמָא קָא פָּלְחִיתוּ לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אִי הֲוֵת הָתָם, הֲוֵת נָקֵיטַתְּ בְּשִׁיפּוּלֵי גְּלִימָא וְרָהֲטַתְּ אַבַּתְרַאי. לִמְחַר אֲמַר לְהוּ לְרַבָּנַן: נִפְתָּח בְּרַבְּווֹתָא.
Rav Ashi said to him: Since you were so wise, what is the reason you engaged in idol worship? Manasseh said to him: Had you been there at that time, you would have taken and lifted the hem of your cloak and run after me due to the fierce desire to engage in idol worship and due to the fact that it was a common faith. The next day Rav Ashi said to the Sages as a prelude to his lecture: We will begin with the treatment of our teachers, those kings who were greater than us in Torah knowledge, but whose sins caused them to lose their share in the World-to-Come.
Why is specifically this halacha- of where to cut the bread first- discussed? And why, just because Menashe knew this halacha, was that cause for Rav Ashi to question why it was that he worshipped Avoda Zara?
The halacha is that, as stated in this Gemara, we cut from the place where the bread first began to be baked and was crusted over. Furthermore, we make a mark on the challah before making the bracha. One reason for this is to decrease the time needed between the bracha and eating the first piece.
Another reason brought is from the KolBo. He claims that the first piece has a bit of kedusha and shouldn’t be given to an animal or to a non-Jew. Although this is rejected by the Beis Yosef, the Toras Chaim goes on to explain the rationale.
Everything in our lives has a Reishis which we consecrate to Hashem. That beginning is there to remind us of the Ultimate Reishis, Kadmono shel Olam, Hashem. That applies to a Bechor, the firstborn of a donkey and a sheep, the Reishis Hageiz of the shearings, etc. In the process of making a loaf of bread, there are a number of “beginnings”. The first one is the Bikkurim. After the grain is developed, we have terumos and ma’asros. Then, when we make a dough, we separate another one- Challah. Finally, we have a baked loaf, and the first piece we cut off, taken from where the dough began to bake, is also a Reishis of sorts. The incision we make before the bracha is to demark what that Reishis is.
This is what Menashe was teaching Rav Ashi. Even after the human being has invested him or herself totally into the process, changed raw ingredients into an edible substance through sheer grit, determination, and tenacity, established themselves as “owners” of the process- there is a Reishis there, too. One must never make the mistake of thinking they can accomplish without the assistance of Hashem.
Whenever we put our minds and efforts into an enterprise, we are becoming partners with Hashem. He allows us to operate in this world; He gives us the materials and the tools to be successful. The world itself is created for this partnership. It is Klal Yisroel, using the Torah, that develops the Reishis of the world. This is expressed beautifully in the Bikkurim we bring. The world was created for this Reishis- for the developing of this cosmic partnership.
This is the point that is the opposite of Amalek. Amalek is the idea that we are independent, free agents. We are beholden to no one. Bikkurim tells us that every aspect of creation is given to us by a Loving G-d. We express our awareness of this when we bring the Bikkurim.
That was why Rav Ashi was flabbergasted at Menashe. If this was so clear to you, he asked, how could you have worshipped idols? Menashe answered that it wasn’t a question of ideology. On that, he was clear. But there was a craving for Avodah Zara that existed independent of this understanding- one that we can’t comprehend once Anshei Knesses HaGedolah banished the temptation from the world.
May we all recognize Hashem in every aspect of our lives and revel in the idea of becoming partners with Him in creation.
Have a wonderful Shabbos!