It’s a matter of priorities
This week's parasha. Shabbat Shalom!
A Jewish farmer sits in an open field 2000 years ago. He is making a definitive mark on the first fruits, the bikkurim, that ripen in his field. Once these fruits are harvested, they are to be placed in a basket and taken amidst an elaborate ceremony, to the Kohen in Jerusalem.
We read of this wonderful commandment in this week’s Torah portion, but what contemporary relevance does this story have to our lives today? How can we relate to the farmers of that bygone era, and what lesson can we derive for ourselves?
The commentaries explain that the farmer was forbidden to benefit from the fruits of his land until the bikkurim fruits were brought to the Holy Temple. The Torah is instructing the farmer to first express gratitude to God for the blessing of the produce, and only then could he benefit personally from the bounty that the earth offered.
Maimonides extends this idea further and explains, “Everything that is for the sake of God should be of the best and most beautiful. When one builds a house of prayer, it should be more beautiful than his own dwelling. When one feeds the hungry, he should feed him of the best and sweetest of his table. Whenever one designates something for a holy purpose, he should sanctify the finest of his possessions…”
In devoting the “first-ripened fruits” of his life to God, a person, in effect, is saying: Here lies the focus of my existence. Maybe I don’t spend most of my time in the synagogue, but that is where my day starts. That’s where I invest the most creative and productive hour of my day.
Bikkurim teaches us to establish priorities in our life. In the myriad responsibilities of the “daily grind” it reminds us to give precedence and devote our strongest, freshest resources, to those people and to those values that we most cherish.
How often do we neglect to schedule quality time with our spouses, to reignite the spark that originally attracted us to each other? Instead, how much of our time together is wasted on listing all the mundane chores that need to be completed?
How often do we allocate time for our children at the end of our day, after we’ve been depleted of energy or initiative to really relate to the issues of their lives?
How often are we so occupied with our pursuit of material success that we leave but a few crumbs of energy to satiate our spiritual growth?
In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey writes two most powerful lines. He writes: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” We talk about our family being of utmost importance in our lives, our Judaism, or some other value. But do we keep the main thing the main thing, or does what was supposedly the main thing become just another thing? If you want to know the answer, look at your schedule or calendar and see how much time you allocate to the “main thing”, or if the “main thing” even appears on your calendar at all.
We can’t spend as much time as we’d like with our children or expanding our minds or nourishing our souls because we are working, shopping, or cooking. But what about when we aren’t, how do we use that time? Is it filled with meaning? Do we strive to fill out our schedule with a purpose? Most importantly, are we in control of our schedules, or are our schedules controlling us?
Bikkurim teaches us to take a step back and prioritise – that the first and best of our fruit, of our time, energy, and resources, must be devoted to God.
To realise what is important in our life and schedule that first. To recognise who we cherish most in our life and connect regularly with those individuals.
Covey couldn’t have expressed it better when he wrote: “The key is not to prioritise your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
Menachem Sabbach is rabbi of the North Eastern Jewish Centre , a Dayan of the Melbourne Beth Din and Rabbinic coordinator, Kosher Australia.
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