Firstfruits: Giving God Our BestSample

Giving Ourselves

Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them, declares the LORD. — JEREMIAH 2:3

If you ask any Jew who observes Shavuot what the holiday is about, they probably will tell you that it commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. And that would be correct. According to Jewish tradition, the Hebrew date of Shavuot is the same day that God revealed Himself on Mt. Sinai and gave the world the Bible.

Even in our liturgy for the holiday, Shavuot is referred to as “the time of the giving of our Torah.” However, if you look in the Bible itself, Shavuot is never associated with the giving of the Torah. Rather, it is consistently associated with the giving of the firstfruits.

So what happened?

Very simply, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. Gone were the priests, the grand ceremony, and eventually, the beautiful Jewish communities in the land of Israel. Without the possibility of bringing firstfruits, the Jews needed to find another way to mark this sacred, biblically prescribed holiday. While the receiving of the Torah had been a tangential theme of the holiday, over time it became the main focus. So instead of offering our firstfruits from the harvest on Shavuot, we now offer our very selves to God by rededicating ourselves to obeying His Word.

This tradition has a deep connection to the original ritual. In Jeremiah 2:3, Israel is referred to as “the firstfruits of his harvest.” We are God’s firstfruits! Moreover, when we look at the broader context of this time period, the seven weeks from which Shavuot gets its name, we are reminded that the time leading up to the holiday holds an important purpose. Historically, this period marked a time of preparation between the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt until they received the Torah at Mt. Sinai.

Even today, this is a time of introspection and personal growth so that we might be worthy of receiving God’s Word. On Shavuot, all our hard work has “borne fruit.” In Proverbs 8:19 we read, “My fruit is better than fine gold.” This is the fruit that comes from studying God’s Word and growing from it. And it is these firstfruits that we offer to God on Shavuot.

Shavuot is now a time to offer ourselves to God—to offer the fruits of our personal growth and to offer our lives to fulfilling and obeying His Word.