English translation — תבא א

Sicha 1<pg>145</pg>

A.

In Sifrei at the beginning of our parshah, the verse is expounded "And it will be when you come<sup>1</sup>

to the land" — "There is no 'and it will be' except immediately."

And the meaning of the exposition,

at first glance,

that the obligation of the mitzvah of bikkurim

(which is discussed in this parshah)

applies immediately upon their coming to the land<sup>2</sup>.

And at first glance it is puzzling

(as the commentators asked³)

— behold it is explicit in the continuation of the verse "and you will inherit it and dwell in it",

that they are not obligated in first-fruits until after inheritance and settlement

(namely conquest and division of the land⁴),

as brought in Rashi here,

and as explicit in tractate Kiddushin⁵

that regarding first-fruits everyone agrees that they were not obligated until after inheritance and settlement⁶.

There are commentators⁷

[who explain] the intent of the Sifri "that immediately they will come to the land",

that is,

that what is said in the Sifri "immediately" does not refer to the obligation of bringing first-fruits,

but rather it is regarding

(the line of)

the bringing to the land,

that "immediately — you shall come to the land".

[And according to this explanation, the continuation of the expositions in the Sifri is also understood,

that after this exposition

("There is no 'and it shall be' except immediately")

it continues: "When you come into the land — perform the commandment mentioned in the matter, by whose reward you will enter the land" — that the two expositions concerning the entry into the land are connected and follow one another,

that is,

that the innovation in this promise of "you will enter the land" regarding the previous promises about the coming to the land is in this,

that by virtue of the performance of

(receiving⁸)

"the commandment mentioned in the matter",

they will enter the land immediately⁹].

<pg>146</pg>

But this explanation requires examination,

at first glance,

for this verse was said at the end of forty years in the desert,

when the time for the entry of the children of Israel into the land had actually already arrived

(as explained before this that the decree was for forty years only)

— and what is the innovation that "immediately they will come to the land"¹⁰?

[Granted, in the verse in Parshat Bo&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;

"And it will be when He brings you to the land etc.",

it is stated in the Mechilta of R. Shimon bar Yochai there&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;

"There is no 'vehayah' except immediately" — now, since this was said while they were in Egypt,

it fits to explain that the intention of "vehayah" is a tidings that "immediately they will come to the land"

(since it was before the decree of the spies),

and as it is stated in the Sifri&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;

"If Israel had merited one day they would have entered the land, as it is said&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;

Today you are going out in the month of spring, and it will be when the Lord your God brings you to the land of the Canaanite,

immediately".

But in our parshah,

in the words of Moses at the end of forty years,

how can it be said&lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;

that he came to renew

(to promise them)

a matter that was clear and simple to them — that "immediately they will come to the land"?].

2.

At first glance, one must resolve,

that according to the exposition of the Sifri,

this verse

("And it will be when you come to the land etc. and you will inherit it and dwell in it")

is not an introduction to the commandment of first fruits that was stated in the verses afterwards,

but rather it is a commandment in itself — about the conquest of the land and its division&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;.

For although they were already commanded in the portion of Mas'ei&lt;sup&gt;16&lt;/sup&gt;

"And you shall dispossess etc. and you shall dwell etc. and you shall inherit etc.",

nevertheless the commandment was repeated here once again.

And this is the intention of the Sifri "And 'and it will be' means immediately",

that this obligation of conquest

(and division)

applies and begins immediately upon their coming to the land,

and it is forbidden to postpone this to afterwards&lt;sup&gt;17&lt;/sup&gt;.

And based on this, another matter in the verses here will be sweetened:

If all the intent of the text here is only to say "that they were not obligated in first-fruits until they conquered the land and divided it"&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;

— it is puzzling,

why did the text need to preface the lengthy discussion about the coming and conquest of the land — "And it will be when you come to the land which the L-rd your G-d gives you as an inheritance and you possess it" — for seemingly it should have mentioned only the settling of

(division)

the land

(and it is understood by itself that it is&lt;pg&gt;147&lt;/pg&gt;

after coming and conquest)&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;

; and regarding what is stated above in the portion Re'eh&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;

"And you will cross the Jordan and dwell in the land, etc.'"

