FIRST-FRUITS. The same natural feeling which at first led man out of gratitude to conse crate to the giver of all good things the first born of both man and animals, and the prime parts of sacrifices, because they were regarded as the first instahnents of his blessings, and which afterwards led to the legalizing of these offerings (FAT ; F1RST-EORN], also gave rise to the offering of the first-fruits and to its becoming, law.
t. The Chamcler and Classification of the First Fruits. —Besides the offering of the sheaf of the new barley (Inlit:11/3) on the Feast of Passover, and of the two loaves of the new wheat (nri5 o+-nn) on the Feast of Pentecost, which were the grateful acknowledgment of the whole nation for the blessing,s of the harvest (Lev. xxiii. to-20), and which are duly noticed in their proper places [FESTIVALS ; PASSOVER; PENTECOST], the Law also required every individual to consecrate to the Lord a part of the first-fruit of the land (comp. Exod. xxii. 29 ; xxiii. 19 ; xxxiv. 26 ; Num. XV. 20, 21 ; XVII 12, 13 ; Deut. xviii. 4; xxvi. 2-11). The first-fruits to be offered are restricted by Jewish tradition to the seven chief productions of Palestine, viz., wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey, mentioned in Dent. viii. 8 in praise of the land (comp. Mishna, Bikurim, i. 3 ; Benzchoth, 35, a; Maimonides, :rod Ha-Chezaka, Illichoth Bikurim, 2), and are divided into two classes-1. 77ze actual prance of the soil, the raw material, such as corn, fruits, etc., which are de nominated 04-11:2, rptero-yevu-hkcara,primitiva ; and 2. Prepandions of the produce, as oil, flour, wine, etc., and are called TC1111, drapxal,Pinzithr (comp. Midrash Rabba, the Chaldee Paraphrases of Onke los and Jonathan ben Uziel, and Rashi on Exod. xxii. 29).
2. The Quantity and Time of Ofering.—The quantity of first-fruits to be consecrated to the Lord has neither been fixed by the law nor by tra dition ; it was left entirely to the generosity of the people. ' Vet,' says Maimonides, 4it is implied that a sixtieth part is to be consecrated, and he who wishes to devote all the first fruits of his field may do so' (Hilchoth Bikurim, i7). The way ' in which a proprietor fixed which first-fruit he should offer was this, as the Mishna tells us, ' when Ile went into his field and saw a fig ripen ing, or a buach of gr.apes, or a pomegranate, he tied a rush about it, and said ' Lo, this is first-fruit' (.11;;.; nit 1:1"11:33, Bikurim :H.) All the first-fruits thus de. voted to the Lord had to be delivered at Jerusalem' between the feasts of Pentecost and Dedication (rom lin rinvyn, Exod. xxiii. 16 ; Lev.:ociii. 16, z7 ; Bikarim, i. 36); any offering brought after this time was not received.
3. The manner in which these offlrings were taken to j'enisalem.—The law that every one should take up the first-fruits to Jerusalem was soon found im practicable, since even the most pious Israelite found it very difficult, in addition to his appearing at the three great festivals, to have to go to the temple with every newly ripened fruit. Nor was it found convenient for every one to go up with his first-fruits separately. Hence the custom arose, tbat when the first-fruits were ripe, all the inhabi tants of one district who were ready to deliver them assembled together in the principal town of that locality where their representative lived, with a basket containing the ripe fruits of the seven several kinds, arranged in the following manner— ' The barley was put lowermost, the wheat over it, the olives above that, the dates over them, the pomegranates over the dates, and the figs were put uppermost in the basket, leaves being put be tween every kind to sepamte it from the other, and dusters of grapes were laid upon the figs to form the outside of the basket' (Maimonides, Hdchoth Bikurim, iii. 7 ; Tosifiez Bikurim, ii.)
With this basket all the pilgrims stayed up all night in the open market place, because they were afraid to go into houses to sleep lest any inmate of them should die, and thus cause pollution. Early in the morning the representative of the district, who was the official (11D3.10) and ex oficio the leader of the imposing procession, summoned them with the words of the prophet Jeremiah — ' Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the house of Jehovah our God ' (xxxi. 6). The whole company were then ready to start. We cannot do better than give literally the description which the Misluna and the Talmud give of this imposing procession—` An ox [destined for a peace-offering] went before them with gilded horns and an olive crown upon its head, and a piper who played before them, whilst the air rang with the song of the people, ' I was glad when they said unto me : Let us go into the house of the Lord' (Ps. cxxii. t). On approaching Jerusalem a messengerwas sent forward to announce their arrival, and the first-fruits were tastefully ar ranged. The officiating priest, the Levites, and the treasurers, went out to meet them, the number of officials who went out being in accordance with the largeness of the party that arrived, and con. ducted them into the holy city, singing, as they entered, ' Our feet stand within thy gates, 0 Jeru salem' (Ps. cxxii. 2), whilst all the %workmen [who pliel their craft] in the streets of Jerusalem, stood up before them and welcomed them, saying, ' Brethren of such and such a place, peace be with you.' The piper continued to play before them till the procession came to the mount of the Temple. Here every one, even the king, took his own 1 basket upon his shoulders, and went forward till they at came to the court of the Temple, singing, • Praise ye the Lord, praise God in his sanctuary,' etc. [through the whole of Psalm cl.] ; whereupon the Levites sang, I will extol thee, 0 Lord I be cause thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me' (Ps. xxx.) Then the pigeons which were hung about the baskets were taken for burnt-offerings, and the pilgrims gave to the priests what they brought in their hands. With the baskets still upon their shoulders every one repeated, 'I profess this day unto the Lord thy God,' etc., till he came to the words, A wandering Syrian was my father ' (i.e., from Deut. xxvi. 3-5), when he took the basket off his shoulders and laid hold of it by its brim ; the priest then put his hands under it and waved it, whilst the offerer continued to recite from the words A wandering Syrian,' where he had left off, to the end of the section (i.e., to Dent. xxvi. ro), then put the basket by the side of the altar, threw himself down on his face, and afterwards departed,' Alishna, Bikurim, hi. 2-6 ; Jerusalem Bikurim, 65 ; Maimonides, Ililchoth Bikurinz, iv. t6, r7). These first-fruits then be came the property of the priests who officiated dur ing that week.