Pensiero Ebraico su I Samuele 2:8

It is part of civilised behaviour to giftwrap offerings. Already Joseph's brothers giftwrapped their father Jacob's gift at the time they had been invited to lunch with Joseph. (Genesis 43,25) "They prepared the gift until Joseph would arrive at noon." Therefore, halachah, Jewish law requires that when a variety of species are brought as bikkurim, they must be suitably separated and presented species by species. The basket itself is also an integral part of the whole offering. "And you shall proceed to the place" (26,2) indicates, that personal attention is preferable to despatch of a delegate to perform this mitzvah. Since the delegate could not have recited the whole passage of the prayer, (due to the nature of its wording) it is clear that the proper way to perform this mitzvah is by doing it personally. The whole procedure then is a practical demonstration of the "you have enthroned G'd" syndrome, a realisation of the verse "For I will proclaim the name of the Lord, render greatness to our Lord." (Deut.32,3) The processional described by the Tossephta, has great psychological significance then. When reading through the statement made on the occasion of presenting the first fruit, it becomes clear that possession of the land is not the result of military conquest, but that the land was a gift from G'd. The priest accepts the basket in the middle of the declaration, i.e. he interrupts the declaration, so as to show that our gratitude needs to be expressed both in general terms (possession of the land) and in specific terms (our personal share of the bounty G'd bestows on this land) (2) The "you will answer" is to be understood as the stage following deposition of the basket of fruit before the altar. At that time, the donor invites the people to acknowledge the gift of the land, after which he himself acknowledges the personally experienced bounty of the Lord. (4) The "confession" containing a reference to Laban, is to contrast our descent to Egypt with our Exodus. Had it not been for the fact that Jacob had married four daughters of Laban, and that he referred to himself as a blood relation of Laban "the brother of my mother," the hatred and jealousy that existed between the brothers (Jacob's sons and Joseph) could not have been accounted for. As it was, it may have been somewhat hereditary, maternally, since all the brothers were grandsons of the envious and jealous Laban. Had it therefore not been for that blood relationship, Joseph would not have caused his family's eventual bondage in Egypt. He would never have come to Egypt in the first place. Whereas the brothers' descent into Egypt then was caused in no small measure by their own inadequacies, their descendants' exodus had nothing to do with their abilities. However "the Lord took us out from there." It was all G'ds doing. (5) The admission that even the source of individual success flows from the altar, which far from consuming our wealth is its true source, is emphasized by the swinging over the altar of the bikkurim'm the various directions. The word arami, is the word rama-i reversed. Laban is called the arami, since a swindler "reverses" the truth. Just as one appreciates a precious stone more if it had been the gift of a high ranking person, its inherent value being enhanced by the recipient's knowledge that he is held in high esteem, so something similar occurs in the case of bikkurim. When the farmer's efforts are crowned with success, he feels as if he is a recipient of a gift from His Maker, the master of the universe. A gift which originates from on high, is doubly treasured. Harvests therefore are celebrated. Vesamachta bechol hatov, you shall rejoice with all the good. (26,11) The way this joy is expressed in practice includes the Levite, the stranger etc. whose status re ownership of the land precludes him from participating directly in this bounty. The generosity displayed at such a time by the Jewish landowner is described in our opening Midrash as the floral contribution made by the bride to the home she establishes with her groom. The groom will, of course, respond by further increasing and matching the gifts already contributed by his bride.

Consider how the action of Divine Providence is described in reference to every incident in the lives of the patriarchs, to their occupations, and even to their passions, and how God promised to direct His attention to them. Thus God said to Abraham, “I am thy shield” (Gen. 15:1); to Isaac, “I will be with thee, and I will bless thee” (ibid. 26:3); to Jacob, “I am with thee, and will keep thee” (ibid. 28:15); to [Moses] the chief of the Prophets, “Certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee” (Exod. 3:12); to Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so I shall be with thee” (Josh. 1:5). It is clear that in all these cases the action of Providence has been proportional to man’s perfection. The following verse describes how Providence protects good and pious men, and abandons fools; “He Will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail” (1 Sam. 2:9). When we see that some men escape plagues and mishaps, whilst others perish by them, we must not attribute this to a difference in the properties of their bodies, or in their physical constitution, “for by strength shall no man prevail”; but it must be attributed to their different degrees of perfection, some approaching God, whilst others moving away from Him. Those who approach Him are best protected, and “He will keep the feet of his saints”; but those who keep far away from Him are left exposed to what may befall them; there is nothing that could protect them from what might happen; they are like those who walk in darkness, and are certain to stumble. The protection of the pious by Providence is also expressed in the following passages:—“He keepeth all his bones,” etc. (Ps. 34:21); “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous” (ibid. ver. 16); “He shall call upon me and I shall answer him” (ibid. ver. 15). There are in Scripture many more passages expressing the principle that men enjoy Divine protection in proportion to their perfection and piety. The philosophers have likewise discussed this subject. Abu-nasr, in the Introduction to his Commentary on Aristotle’s Nikomachean Ethics, says as follows:—Those who possess the faculty of raising their souls from virtue to virtue obtain, according to Plato, Divine protection to a higher degree.