(and according to Rashi there&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

that is "that they will divide it and each one will recognize his portion and his tribe"),

and it is not mentioned there about

(the coming&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;

and)

conquest of the land,

and likewise at the end of the previous portion — "And it will be when the L-rd your G-d gives you rest from all your enemies around, etc.'".

And according to the above it is resolved simply,

for the conquest and division of the land written here are not

(only)

a condition for the mitzvah of first fruits,

but rather a commandment in itself regarding the conquest and division,

"And you shall inherit it and dwell in it."

[And this does not contradict the words of the Gemara²³

that by this it comes to teach that they were not obligated in first fruits until after inheritance and settlement

(and so Rashi explains on the verse "indicating that they were not obligated in first fruits until they conquered the land and divided it")

— for this is learned from the juxtaposition of the commandments and their order — from that the text repeats the commandment of conquest and division of the land here,

before the commandment of the mitzvah of first fruits,

we learn that they are not obligated in first fruits until after the fulfillment of the commandment of conquest of the land and its division].

But it is forced to explain thus in Sifri²⁴,

because from its language in the sermon afterwards "do the mitzvah mentioned in the matter"²⁵

it implies,

that in this verse itself there is no command

(rather a matter),

and the mitzvah is

(only)

"mentioned in the matter"

(in the verses afterwards),

the mitzvah of first fruits.

3.

And one can say the explanation in this:

As explained, "When you come [into the land] etc. and you will inherit it and dwell in it" — that the obligation does not apply except "after inheritance and dwelling" — can be explained in two ways:

A)

After the inheritance and dwelling of all Israel,

And so it is explicit in Rashi in the Gemara²⁶

That "after inheritance and dwelling" means after fourteen years of conquest and division

(And as Rashi on the Torah here,

That "they were not obligated in first-fruits until they conquered the land and divided it").

b)

each individual,

as soon as he conquered

(acquired)

his portion, he became obligated in this commandment.

And behold, in the Yerushalmi²⁷

it is explained that they were not obligated in the commandments dependent on the Land "except after fourteen years: seven that they conquered and seven that they divided..

until the time that they acquired all of it",

and we do not say that "the first one acquires and becomes obligated"²⁸

(and so it is brought in the Yerushalmi²⁹

a baraita of Rabbi Yishmael — "All entrances that are stated in the Torah were stated after fourteen years: seven that they conquered and seven that they divided"³⁰)

— like the first manner above.

<pg>148</pg>

And according to this, we must explain the view and intention of the Sifri here: "There is no 'and it will be' except immediately" — for according to the method of the Sifri&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;,

the verse innovates that the commandment of first fruits is different

(including all commandments dependent on the land)

that its obligation does not begin at the end of the fourteen years of conquest and division of all Israel,

but rather each individual became obligated in first fruits immediately after he conquered his portion&lt;sup&gt;32&lt;/sup&gt;

(his inheritance and settlement&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;).

[And with this will be sweetened the language of the school of Rabbi Yishmael&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;

"Since 'dwellings' were stated in the Torah generally, and the verse specified for you in one of them 'after inheritance and settlement' etc.",

that is, "regarding&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;

a king

(it)

is written&lt;sup&gt;36&lt;/sup&gt;

"When you come to the land etc. and inherit it and settle in it, and you say, 'I will set a king over me'".

And superficially it is not understood — for also regarding first fruits "the verse specified for you..

after inheritance and settlement"

(and as it is brought in the Gemara&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;

that according to one opinion "king and first fruits were two verses that come as one"),

and what is the meaning of the words of the school of Rabbi Yishmael "the verse specified for you in one of them"&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;?

And according to the above in the explanation of the Sifri&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;

it can be said that the Tanna of Rabbi Yishmael and the exposition of the Sifri are in agreement,

for the mitzvah of first fruits is different from other mitzvot dependent on the Land

(which they became obligated in only after the fourteen years of conquest and division),

that the Torah placed its obligation upon each and every individual "immediately"

(when he recognizes his portion),

and the novelty of "except that the verse excluded you"

(only)

in one of them

(regarding a king)

after inheritance and settlement

(conquest and division)

etc."].

