Thursday, September 18, 2008

Farmers and Priests


Our generation has seen a miracle unfold before our eyes. A battered and struggling people came into the swamps and desolate valleys of this land and became the agents of its flowering. Furthermore their pioneering efforts were imbued with miraculous and idealistic passion. Regardless of what they claimed to believe or not believe these early pioneers of Israel were active partners of Divine revelation. Yet only one or two generations later , the descendants of these same great pioneers became mired in self serving politics and small minded leadership. The great visionaries spawned heirs with no vision.


What Happened?


The ancient sage called the Sifri declared that " The Creation of the world occurred in the merit if the commandment of Bikkurim-First fruits.” That statement is so powerful in its simplicity that it demands to be explored.


After a year of toiling, planting, watering, tending, and caring for the produce man has grown, he enters his field. He sees the first ripening fruit of one of the seven species and he ties a band over this fruit and declares “This is for Bikkurim (the ceremony of first fruits)" Later, when it ripens, he places it in a basket. These baskets were then brought to the Beit HaMikdash in a festive procession. In all parts of Israel they would gather in the middle of their towns in special gatherings called Maamadot. They awoke after spending the night in the open are when an appointed individual announced “Arise and let us go up to Zion and the house of our L-rd." The groups would then in a festive procession to Jerusalem singing, "I was happy when they said to me let us go to the house of the L-rd" (Psalms Ch 122). The procession included a bull to be used as a thanksgiving sacrifice, adorned with gold and a wreath of olive branches, with the whole procession led by the music of flutes. As they stood within the temple, the one offering the Bikkurim states to the priest in the Temple,"I proclaim this day to the L-rd thy G-d that I have come unto the land which the L-rd swore unto our fathers to give them." The person then declares the Vidui recanting the travails of the Israelites till they arrived in the land, settled it and now have succeeded in gathered in its fruits.

As the procession would walk through the streets of Jerusalem, all the workmen , laborers and scholars would stop what they are doing and stand in honor of these farmers bearing Bikkurim. The Torah commentator Bartenura raises an interesting question. According to another Jewish law, It is obligatory to stand in honor of a Torah scholar when he passes This is done not so much to honor the scholar as it is to honor the Torah that this " living torah scroll "represents. Yet that Jewish law continues that craftsmen do not have to stop their work to stand up for such a scholar as this would interrupt their work and livelihood. Such is not the case with the law regarding these farmers bringing the first fruits. “Why”, asks the Bartenura, is that so?

The reason seems to be that these farmers, in this situation, during these festive times act as high priests. They are examples of G-d's revelation within nature. In the land wherein Heaven touches the earth the very fruits carry a Divine message. The return of G-d's Glory, Kavod HaShem back into awareness and revelation is symbolized by the fruits and blossoms of the land. Kavod or G-d's Glory is the manifestation of G-d's Presence that necessitates man to reveal and declare it. When the prophet Ezekiel describes G-d's Glory leaving the Temple Mount (Ezekiel 11:23). , he is describing a people going into exile with the Glory of G-d going into exile with them as a result. G-d’s Presence never left but His Glory did.

Yet Ezekiel describes the return of the people from Exile in the following way; "But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home."(ibid 36:8 ) . Every fruit, every tree, every flower is a testament to G-d's promises. That then becomes the role of these simple farmers. They are the vessels through which G-d's Presence is revealed and glorified. That as the Sifri pointed out is in essence is the purpose of creation.

That helps explain what happened to the generations that followed the early pioneers of this newborn state. The visionaries who built this land were all farmers. It is difficult to be a farmer, especially in the land of Israel and not be imbued with a deep mystical sense of the inner harmony of this world. Whether they could or would have the insight to identify G-d in their passion, their passion was G-dly nonetheless.

Their children and grandchildren ceased to be farmers and became obsessed less with how to make the land blossom and grow but rather how to do that with their bank accounts. Without the anchor and compass of faith they have lost the Divine impetus of their mission in this land. As a result they falter and fail and will be replaced by young men and women of vision.