A Day at the RMV and the Bikkurim Ceremony

Leann Shamash
Sep 10
4 min read

#kitavo #seferdevarim #parashathashavua #parsha #deuteronomy #devarim #parshatkitavo #wordshavewings #bikkurim #thingswegetright #elul #tishrei #sometimeswegetitright

This week I sat in the Registry of Motor Vehicles hoping to finally get my Real ID. You see, I had "flunked" the first time I applied because I didn't have all my documentation, but this time I was prepared! I checked and double checked.

Passport? Yes.

SS#? Yes.

Proof of address. Yes again.

As I waited (only 45 minutes...not bad!) I studied Parshat Ki Tavo on my phone to prepare for this blog post and I read about the Bikkurim Ceremony, to take place once the people had entered The Land. I had learned recently about Bikkurim and how this was a confession to following the rules and getting all the steps to make correct. Instead of confessing wrongdoings, the individual recites what he has done.

When you have set aside in full the tenth part of your yield—in the third year, the year of the tithe —and have given it to the [family of the] Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat their fill in your settlements, you shall declare before your God יהוה: “I have cleared out the consecrated portion from the house; and I have given it to the [family of the] Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, just as You commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor neglected any of Your commandments:

I have not eaten of it while in mourning, I have not cleared out any of it while I was impure, and I have not deposited any of it with the dead. I have obeyed my God יהוה; I have done just as You commanded me.

Look down from Your holy abode, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the soil You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers.” Deuteronomy 26:12-15

My thoughts wandered from Bikkurim to this little trip to the RMV. I thought about how anxious I was to get it right this time; to bring the proper documentation, arriving in time to the RMV, walking to the service counter, being greeted by a bored policeman, then the friendly check in attendant, then the wait and finally arriving at the window where I could make my declaration and finally declare success!

In Hebrew one says L'havdil (to differentiate) when differentiating between the mundane and the holy, so I will say L'havdil here as this is not a story akin to Torah. This was just a document and not a holy pursuit, yet I felt a kinship with that farmer marking his spot; experiencing much of what the farmer felt as he labeled and collected his first fruits, traveled with them and then offered them. Both of us probably rejoiced after we were finished. Yes, we did it! Success!

So much of Torah is about mistakes. God is watching, and perhaps even actively involved with the paths we follow because of our intentional and unintentional mistakes. We are now in the month of Elul and the Sephardic community is already rising before dawn to do Selichot and ask for forgiveness for sins we collectively have committed. The Ashkenazi communities will soon follow. Most of the month of Tishrei will be spent examining our behavior toward others, toward ourselves and toward God. It's a great thing to examine and re-examine, but for a moment, let's take a moment to say that we've checked all the boxes. Let's think of how wonderful that it is, considering all the mistakes that we make!

Wishing each of you both moments of introspection, but also of accomplishment!

May we hear better news soon.

Leann

An Occasion to Celebrate

All those things you got wrong.

The older you get

the list grows longer and longer.

You messed up,

mixed up,

forgot again,

popped someone's bubble,

misstepped,

mistook,

misjudged,

misspoke,

miscalculated.

You overdid,

or you underperformed

overanalyzed

or didn't think at all.

You avoided.

Intruded.

Quiet when you should have spoken.

You were too much of this

and not enough of that.

From A-Z,

from Alef to Tav.

Pick your language.

It's the universal language of faults.

But not today, my friend.

Today is a different day...

It's a Bikkurim kind of day.

You got it right!

You worked it to perfection

Checked everything on that list.

The easy ones and the tough ones!

Got every item in your basket

Celebrate, my friend,

Wave, dance!

Rejoice!

And you, sitting over there,

on that chair to the right.

And you sitting shyly in the back row.

And yes, you, the person thinking you'll never get it right,

remember Bikurim

and think of that time you got all right!

Bikurim Day is a day that you stand up a little straighter.

Pull those shoulders back!

Smile for a moment.

Broadly.

Bask in this moment!

You checked each box on your list.

You aced it!

You completed the tasks,

with honors, even!

Two thumbs up.

Tomorrow will be another day.

There will be more mistakes,

other failures.

Some small,

some epic.

But as you already know,

life is about making mistakes

If you live fully you will err,

but sometimes you will succeed.

Gloriously.

Today,

Hayom

use this day to be proud.

Pick up your chin.

Take a little credit.

Jog a victory lap,

even just a little one.

You did it, my friend.

The day you checked all the boxes.

You got a perfect score plus extra credit.

You did it!

For more on Bikkurim: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/11473.7?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

I found this podcast helpful. Ki Tavo by Rabbi Yankie Denburg https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ki-tavo-1-the-first-fruits-tithes/id1562584315?i=1000579367127

Bringing Bikkurim to Jerusalem, 1730. "You shall take some of every first fruit of the soil, which you harvest from the land that your God is giving you, put it in a basket", Deuteronomy, 26:2. (Taken from Sefaria)

L'havdil

You guessed it....The RMV

A Day at the RMV and the Bikkurim Ceremony

An Occasion to Celebrate

L'havdil

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