4.

However, this explanation is insufficient to reconcile the language of the Sifri,

for from the plain sense of the language "And it will be when you come,

there is no 'and it will be' except immediately" it implies,

that immediately upon their coming to the Land they became obligated in first fruits,

whereas according to the above explanation,

that the obligation applies to each one immediately when he recognizes his portion,

it follows,

that the obligation did not apply until after the seven years of conquest and the beginning

(of the years)

of the division

(when he was able to recognize his portion).

And one can say regarding this:

We explained above in the opinion of the Sifri,

that the condition of "inheritance and settlement" regarding Bikkurim is a law concerning each individual,

that immediately when he recognizes his portion he becomes obligated in Bikkurim,

unlike other commandments dependent on the Land, for which they were not obligated "until the time that they acquired all of it" — the intention in this is not&lt;pg&gt;149&lt;/pg&gt;

that the difference is only between a law of an individual's obligation and a law that depends on the public,

but that this is a difference in the very definition of this condition of "inheritance and settlement":

In most

(almost — all)

of the commandments dependent on the Land,

the application of the obligation depends on the conquest of the Land and its division,

that the conquest and division of the Land are what cause them to become obligated in these commandments dependent on the Land

(either because until then the sanctity of the Land is still lacking in completeness&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;,

which effects the obligation of these commandments dependent on the Land,

or that the obligation of the commandments dependent on the Land — depends on the acquisition of the entire Land&lt;sup&gt;39&lt;/sup&gt;)

;

But not so regarding first-fruits,

the obligation of challah depends only on coming to the land⁴⁰,

and the condition of "and you will inherit it and dwell in it"

(does not cause the application of the obligation,

but rather)

it is only the removal of the lion that lies upon it⁴¹,

because the actual fulfillment of this commandment is not possible except when the field is his and in his possession⁴²

— as it says⁴³

"I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground which You have given me, O Lord" — and this is after his inheritance and settlement,

when he has a distinct portion in the land⁴⁴.

And this is the intention of the Sifri "And it will be when you come — 'And it will be' means immediately",

that from what is written "And it will be when you come" we learn that the obligation of first-fruits applies immediately upon their coming to the land,

and in the manner of the commandment of challah which they became obligated in immediately "when you come to the land"⁴⁵

[except that regarding challah,

which they separate from the dough,

it is possible to fulfill it "immediately" upon their actual coming to the land,

immediately when he has dough,

but not so regarding first-fruits which must be from "the first of the fruit of the ground which You have given me, O Lord",

it is impossible to fulfill it in actuality until after "and you will inherit it and dwell in it",

when the owner of the field recognizes the land — his portion in the land].

5.

And furthermore it must be said — that according to the Sifri it was possible to actually fulfill the mitzvah of Bikkurim "immediately"

(when they came to the land)

literally,

at the beginning of the conquest.

For it is stated in the Sifri⁴⁶,

that what Moses said to Jethro^*46

"And it will be that if you go with us etc. and we will do good to you" means that his sons would be given "the Dushnah of Jericho"

(until the Chosen House is built),

"and they would

(the sons of Jethro)

eat it for four hundred years and forty years"

(the number of years from the beginning of Israel's entry into the land until the building of the Chosen House),

and it is found,

that "the Dushnah of Jericho" which was promised to the children of Israel and they did good to Jethro and gave it to Jethro

(his sons)

in practice⁴⁷

immediately when they entered the land,

at the conquest of Jericho.

<pg>150</pg>

One must investigate — what is the law regarding the "Dushna of Yericho" that was not included in the mitzvah of division

(i.e., the lottery,

"But by lot shall the land be divided"&lt;sup&gt;48&lt;/sup&gt;),

that from the outset at the time of the conquest it was a clarified portion of the children of Yitro — when did it become obligated in first fruits?

