הַכָּרַת הַטּוֹב is such a fundamental middah, that Hashem even put it into nature. יָדַע שׁוֹר קֹנֵהוּ וַחֲמוֹר אֵבוּס בְּעָלָיו (ישעיהו א ג) even the animals show appreciation for those that serve them.
A fascinating story is told about the Chofetz Chaim. Someone once heard him berating himself on the first night of Selichos. He was giving himself mussar 'Yisroel Mayer were you makir tov to Hashem that he gave you the knowledge and ability to write the sefer Chofetz Chaim? Are you grateful enough that so many yidden are learning and benefiting from it? Even a dog demonstrates gratitude to his master! (החפץ חיים -חייו ופעליו ח"ג תתרצד)
R Yaakov Meir Shechter Shlita in his sefer הַמְבָרֵךְ יִתְבָּרַךְ tells a story of a person who worked in Siberia. In that region, people engaged in polar bear hunting. They would dig a deep pit and then camouflage it with branches and leaves. When an unsuspecting bear would pass, he would fall directly into the trap. Once, however, this individual mistakenly walked into such a trap and fell right in. To his horror, he saw that he was not the only one in the pit. A large polar bear had fallen in before him. As the bear approached him, he was sure that he would meet a gruesome end. However, the bear simply stepped onto him and used him as a ladder to enable him to climb toward safety. With that danger over, the man started to think about how he could save himself from his predicament; however, he could not find a way out of the deep pit.
After a few hours passed, the polar bear who had been with him returned with a long branch which he let down in order to assist the man in climbing out! Thus, he went to great lengths to demonstrate his gratefulness for the man who had unwittingly saved him! Even a bear possesses the instincts of gratitude!
In the Merit of הַכָּרַת הַטּוֹב
The Midrash in this weeks parshah tells us that after the bearer of Bikkurim would say the מִקְרָא בִּכּוּרִים, which one recites when doing this mitzvah, he would then utter a tefillah for himself, Klal Yisroel and Eretz Yisroel. Thereafter a Bas Kol, a Heavenly voice would be heard blessing him 'next year you should again merit to bring Bikkurim to the Beis Hamikdash.
The Midrash explains this with a mashal. A person brought his friend a seasonal fruit for a gift. His friend blessed him that he should also be able to bring him this gift the following year. His friends blessing includes a brachah for life, health and sufficient livelihood; for only if he is granted these gifts will he be able to actually come again to his friend and bring him the fruit. In the same vein, the Bas Kol blessing the bearer of the Bikkurim was a blessing for life and health and sustenance as well as other great blessings. Through showing הַכָּרַת הַטּוֹב a person can receive great bounty.
The Sefer Hachinuch (מצוה תר"ו) also instructs us to 'awaken ourselves in gratitude to Hashem for it brings great blessings unto a person. He says, that this is one of the reasons for the mitzvah of Bikkurim. Hashem gave us this mitzvah due to His desire to continue showering us with great blessings. ה"הקב"ה wants to bestow all the good in the world upon us, therefore He gave us this mitzvah which serves as a vehicle to demonstrate הַכָּרַת הַטּוֹב, which in turn can then serve as a great conduit for הַשְׁפָּעוֹת טוֹבוֹת, wellsprings of goodness.
May we indeed merit to show הַכָּרַת הַטּוֹב to all parts of creation for the wonderful world we inhabit, as well as to our fellow man and much more so towards our compassionate Father who sustains us in every way, every moment of every day. And in this merit may we see abundant blessings always, as well as the building of the third Beis Hamikdash, when we will again be able to fulfill the holy mitzvah of Bikkurim!
אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן
גוט שבת