Rabbi Siegel
The mitzvah of bringing the first yield of one’s produce to the Beis HaMikdash (bikurim) is accompanied by a verbal declaration. “Arami oved avi vayered Mitzrayma” – Lavan, the trickster destroyed my father Yaakov, and he descended to Egypt.
The commentaries attempt to explain the link between Lavan’s despicable treatment of Yaakov Avenu and Yaakov’s later descent to Mitzrayim.
Rav Moshe Alshich sheds light on the matter. Lavan was bereft of all source of blessing. Having no male children, he was forced to send his flock out with his daughters. From the moment Yaakov Avenu joined him, his fate changed. Yaakov’s presence brought with him enormous prosperity and male issue. When one bonds with a tzaddik, Hashem showers benevolence upon him. Lavan was well aware of this. Thus, he did not allow Yaakov to depart from him, and when Yaakov ultimately did so, he left in the middle of the night. Lavan pursued him intending to kill him. Lavan treated Yaakov as one would treat a slave. He worked without respite, without protection from the elements, in the heat of the day, in the bitter cold of night. If one of Yaakov’s charges was carried away by a wild animal, Yaakov would be forced to replace it, from his own funds. He found one hundred different ways to withhold Yaakov’s wages, over a six year period.
Lavan was an ingrate. He was sorely lacking in the middah of hakaras hatov. One who is devoid of basic gratitude is below the level of an animal. And Lavan declared that all that was Yaakov’s belonged to him, to Lavan, all his possessions, wives, and children.
When the Torah states that Lavan destroyed Yaakov, it refers to the moral degradation suffered by his exposure to Lavan, especially the effect it had on Yaakov’s children.
The tale of Mechiras Yosef is a complex one. Yosef’s brother’s had justification for the hostility directed at him. Yaakov singled him out from among his brothers, he was a tale-bearer.
But Yosef inherited a unique trait from his father. When Yaakov came to Mitzrayim the seven year famine ended in its second year. Hashem blessed Yosef’s counsel and efforts , and he became the one who brought sustenance to the entire world during the first two years of the famine.
The blessings of success that shined upon the children of Yaakov was due to the presence of someone of Yosef’s caliber in their midst. This was the true understanding behind the dreams of Yosef. The gratitude for the one who brought them so much blessing should have overshadowed and complaint or shortcoming they held against him. But they were affected by their grandfather Lavan’s evil nature, and sold Yosef to the Land of Mitzrayim.
Lavan’s influence was a destructive force for the family of Yaakov and it led to the entire family descending to Egypt.
When we are blessed with financial success there is an inherent danger of taking full credit for one’s own success.
The fruits of the land that burst forth are nourished by the word of G-d, who constantly sustains this world with his life granting will. The channel for His will is the Beis HaMikdash. We take the fruits of our labors, and by offering it to him, we are acknowledging the true source of our bounty. We give it to the Kohen. He is the one who actively performs the service in the Beis HaMikdash. We give him the very first of the produce. His service in the Beis HaMikdash is the source, and so he receives the outgrowth of his efforts first.
By performing the mitzvah of bikurim, we are uprooting from ourselves the insidious influence of Lavan.
The theme of the Days of Awe is Avenu Malkeinu – our father our king. It is a time to enhance our awareness that Hashem is our source, he “gave birth to us”, and he provides for our every need, for he is our kind and benevolent king.
