17 Sep PARASHAT KI TABO: LABOR OF LOVE

Parashat Ki-Tabo
begins with the Misva
of Bikkurim, which
requires landowners to
bring their first ripened
fruits to the Bet Ha’mikdash, and present them
to a Kohen. The Torah commands, “Ve’samta
Ba’teneh” – that the fruits must be placed in a
basket.
The Gemara in Masechet Baba Kama (92a)
makes a startling comment about these baskets
used for the Bikkurim. It teaches that the
wealthy landowners would bring their Bikkurim
in ornate baskets, which the Kohen would then
return to them, whereas the poor farmers would
bring their Bikkurim in simple, crude baskets
made from reeds, and the Kohanim would keep
these baskets for themselves. The Kohanim
would not return these simple baskets to the
underprivileged farmers. The Gemara points
to this Halacha as the Biblical source for the
Aramaic proverb, “Batar Anya Azla Aniyuta”
– which, loosely translated, means, “The poor
get poorer.” Whereas the rich, who could easily
afford to buy a new basket, get their baskets
back, the poor, who struggle to obtain a simple
reed basket, forfeit their baskets.
The obvious question arises as to why this
should be the case. Why is it fair that the rich
get their baskets back, whereas the poor do

not? Why should the poor get poorer?
One answer is that this is done for the purpose of
saving the poor farmers from embarrassment. In
order to return their baskets, the Kohen would
need to remove the poor farmers’ fruits from
the baskets, and everyone present would see
their produce, which, in all likelihood, was
low-quality. Poor farmers could not afford the
advanced equipment or extra labor needed to
grow fruit of the highest quality, and they would
therefore be embarrassed when the Kohen
removed their fruits from their baskets. It was
thus to their benefit that the Kohen kept the
baskets, so that the fruits would not be exposed
to the public.
But there is also an additional explanation.
Let us take a step back and imagine how the
wealthy farmer and the poor farmer obtained
their baskets. The wealthy landowner, most
likely, walked into a high-end store selling
exquisite bowls and other utensils, found one
he liked, pulled out his wallet, paid, took the
merchandise, and left. The poor farmer, of
course, couldn’t do that. He, in all probability,
found some reeds along the riverbank, picked
them from the ground, brought them back
home, and spend hours together with his wife
weaving the pieces of reed together to form a
simple, makeshift basket.

When the two bring their
baskets of fruit to the Bet
Ha’mikdash, the Kohen,
representing Hashem, keeps
the basket that the poor
man spent hours making,
but is not interested in the
rich man’s basket, which
he easily purchased from
a local store. The simple
reed basket prepared by the
underprivileged farmer with
the sweat of his brow, into
which he invested a great
deal of work and effort, is
far more precious than the
luxurious bowl purchased by
the wealthy man.
G-d values not the final product, but the work
and effort that we exert in the performance of
Misvot. This work is truly a labor of love –
effort that expresses our deep love for Hashem,
and our passionate desire to fulfill His will. And
so this is what G-d cherishes the most. As the
Mishna in Pirkeh Abot (5:23) teaches, “Lefum
Sa’ara Agra” – we are rewarded in accordance
with the “Sa’ar,” the grueling work we put
in. A Misva that was performed with pristine
perfection, but that entailed no effort, is valued
less by Hashem than a defective Misva which

a person tried performing with all his might –
because it is the effort that demonstrates the
individual’s love and commitment.
As we enter the holiday season, let us remember
this fundamental principle of religious life – that
what matters most is the work we put in. We
need to invest time, thought and effort into our
Tefilot, into Teshuba, and into the holiday meals
and all the Misvot associated with this time of
year. We should feel fortunate and privileged to
put in this work, and we should feel gratified
over the effort we exert, regardless of the final
outcome.