Bikurim and the Spies

The parasha opens with the mitzva of bringing bikurim (first ripened fruit). The introductory verses [26:1-2] twice refer to "the Land which the Lord your God has given you," while the recitation which accompanies presenting the bikurim to the Kohain [verses 3 – 9] mentions the phrase three times.

            The recitation of bikurim reflects the appreciation of the farmer in Israel to the Creator for the tangible good he has received through the blessing of the yield of his harvest, while the introductory verses convey and stress a general appreciation of the Promised Land, as the Midrash [Sifrei, quoted by Rashi in his commentary on verse 3] states: "you are not ungrateful."

            Rabbi Menaḥem Ziemba (one of the greatest Torah luminaries of pre-Holocaust Poland, who was killed during the Warsaw ghetto uprising) quotes the comment of the Ari, that the mitzva of bikurim constitutes rectification of the sins of Moses' spies. The spies despised the Desired Land (the phrase is taken from the Grace After Meals) and spoke ill of the Land, while the mitzva of bikurim conveys a love of the Land.

            Rabbi Ziemba adds that this connection between bikurim and the sin of the spies is hinted at in the Mishna [Bikurim 3:1]:

How are bikurim separated? The farmer goes to his field and sees figs which are the first to ripen, the first vine to ripen or the first pomegranate to ripen and ties a reed rope around them and declares: "These are bikurim."

The three species mentioned in the Mishna are exactly those which the spies brought back to the Israelite encampment in the desert upon their return from their mission in the Land of Israel. [Numbers 13:23]