According to the method of the Talmud etc. that they are obligated in first fruits only after fourteen years of conquest and division

(because it must say "until the time that they acquired all of it",

and we do not say "the first one acquires and becomes obligated"),

so it is also regarding the "Dushna of Yericho"

(even though it was not included in the division of the land after the seven years that they conquered).

But according to what we explained earlier in the method of the Sifri,

that the obligation of first fruits depends on the coming into the land,

and the condition of "inheritance and settlement" regarding first fruits is only so that the first fruits should be from "the first of the fruit of the land which You, God, have given me,"

it is logical to say,

that in this case

(the plain of Jericho)

which was their portion

(of the children of Jethro)

was already clarified,

then immediately when they conquered and settled there they became obligated in first fruits.

And accordingly it is found that the words of the Sifri "there is no 'and it will be' except immediately" are according to their simple meaning exactly,

that immediately upon their coming to the land there was the obligation of first fruits⁴⁹,

because

(the beginning)

of the conquest of the land was — the conquest of Jericho,

and "its plain" was given immediately to the children of Jethro,

and they became obligated immediately in first fruits⁵⁰.

6.

Our Sages, of blessed memory, stated generally⁵¹

regarding disputes in the Torah,

that "these and those are the words of the living God."

And it has been explained several times what the intention in this is,

that not only are all opinions a part of our Torah regarding their study,

but furthermore,

that each opinion has a place in the actual conduct of man.

For that the halachah is decided according to one opinion is regarding the conduct in action in its simple sense,

but regarding

(the commandments that are "in place of" — like prayers in place of sacrifices,

and regarding)

the spirituality of the commandments,

there is a place for all opinions.

And so it is in our matter,

that the two opinions regarding the commandment of first fruits — whether its obligation began only after fourteen years of conquest and division,

or "immediately" upon their coming to the land — there is in them content and Torah — instruction in the conduct of man and his actions,

And similar to this in our subject — in the mitzvah of challah in its simple literal sense^*51,

which is the first

(of your doughs)

like first fruits.

And the explanation of this:

The content of the mitzvah of first-fruits is — praise and thanks of the bringer of the first-fruits to the Holy One, blessed be He, for the good things that were done with him,

"And He brought us out from Egypt etc. and He brought us to this place and He gave&lt;pg&gt;151&lt;/pg&gt;

to us this land etc. I have brought etc. which You have given to me, O Lord"&lt;sup&gt;52&lt;/sup&gt;,

And this obligates — "

(brings)

and reads",

that "and reads" is a part of the commandment from the Torah

(and as Rashi explains&lt;sup&gt;53&lt;/sup&gt;

that a person must show that he is not an "ingrate").

And based on this, it can be said that the two opinions regarding the beginning of the time of obligation for first fruits,

are in the manner of the two modes of thanksgiving to the Holy One, blessed be He, that one must say every single day:

a)

The thanksgiving immediately at the beginning of the day,

i.e., "as soon as" a person awakens from his sleep

(even before washing the hands)

he says "I give thanks before You etc. Who has returned my soul to me etc."⁵⁴.

b)

The thanksgiving during prayer — beginning from the thanksgiving at the start of prayer — "Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, etc.,"

and afterwards several times in the course of prayer,

and likewise in the Amidah prayer — "We give thanks to You,"

until the conclusion of prayer,

and until its very conclusion

(in the custom⁵⁵

that has been accepted and is now fulfilled by all Israel)

— the recitation of the verse⁵⁶

"But the righteous will give thanks to Your name, etc."

And they are two aspects in the matter of thanksgiving:

The first thanksgiving that a person fulfills — he says immediately when he awakens from his sleep,

does not come through contemplation and intellectual conclusion about the greatness and might of the goodness that was done with him in the return of his soul — for only just now,

immediately

(— as the language of the Sifri on Bikkurim)

he awakened from his sleep,

and he has not even washed his hands

(and particularly that initially a person should not contemplate words of Torah while he is lying on his bed before washing hands etc.⁵⁷),

and he is not yet connected to intellectual contemplation — rather this thanksgiving is primarily a result of the simple faith implanted in the heart of every Jew,

that in his pure faith he recognizes,

that this that he awakens from his sleep every day is because the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself⁵⁸

returns his soul to him,

and therefore the halachah simply⁵⁹

"at the time that one wakes at the end of his sleep he blesses while he is on his bed thus: My God, the soul that You placed within me etc. I give thanks before You etc." — he gives thanks in actual speech for the goodness that was done with him in the return of his soul.

