Machshava:

Chinuch 

Parsha:

Ki Tavo 

Collections: R' Goldin Parenting from the Parsha

Description

Our parsha opens with mitzvat Bikkurim. Each year, the farmer is commanded to bring first fruits of his yearly crop to the Bet Hamikdash as a gift to Hashem. The farmer then recites the Vidui Bikkurim, a series of pesukim (26:6-10) that recount, in short, Am Yisrael’s history – their arrival in Egypt and eventual enslavement, followed by their miraculous redemption from Egypt and entry into Eretz Yisrael. The farmer then ends his Vidui by declaring that he has brought the year’s first fruits to the Beit Hamikdash to thank Hashem for the new crop that He has given him. The commentaries wonder why the farmer bringing the Bikkurim needs to recite such a lengthy text. If the goal of the mitzvat Bikkurim is for the farmer to thank Hashem for the new crop, then a couple of sentences of thanks should suffice- why the need to review Am Yisrael’s entire history? What unique message can be found in these pesukim, and what can it teach us about parenting?