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As people and as Jews we constantly struggle to balance an array of competing values. We are responsible to God and to humanity. We have obligations to our families and to our community. We have to attend to our personal growth and we have to help foster growth in others.
Although not easy, there is no resolution to this conflict. We must consistently work with diligence to make sure that all competing values receive their due.
Parshat Ki Tavo begins with two mitzvot where a farmer must make a spoken and meaningful address to God.
The first, highly ritualized mitzvah, is Bikurim, the offering of the first fruit. The farmer brings his or her first fruit to the Temple in an adorned basket in a procession. He or she places the basket in the hands of the Kohen, who in turn places the basket in front of the altar. These fruits are not a gift for the purpose of consumption. Rather, they are an offering for the purpose of ritual thanksgiving. Upon presenting the basket, the farmer makes the following declaration:
"And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders. And God has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the land, which You, O Lord, has given me."
This mitzvah emphasizes the need for a wealthy person to acknowledge the true source of that wealth, to appreciate the historical circumstances without which his or her wealth would not be possible, and to thank God.
However, one who has wealth has another obligation as well. To share that wealth with others.
The second mitzvah is the mitzvah of Viduy Maaser - to ensure that one has dispersed all of the required gifts over the past years. After the required dispersals, the farmer makes the following declaration:
"I have put away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Your commandments."
The Torah, juxtaposing these two mitzvot, with these two declarations, teaches us that we must always be equally mindful of our religious and human obligations. That, in fact, the obligation to use what we have to help others is in itself a religious obligation.
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