Ki Savo: Amalek, Bikkurim, and the Journey of Gratitude

By Zach Israeli

The specific spot in which things get placed is pretty important in life. In fact, presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris often presses people to think about where things stand in the context of that which came before, and also where it is, and where it has been, and of course where it is going. And finally, where it will be. So, taking her advice, one may notice something very interesting about the beginning of פרשת כי תבוא in the context of what came before it.

There is a fundamental מחלוקת that comes up throughout shas about whether or not we are דורש סמוכין; that is, whether we learn things out based on the fact that two seemingly unrelated ideas are discussed in the Torah in succession. One place in which this מחלוקת comes up is the גמרא in יבמות on דף ד. The מסכנת הגמרא is that, even according to the opinion who says that we are not דורש סמוכין, in משנה תורה (Sefer Devarim), we are. So, within our parsha, one can take license to learn things based on סמוכין.

Rav Yechezkel Weinfeld Shlita provides the following insight. The beginning of this week’s parsha tells us about the mitzvah to bring bikkurim. Immediately preceding this, at the end of last week’s parsha, the torah recounts the episode of Amalek’s attack on כלל ישראל when we were leaving מצרים. When רשי initially explains the background behind Amalek’s attack in Sefer Shemos, he takes the following approach. He notes that Amalek attacked כלל ישראל immediately after our questioning of whether Hashem was still involved with us. רשי explains the sequence of events in Sefer Shemos by saying that כלל ישראל deserved the attack from Amalek because of their ingratitude. He provides a Mashal to a child who, in short, is fully taken care of by his father from any danger. The father holds the son on his shoulders to ensure that nothing happens to him. At a certain point, the son asks someone “have you seen my father?” The father then, shocked by his son’s lack of cognizance of all that he has been providing him, throws the son off his shoulders and a dog bites the child. The attack from Amalek came as a result of the son’s lack of gratitude.

An essential part of the mitzvah of bikkurim is to make a verbal declaration that you are performing the mitzvah that Hashem commanded you. רשי comments on the פסוק and says that “ואמרת אליו– שאינך כפוי טוב.” The first thing that you do when you get to ירושלים to do the mitzvah is acknowledge that, even though the fruits were grown because of your labor, it is not your labor that created the fruits. Hashem was גוזר that you should have fruits and because of his גזירה, your efforts yielded פירות. We stop and express הכרת הטוב. It comes out that our performance of the mitzvah of bikkurim is a perfect tikkun for our shortcomings in the moments leading up to Amalek’s attack. In Sefer Devarim, the torah is saying that by performing this mitzvah correctly, you are exemplifying that you have grown from being a כפוי טוב at the time of מלחמת עמלק into a מכיר טוב.

This יסוד is so important at every juncture of life. Every yid has to keep in mind that his successes are not his own. They really are just outgrowths of shefa that Hashem bestows on us. If we live life feeling entitled to what we have, then it will always be hard to be מכיר טוב when push comes to shove, and ultimately our God consciousness is bound to fall. On the other hand, if we live life constantly feeling unworthy of our successes and the fruits of our labor, we are bound to appreciate and feel grateful for Hashem’s hand in giving us all that we have achieved.

IyH we should be zoche as a chevra to show our הכרת הטוב to Hashem in the purest way by bringing our bikkurim together in ירושלים עיר הקודש very soon.

Have a good Shabbos!!!