Sotah 073

נושא: Sotah

BET MIDRASH VIRTUALI

The following must be said in the holy tongue: the first-fruits declaration, ĥalitzah, The blessings and the curses, The priestly blessing, The High Priest's blessing, The reading of the King, the declaration [that accompanies] the decapitated calf, and the [priest] designated for war when he addressees the people.

How [are we to understand] the first-fruits declaration? "And you shall speak up and say before the Lord your God"; and elsewhere it says, "The levites shall speak up and say": just as the 'speaking up' in the latter case refers to the holy tongue so here too it must refer to the holy tongue.

1:
Since the first mishnah of this chapter dealt with statements that may be made in any language it is but natural that the second mishnah of the chapter deal with statements that must be made in the Hebrew language only. Since each of these items will be elaborated in the mishnayot that follow we can proceed immediately to their elucidation.

2:
The Torah [Deuteronomy 26:1-11] requires the agriculturalist to present annually the first-fruits of his land to the Bet Mikdash. When he makes his presentation to the priests on duty he is also required to make a verbal declaration. Our present mishnah states that this declaration must be made in Hebrew.

3:
It would perhaps be useful first of all to present the original requirement of the Torah:

When you come to the land which God gives you as your inheritance and you take possession of it and reside in it, you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the ground which you shall harvest from the land that God gives you; and you shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place where God shall cause his name to dwell. You shall come to the priest who shall be in those days, and tell him, "I state this day to God that I have come to the land which God promised our ancestors He would give us." The priest shall take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before God's altar. You shall speak up and say before God: "My ancestor was a wandering Aramean who went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians maltreated us, afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. So we cried to the God of our ancestors, and God heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression; and God brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders; and He has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Now, as you see, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which You, God, have given me." You shall set it down before God and make obeisance before God. And you shall rejoice in all the good which your God has given to you and to your household – you, and the Levite, and the foreigner who is in your midst.

4:
Tractate Bikkurim [First-Fruits] of the Mishnah describes how each year, while it was still in the ground and on the trees, the farmers would mark produce which looked handsome and wholesome and designate it as their first-fruits donation. People from all around the area would gather together to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem together with their produce so that each locality was represented by a large contingent. As they approached Jerusalem they would decorate their first-fruits in huge baskets, and they would enter the holy city with musical accompaniment and a joyous procession. Each procession would be greeted by representatives from the city and from the Bet Mikdash, who would conduct them with great ceremony to the Temple precincts.

5:
It is but natural that most contingents arrived around the time of the festival of Shavu'ot, because that was the beginning of the main harvest season. It is for this reason that in modern Israel the festival of Shavu'ot has been associated with Bikkurim [first-fruits] – especially, but not exclusively, among the non-religious. In practice, each locality would proceed to Jerusalem according to its own natural time-table: places (such as Jericho) where the fruits ripened already in the warm winter might even be found presenting their first-fruits around Chanukah time! The main pressure of such visits was, of course, between Shavu'ot and Sukkot – the two terminal points of the summer months.

6:
Upon arriving at the precincts of the Bet Mikdash each contingent would pass straight through the Temple courtyards. They would re-assemble in the so-called Court of the Women and then, one-by-one the farmers would be invited to ascend the flight of fifteen steps that led from the Court of the Women into the priestly court where the main altar was. A priest would conduct the farmer to the altar where he would place his decorated basket of first-fruits in any space available at the foot of the altar. The priest would also dictate to him the statement which is the subject of our mishnah: "My ancestor was a wandering Aramean etc" (the passage in italics in paragraph #3 above). Originally the farmer was expected to make this declaration by himself. When too many farmers were unable to memorize the text it was inscribed on a golden plaque from which they could read it. When it became apparent that some farmers could not read it was instituted that an officiating priest would prompt the farmer word-by-word or phrase-by-phrase. This arrangement was made universal so as not to shame publicly those who could not read.

7:
Our mishnah also explains how the sages learned that this declaration must be made only in Hebrew, but since this is connected with the third item in mishnah 1 the explanation can wait until we reach that item.

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