{"id":51683,"date":"2019-03-20T06:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T04:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=51683"},"modified":"2022-10-11T15:49:06","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T12:49:06","slug":"baskets-of-silver-and-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/baskets-of-silver-and-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"Baskets Of Silver And Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In Deuteronomy 26 we learn about the commandment of <\/span>bikkurim<\/span><\/em>, of bringing the first fruits of each harvest to the Temple. The Mishnah, Masechet Bikkurim (3:8) notes an interesting detail of this ritual, that the wealthy would bring their <\/span>bikkurim<\/em> <\/span>in fancy gold and silver baskets, and the poor would bring theirs in simple reed baskets. <\/span><\/p>\n

Tosafot Yom Tov asks why this would have been allowed. Surely the disparity would cause the poor shame, and lead them to neglect bringing <\/span>bikkurim<\/span><\/em>. He explains that perhaps given the honor of the Temple, this wouldn\u2019t be a concern. However, for me, his question still remains, not just about the ritual of <\/span>bikkurim<\/span><\/em>, but about any ritual where people are engaging in <\/span>hiddur mitzvah<\/span><\/em>, beautifying the performance of the commandment. Isn\u2019t there a risk that investing in making <\/span>mitzvot <\/span><\/i>beautiful will also inevitably push some people away? <\/span><\/p>\n

The value of performing commandments in ways that are beautiful dates back to the Talmud. \u00a0\u00a0Masechet Shabbat 133b teaches:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my God and I will glorify him\u201d (Exodus 15:2). \u00a0\u2013 Beautify before Him with commandments. Make before Him a beautiful <\/span>sukkah<\/span><\/i>, a beautiful <\/span>lulav<\/span><\/i>, a beautiful <\/span>shofar<\/span><\/i>, beautiful <\/span>tzitzit<\/span><\/i>, beautiful Torah scroll, write His name in beautiful ink, with a beautiful quill and an expert scribe, and wrap it in beautiful wrappings. <\/span><\/p>\n

This text shows how beautifying commandments fills them with a sense of love and respect. \u00a0However, immediately afterwards, a different reading is presented: Abba Saul says: \u201cAnd glorify him\u201d \u2014 be similar to Him. Just as He is compassionate and merciful, you should also be compassionate and merciful. <\/span><\/p>\n

One way to read Abba Saul would be to say that he disagrees with the previous interpretation. Don\u2019t glorify God, he would say, by wasting money making things beautiful! \u00a0Glorify God by walking in His ways! However, the Torah Temimah doesn\u2019t read Abba Saul this way: <\/span><\/p>\n

Rather, he meant that one should also beautify God with mitzvot between people, because without this, if a person is careful about mitzvot between himself and God, and is not careful about having good character in his dealings with other people, he will cause desecration of God and Torah and Mitzvot, when many people will say, \u201cHow disgusting are the acts of this God-fearing person!\u201d \u00a0But this will not happen if a person is careful about both. Rather, people will praise him and say, \u201cHow beautiful are the acts of this person!\u201d and through this he will cause honor to God and Torah and Mitzvot. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Torah Temimah, the risk of <\/span>hiddur mitzvah<\/span><\/em> without equal attention paid to ethical qualities is a desecration of God\u2019s name. But <\/span>hiddur mitzvah<\/span><\/em> accompanied by walking in God\u2019s ways leads to even greater honor to God and Torah. Perhaps this is the real reason why the rich were permitted to bring their <\/span>bikkurim<\/span><\/em> in fancy baskets: despite the risks presented by <\/span>hiddur mitzvah<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> the sanctification of God\u2019s name in having both beautiful <\/span>mitzvot<\/em> <\/span>and beautiful ethical qualities made the risk worth it. <\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":51684,"id":51684,"title":"dt26-baskets","filename":"dt26-baskets.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/dt26-baskets.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/baskets-of-silver-and-gold\/dt26-baskets\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"dt26-baskets","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":51683,"date":"2019-03-20 04:00:25","modified":"2019-03-20 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