“Today I have told Hashem, your G-d, that I have come to the land that G-d has sworn to our forefathers would be given to us” (D’varim 26:3). These are the first words spoken by one who brings his “bikurim” (first fruits) to the Temple in Jerusalem (Rambam, Laws of Bikurim 3:10). Or are they? In his commentary on the Mishna (Bikurim 1:1) the Rambam explains the “reading” as starting from “An Arami (referring to Lavan) tried to destroy my father (Yaakov)” (D’varim 26:5). Tosfos Chadishim (Bikurim 3:6) points out that Rabbeinu Ovadia from Bartenura follows the explanation given in Rambam’s commentary regarding where the reading starts, despite an explicit Mishna (3:6) saying that it starts from the earlier verse (see also Mishna Rishona on Bikurim 1:1). Which is actually considered the beginning of the Bikurim statement, saying that he has come to the Promised Land or recapping the nation’s history?

Additionally, as Rav Moshe Feinstein z”l points out (Darash Moshe 2), the language of that earlier verse seems inaccurate. Why is the farmer saying that he has come to the Land of Israel, when he has already been there for years? This procedure was followed throughout the entire Temple era, even after the Children of Israel had been in the Land of Israel for centuries. Yet each person who brings Bikurim makes it seem as if he just got there! How can we say something that is misleading (even if no one is really being misled)?

Another aspect that deserves a closer look (as pointed out by Rav Mordechai Gifter z”l in Pirkay Torah) is that throughout the entire statement, G-d is referred to in the third person (e.g. “He brought us out of Egypt,” “He brought us to this place” and “He gave us this land”), until the very last statement, where it switches to the second person (“I have brought the first fruits of the ground which you, G-d, gave to me”). Why is most of the statement of gratitude said in the third person, and only the last line said directly to the One to whom thanks is being given? (Rav Gifter suggests that as we internalize all the things G-d has done for us, and truly appreciate the gifts He has given us (including the produce), we feel closer to Him, including gaining the sensation that we are standing in His presence.)

One of the purposes of bringing the first fruits to the Temple is to demonstrate our recognition that, despite all the work that was put in, and that the land has been “owned” by the family for generations, it all came from G-d (not just the fruits themselves, but the land as well). In order to accomplish this, the farmer must recall the history of the land, and how it didn’t always belong to his family. Just as every Pesach we must consider it as if we were slaves in Egypt (even though it happened over 3,000 years ago), the farmer must consider it as if the land has just been given to him. [Rav Yitzchok Sorotzkin (Rinas Yitzchok II) takes it a step further, pointing out that we couldn’t have made it to the Promised Land without first leaving Egypt; if we must consider it as if we ourselves have left Egypt, then, by extension, we must also consider it as if we ourselves have come to the land.] And just as on Pesach we tell over the story of the Exodus through the Haggada, the farmer has a “haggada” (“higadeti hayom”) to tell. Through the process of the Bikurim, the farmer will (hopefully) gain a full appreciation of all that G-d has done for him (and the nation as a whole).

This process starts when the farmer leaves his hometown area, with a whole entourage (Bikurim 3:2-3). When they approach Yerushalayim, they are welcomed by the local leaders, who join them until they reached the Temple (3:3-4). At this point, the farmer tells the Kohain (see D’varim 26:3) that he has come to the land that G-d had promised to his ancestors. After the Kohain takes the basket of fruit and “places it before G-d’s altar” (26:4), the farmer “answers” the rest of his statement of thanks (26:5). What was the farmer “answering”? Rashi says it means raising his voice, which indicates that a new stage of the process is starting. Ibn Ezra’s first suggestion is that the Kohain asks what it is that the farmer brought; if so, then the “answer” should just be “my first fruit,” not a recap of our national history. Perhaps the Kohain questioned how the farmer could think he just entered the land if the nation has already been here for years/decades/centuries. In response (or, according to Rashi, to begin the next stage of the process), the farmer recites a brief history of the nation, recalling what G-d has done for his ancestors, leading up to His giving the Land of Israel to the Children of Israel, indicating that he considers it as if G-d has just given him the land.

The Chinuch says that in order to fully comprehend and feel the impact of the statement, it must be read aloud, as actually saying the words has a far greater effect than just thinking them. But, as Rabbi Yosef Ibn Kaspi points out, the words are being said not to G-d, but to himself. They are a vehicle through which the farmer can fully recognize that the harvest and the land are gifts from G-d. By recalling the history, he gains a perspective of his place in that history, that it was only because of G-d’s promise to his ancestors and His taking the nation out of Egypt and bringing them to the land that enabled him to have any first fruits in the first place. Since the farmer is not talking directly to G-d yet, but reviewing why he considers it as if he just came to the Promised Land, G-d is referred to in the third person.

After internalizing this, the farmer then directs his words to G-d Himself, thanking him for all the good He bestowed upon him. (This is similar to our saying “P’sukay d’Zimrah” at the beginning of our morning prayers, to awaken within us an appreciation of Who we are praying to. These “verses of praise” are said about G-d, prior to our addressing G-d directly.)

The process (in Yerushalayim) starts with the farmer saying he has entered the land that G-d had promised to his forefathers, but the “reading” that is designed to bring the farmer to a full appreciation of what G-d has done for him starts with the retelling of our history. Therefore, when the Mishna, and Rambam, refer to the “process” of bringing the Bikurim, the earlier verse is referenced, but when Rambam, and Bartenura, discuss the “reading,” they are only referring to the part of the process that starts with the historical overview.