Consecrating The First To Hashem

ולקחת מראשית

"And you shall take from the first" (Devarim 26:2).

The piece opens with the mitzvah of bikkurim, taking from the first of one's produce, and the Sfas Emes will expound on the meaning of "first."

בנ"י נק' ראשית לפי שנותנין הראשית אל הבורא ית"ש

Bnei Yisrael are called "first," because they give the first to the Creator, may His Name be blessed.

Bnei Yisrael earn the title "first" precisely because they consecrate the first and best to Hashem rather than keeping it for themselves.

ועמלק ראשית גוים שלוקח לעצמו הראשית לכן אחריתו ע' אובד

Amalek, by contrast, is called "the first of the nations" (Bamidbar 24:20) because he takes the first for himself; therefore "his end is to perish forever" (ibid.).

Amalek is the opposite type: he grabs the first for himself, and this self-centered seizing of "firstness" is what dooms him to ultimate destruction.

וכ' בראשית ברא בתורה שנק' ראשית דרכו שמלמדת להתדבק בראשית

And it is written, "In the beginning He created" (Bereishis 1:1) through the Torah, which is called "the first of His way" (Mishlei 8:22), for it teaches one to cleave to the First.

The Torah itself is called "the first of His way," and the world was created by means of it; its function is to draw a person into dveikus with Hashem, the true First.

ונתקיים בבנ"י בפועל ראשית תבואתו שמעלין אליו הראשית

This was fulfilled in practice through Bnei Yisrael, who are "the first of His produce" (Yirmiyahu 2:3), in that they raise up the first to Him.

What the Torah represents in principle, Bnei Yisrael actualize in deed by being "the first of His produce" and lifting up the first of everything to Hashem.

כי כל מה שברא הקב"ה לכבודו

For everything that the Holy One, Blessed is He, created, He created for His honor.

The underlying reason is that all of creation was brought into being solely for the honor of the Ribono shel Olam.

לכן יש כל אלה השינוים בזמנים ובנ"י מתפללין ג' תפלות בכל שינוי הזמן נעשה התחדשות שיבין האדם שהכל מהבורא ית"ש שמשנה עתים

Therefore there are all these changes in the times, and Bnei Yisrael daven three tefillos; with every change of the time a renewal is brought about, so that a person should understand that everything is from the Creator, may His Name be blessed, who changes the times and seasons.

The constant shifting of times is itself meant to awaken renewal, and the three daily tefillos align with these changes so that a person recognizes that Hashem alone orchestrates and changes every season.

וכמו כן ראשית הצמחים בכל שנה ושנה הכל עדות אל הבורא אשר לו הראשית והאחרית:

And similarly the first of the crops in each and every year is all testimony to the Creator, to whom belong the first and the last.

Just as the times testify, so too the first fruits of every year bear witness that Hashem is the source of all, possessing both the beginning and the end.

Summary: The Sfas Emes, on the mitzvah of bikkurim, "And you shall take from the first," explains the spiritual meaning of being "first." Bnei Yisrael are called "first" because they consecrate the first and best to Hashem, while Amalek, "the first of the nations," seizes firstness for himself and is therefore destined to perish. The Torah, called "the first of His way," was the instrument of creation and teaches a person to cleave to Hashem, the true First, and Bnei Yisrael actualize this by raising up the first of everything to Him. Since all of creation exists solely for the honor of the Ribono shel Olam, the very changing of the times, marked by the three daily tefillos, awakens renewal and teaches that everything flows from Hashem who changes the seasons. The first fruits of each year likewise stand as testimony that Hashem alone possesses the beginning and the end.