Aaron Flohr Presents… Finding Freedom

This week’s Parshah opens with the Mitzvah of bringing Bikurim; having to bring the first ripened crops to the Temple in Yerushalayim. What exactly is the idea behind the Mitzvah of Bikurim?

The Rambam gives the following explanation; the purpose of bringing our first grown fruit to the Temple, is to strengthen a person’s self- control. It is very tempting to want to taste the first fruits of one’s own harvest – the fruits of his labour. The farmer must have invested many hours of extremely hard and exhausting work, in order to ensure that these final products are grown. Many months of waiting until the tree bears fruit. At that point he may well be desperate to taste some in order to see if all his efforts have paid off. Are they good quality fruits with a sweet taste? He must wonder. But no! We are obligated to hold ourselves back and reserve the first – that which is most precious to us – for Hashem.

This is a cornerstone of Jewish life. As Jews we are constantly tested and made to work on our self-control; we have been commanded not to just eat what we fancy – it must be kosher. This often dictates where we can and can’t go on holiday. When we wake up in the morning we shouldn’t just go about our day without first finding the time to put on Tefiiin and spend some time davening to Hashem.

Yes, at times it can get challenging and we may think to ourselves – “it’s too difficult to be a Jew, there is so many restrictions that govern what we can and can’t do”. But the truth is, that ultimately it will all pay off. Even in the short term we must remind ourselves that if we were allowed to do whatever we desire, then we are liable to find ourselves never feeling fulfilled. Naturally the more a person gives in to his desires the more he craves that very thing. But when we manage to exercise our self-control then we feel a sense of achievement, fulfilment and a person can experience a tremendous feeling of real joy.

To be able to do everything you feel like doing doesn’t make you free, on the contrary you are a slave to your own inclination. The free person is the one who can control his cravings, and truly experience being in control. This is what the Medresh means when it says, “The wicked ones are in the jurisdiction of their hearts… but the righteous, their hearts are in their jurisdiction”.

As one philosopher put it, “Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty”. Or “There are two freedoms – the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.” To be freed from Egypt to do what we want would have been anything but real everlasting freedom. We would have been swayed this way and that, by one desire then the next. Coming out of Egypt was only freedom inasmuch as we went on to receive the ‘restrictions’ of the Torah – the Manual of how to live a fulfilling life.

Good Shabbos, Aaron