But not so the thanksgiving during prayer comes through intellectual contemplation etc.,

like all matters of arousal during prayer,

that come through contemplation — as the ruling of the Mishnah and the Shulchan Aruch⁶⁰

that before prayer a person is obligated to contemplate "and think about the exaltation of the Almighty, blessed be He, and the lowliness of man",

and also matters of contemplation etc. during prayer — that as a result of this he gives thanks to God.

And this is the difference between the two opinions mentioned above

(Regarding the obligation of first fruits from the Torah)

:

According to the view of the Sifri that "there is no 'and it will be' except immediately" — the confession of first fruits is in the manner of the confession of "Modeh Ani" which is said "immediately upon awakening&lt;pg&gt;152&lt;/pg&gt;

his Mishnah",

and likewise the confession of first-fruits must be "immediately" upon the entry of Israel into the land;

but not so according to the opinion of the Talmud etc. that they were not obligated in first-fruits until after fourteen years of conquest and division,

the confession of first-fruits is in the manner of the confession in the continuation and conclusion of the prayer — "But the righteous will give thanks to Your name" — after all the matters of contemplation during the prayer and before,

for then the thanksgiving to God is out of a deep recognition of His kindnesses, may He be blessed,

and it is in the ultimate perfection — and likewise with first-fruits,

that specifically after the completion of the conquest and division of the entire land,

the thanksgiving to God for the giving of the land etc. is with fruits that are in the ultimate praise,

a state of ultimate perfection⁶¹.

7.

Parshat Tavo includes and they read it in several years

(And in this year — 5747

(event,

'_dyn_edn_4')

"&gt;*)

on the day of 18 Elul,

the birthday of the Baal Shem Tov — founder of the general Torah of Chassidut,

and the birthday of our Rebbe the Elder — founder of the Torah of Chassidut Chabad⁶².

And it can be said that in the two opinions above,

which correspond to the two modes of thanksgiving,

as above — are hinted the two modes of influence of the Baal Shem Tov and the Alter Rebbe upon the children of Israel:

The main emphasis of the general Chassidic teaching

(of the Baal Shem Tov)

is — to awaken the power of faith among the Children of Israel.

And as is told in the talks of our Nesi'im about the efforts of the Baal Shem Tov and his involvement with young children in Israel to educate them in saying "Yisgadal v'yiskadash" and the like,

and likewise his involvement with simple people to bring them to saying "Baruch Hashem" and the like,

that all this awakens and reveals in them the power of faith — in the manner of the general acknowledgment of "Modeh Ani" at the beginning of the day,

and its parallel — the acknowledgment "immediately" when you come to the land⁶³

;

And the emphasis⁶⁴

of the Alter Rebbe in the Chassidic teaching of Chabad is — that each and every one of Israel is obligated to contemplate and understand and know matters of the greatness of Hashem according to his entire ability

(as they are explained in the Chassidic teaching of Chabad at length in a manner that each and every one can understand in this according to his level),

and not to suffice with faith alone,

And this is in accordance with the following acknowledgment "after inheritance and settlement"⁶³

— language of settlement⁶⁵,

for by means of the person contemplating in his intellect etc. the greatness of G‑d,

this causes that faith becomes fixed in the person and settles in him,

until the perfection of the matter of "inheritance and settlement" — conquest and division of the entire land,

which in the person himself is that faith penetrates within all the powers of his soul,

through which the acknowledgment to God is in the ultimate perfection — "But the righteous will give thanks to Your name; the upright will dwell in Your presence"

(in a manner of settlement⁶⁶

and permanence⁶⁷).

(From talks of Shabbos Parshas Tavo

(Chai Elul)

5743,

5744)