from the Rebbe on this week's פרשה, פרשת תבוא. The פרשה starts with the words והיה כי תבוא אל הארץ אשר ה' אלקיך נתן לך נחלה, when you will come into the land that Hashem', your God, is giving you as an inheritance, וירישתה וישבת בה, and you will inherit it and settle in it, the pasuk continues, ולקחת מראשית כל פרי האדמה, take the first fruit and bring it, bikurim. It's the mitzvah of bikurim that you have to bring every year the first fruit that you have to the בית המקדש to show Hashem' your appreciation for giving you the land and allowing you to have hana'ah, to have benefit from the produce of the land. Rashi quotes the words והיה כי תבוא, וירישתה וישבת בה, and he writes these words: מגיד שלא נתחייבו בביכורים עד שכבשו את הארץ וחילקוה. It comes to teach us that they didn't get obligated to bring bikurim till they conquered the land and divided it. So Rashi explains that what the pasuk says that you have to bring ביכורים, וירישתה וישבת בה, when you inherit the land and you settle in it, teaches you, these words teach you, that חיוב ביכורים, the obligation of bikurim, only starts after the land is conquered and settled. And the mefarshim

ask a question: Why does the Torah have to tell us וירישתה וישבת בה, that you're chayav in bikurim only after you inherit the land and you settle in it? We would know it without these words, since the pasuk starts with the words והיה כי תבוא אל הארץ, that this shall be when you come into the land, that itself would teach you that you have to wait till it's conquered and settled, because Rashi already said in פרשת שלח that from the pasuk we learn out that any time the Torah says והיה כי תבוא אל הארץ, that something you have to do when you come to the land, means after you conquered the land and you settled. So the words והיה כי תבוא itself would tell you that. Why does the pasuk have to add that the mitzvah is only after you inherit it and you settle in it, and Rashi says it means after כבשו את הארץ וחילקוה, you conquered the land and you divided it? And the Rebbe answers that Rashi means to tell us that the pasuk is telling us something else. From the פסוק והיה כי תבוא, which means that you have to wait till you conquered the land, you would think that every time a little piece of land was conquered and settled by a certain yid, right away he has to bring bikurim. He doesn't have to wait till the whole country, the whole land is conquered and settled and divided. That's why Rashi says the פסוק adds in this case, in addition to והיה כי תבוא, וירישתה וישבת בה, to tell you that you're chayav in Bikkurim only שכבשו את הארץ וחילקוה, only after the whole country, the whole land is conquered and divided and settled. That means that even though a person got his share earlier, because it took time slowly to give each one his share and to conquer and give the share, he is not chayav in Bikkurim till after everybody has the land, and everybody is able to bring Bikkurim, then you're chayav. But the

Rebbe asks a question: Why? Why wouldn't a person have to be chayav right away? Since it's thanking Hashem' for giving him the land and having hana'ah, pleasure and use from the fruit, why shouldn't he have to do it as soon as he gets the land and he has fruit, even though others didn't get? And the Rebbe answers it that this shows the greatness of אחדות ישראל, unity of Yidden, and Ahavat Yisrael, loving another Yid. A Yid is never happy of what he has, knowing that the other person doesn't have it. So therefore, if he has his share, and he's happy and using the fruit that he has, knowing that another Yid doesn't have the fruit yet, he's not really happy. The whole inyan of Bikkurim is you thank Hashem' for making you happy, making you enjoy the fruit. He can't really enjoy it! And therefore the din is that only after everybody has his share, then a Yid could enjoy his fruit and mimela bring Bikkurim, which is thanking Hashem' and showing Him his appreciation for getting the land and enjoying it. But as long as other people didn't get yet, he cannot really enjoy it, and that's why he's not chayav. And that's what the פסוק adds here, that you have to bring Bikkurim only after, as Rashi uses the lashon, after כבשו את הארץ, they conquered the land, וחילקוה, and they divided it.