TOPSY-TURVY PRIORITIES

WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?

The parsha that we read immediately after the Holiday of Shavuos, the anniversary and the reenactment of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, is the longest parsha in the Torah. Likewise, the Midrashic material on this parsha is far more extensive than for any other parsha. Commentators point out that the reason for the substantial amount of knowledge imparted in this parsha, in the Written as well as in the Oral Torah, is precisely because it comes on the heels of Shavuos. To be sure, in some years it is the parsha read before Shavuos; nevertheless its close proximity to Shavuos, before or after, is an indication that these two events are intertwined.

Surprisingly enough, a cursory examination of the topics discussed in this parsha yields no direct connection to Shavuos.

In this essay we will focus on one subject discussed briefly in this parsha:

THE FIRST FRUITS

The Torah commands us to give certain offerings to a Kohen. At first glance, it is hard to understand what connection this commandment has with the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

The answer perhaps lies in the Hebrew word for these offerings, which is Truma. The Zohar comments on this word and states that it is actually a composite of the word Torah and the letter mem, which is also the number 40. Hence, Truma actually contains within it the idea that the Torah was given to us at Sinai after which Moshe ascended onto the mountain and stayed there for 40 days and nights to receive the balance of the Torah as well as the two Tablets into which were engraved the Ten Commandments (or more accurately: Ten Statements).

This does not fully answer the question as to the substantive connection between giving tithes to the Kohen and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. It only finds a hint to the word Torah in the word Truma.

A closer connection can be found in Rashi’s citation from the Midrash that the term Truma here is not the standard tithe that came from one’s crops (grain, wine and oil) that the Kohen would come and collect at the granary. Rather, it refers to the Bikkurim, the first fruits one would bring to the Beis HaMikdash and give to the Kohanim.

The season for bringing the Bikkurim begins at the time Jews would come to celebrate the Festival of Shavuos. Indeed, one of the Biblical names ascribed to Shavuos is Chag HaBpikkurim, the Festival of the First Fruits. This refers to the Two Loaves that were offered on this Holiday (baked from the first harvest of wheat), as well as to the first fruits that were brought to the Kohen at this time.

This verse establishes a more specific connection to Shavuos.

But we now have to examine the conceptual relationship between bringing one’s first fruits to the Temple and the giving of the Torah.

WHOSE PRODUCE IS IT?

To discover the connection, let us cite the verse that discusses the obligation of giving the tithes in full:

“And any portion [Truma] from any of the holies that the Children of Israel bring to the Kohen shall be his. A man’s holies shall be his, and what a man gives to the Kohen shall be his.”

The underlying message in this verse is that what we give to the Kohen is truly his and what we retain for ourselves is truly ours. At first glance, this statement is not earth shattering or even necessary. Why would anyone think that what we give away to a Kohen is not his and that which we retain is not ours?

This question seems to be the basis for Rashi’s statement, quoting the Midrash, that the words “any portion (Truma) from any of the holies that the Children of Israel bring to the Kohen shall be his” implies that the one who gives his gift to the Kohen retains the right to decide to which Kohen he should give it, and the words “what a man gives to the Kohen shall be his” also refers to the belief that one who gives the tithes to the Kohen will be rewarded with an abundance of wealth.

One may suggest that the following explanation will also shed light on the connection to Shavuos.

In truth, Truma is referred to as the first of one’s produce and so is the Torah referred to as “the first of G-d’s ways.”

In other words, when a Jew would separate a portion of his produce and designate it as a holy offering to be given to the Kohen, it was his way of indicating that in G-d’s world there are primary and secondary resources and they are not necessarily identified the way society tends to identify them.

A person who grows produce will naturally feel that his main reason for farming is to get food for himself, his family and the rest of society. By the Torah mandating that he first give Truma (and particularly Bikkurim) from his choicest produce, he was quickly disabused of this notion. The ostensible owner of the produce is thereby informed that, on the contrary, the primary reason one grows food is to give it away to G-d. This is done by giving it to the Kohen, G-d’s representative. Once a Jew executes the main function and responsibility vis-à-vis the produce, he can then also enjoy the fruit of his labor (literally). Only then can he claim that it is truly his produce.

This then is the deeper meaning of the words, “any portion [Truma] from any of the holies that the Children of Israel bring to the Kohen shall be his… what a man gives to the Kohen shall be his.” Only after one gives the offering to the Kohen can one legitimately claim ownership. Without first acknowledging the primary owner, there is no room for secondary ownership.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY REALITY

What occurred every time a person gave his produce to the Kohen is also a metaphor for the way we look at creation in general vis-à-vis the Torah.

Without the metaphor of Truma, conventional wisdom would view the relationship among ourselves, our world and Torah in the following manner:

We see ourselves living in a predominantly physical world governed by the immutable laws of nature. In this world, G-d gave us a metaphysical Torah to teach us how to best live our lives within the reality of physical existence. From this perspective, the world is truth, real, and primary, and the Torah is a secondary influence to enhance existence the way we know it. In this formulation, nature is primary and Torah is secondary and is only real to the extent that it conforms to physical reality.

When we follow the lesson of Truma we reach the opposite conclusion. Torah, in truth, is the primary and absolute reality. In order for us to exist as reality, our existence must be preceded, created and animated by the primary reality of Torah. Only after the primacy of Torah is established do we have any basis to exist and also enjoy the material world.

In other words, nature has no legitimacy without Torah. As Divine wisdom, Torah can exist without a universe; the universe cannot exist without the Torah.

In the words of our Sages, “Torah is the very blueprint of creation.” Just as complex human structures are first represented by a blueprint, there is no world that is not preceded by and contained within Torah. This also explains another saying of our Sages: “The Torah preceded the world by 2,000 years.” Chassidic thought explains that it is not referring to chronological time because before creation there was no time. It refers rather to cause and effect. Torah is 2,000 levels removed from the world, which means that Torah is the primal cause of a cascade of many subsequent effects and causes that ultimately devolved into a physical world.

Once we recognize that Torah is the primary form of existence, we reach a crucial conclusion. Nothing in nature can possibly pose an inherent contradiction to the teachings and practice of Torah. Any discrepancy between Torah and science is either proof that the scientific theory is wrong, or that it was misconstrued. Of course, the person who responds to an apparent contradiction must also make sure that he does not misrepresent the true meaning of Torah.

BRINGING THE FUTURE INTO THE PRESENT

While Torah’s primacy and inviolability is clear, human nature militates against our feeling this way intuitively. The fact that we are in Galus-exile adds to the smokescreen that cloaks the reality of Torah. All those objects and ideas that we consider “real” acquire the imprimatur of legitimacy and reality only to the extent that they conform to Torah.

When Moshiach ushers in the true and complete Redemption, the entire world will be exposed to this reality. Today, our task is to introduce the future by focusing our attention on the Torah’s teachings concerning the Redemption. That will provide us with a paradigm shift and condition us to see the true relationship between Torah and everything else in a refreshingly new and liberating fashion.