מארצך תביא אשר האדמה פרי כל מראשית ולקחת” (ב כו) “לך נתן אלקיך ‘ה אשר
Bikkurim were only brought from the fruits of the Shivas Haminim, and those mostly grow on trees. Why does it say here “pri ha’adamah” and not “pri ha’eitz”?
The Rishon Letzion Rav Moshe ben Chaviv explained:
Chazal say (Yerushalmi Bikkurim 3 1) that one can select bikkurim from unripe fruits as well. Before fruits have ripened, they do not yet have the virtue of being “pri ha’eitz” as we learn from the fact that when eating them, we recite “Borei Pri Ha’adamah” and not “Borei Pri Ha’eitz” (see Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 202:2). Therefore, the passuk writes: “Velakachta mei’reishis” – you can take off from your fruits even when they are at the beginning of their growth, when they are still considered “pri ha’adamah.”
Drashos Mahara”m Chaviv
