The announcement must be in a loud voice as the Possuk states: נ הִּגַדְתִּי הַיּוֹם לַה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ “I declare this day to HaShem, your G-d”.
With this we can understand why the prayers were established as a substitute for the sacrifices, because these two differences are likewise found in prayer.
Prayer is akin to a סֻלָם מֻצָב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָמָיְמָה “A ladder set up on the ground and its top reaches the heaven”, meaning, it is a ladder through which our prayers rise up on high, hence an “elevation” from below to above.
And then afterwards, through the ladder of prayer, and because of the prayers, the Hamshochos descend from the heavens down to earth to fulfil the needs of the person who is praying.
So, prayer is not only about an elevation and ascent from below to above, it is also about a drawing down and elicitation from above to below. This is the same as it is with the Mitzvah of Bikkurim where the separating and bringing of the fruit is the elevation and the drawing down is in the reading of the Torah passages.
The Choicest Fruits and the Best in Prayer
And with this we can understand something additional; the Bikkurim need to be taken from the “first of all the fruits of the land”, meaning from the portion of the choicest, most praiseworthy fruits.
As the Rambam writes that we can extrapolate from the Possuk’s language 'כָל חֵלֶב לַה “All fats are for HaShem”, that everything which is for HaShem must be from the best, the most praiseworthy. The same is true concerning prayer and the two previous mentioned components of prayer.
For prayer itself derives from the highest place in a person’s soul. As is understood that the time of prayer is when a person contemplates and ‘understands before whom he is standing’, which causes his prayers to come from the ‘choicest’ and ‘most praiseworthy’ of his faculties.
Divine Influence: From Above to Below
Similarly, the Hamshocha from above to below is absolutely perfect. This is because HaShem gives from “His full, open, holy and generous hand”. This is extended from HaShem’s holy name “Havaya”, from the whole of the name “Havaya” from the ‘Yud’ down to the last ‘Hey’ which is drawn from the spiritual world of ‘Atzilus’ into the three spiritually lower worlds of ‘Beriyah’, ‘Yetzirah’ and ‘Asiyah’. As is hinted to in the words of the verse בְרָאתִּיו יְצַרְתִּיו אַף־עֲשִּיתִּיו “I created, I formed him, I made him”. This is extended into the three garments of the soul ‘Thought’, ‘Speech’ and ‘Action’ and thence into the physical faculties of ‘Thought’, ‘Speech’ and ‘Action’ of the one who is serving HaShem.
The Possuk and the Baal Shem Tov’s Teaching
This then is the meaning of our Possuk: וְהָיָה כִּי־תָבוֹא אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶר ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה וִּירִּשְתָהּ וְיָשַבְתָ בָהּ “And it will be, when you come into the land which HaShem, your G-d, gives you for an inheritance, and you possess it and settle in it.”
There is a well-known teaching of the Ba’al Shem Tov on our Possuk: וְהָיָה כִּי־תָבוֹא אֶל־הָאָרֶץ “And it will be, when you come into the land”, that the word for land אֶרֶץ has two interpretations: Firstly the word מְרוּצָה meaning running hastily and a second interpretation is from the word: שֶרָצְתָה לַעֲשוֹת רְצוֹן קוֹנָהּ “She wants to carry out the will of her maker”. This is an elevation from below to above.
This draws down thereafter, in a ‘settling’ manner as our Possuk says וְיָשַבְתָ בָהּ “And you will settle in it”.
Lights into Vessels: Internalizing Divine Influence
Until ‘lights’ are drawn down into ‘vessels’. And just as the Possuk continues וְשַמְתָ בַטֶנֶא “And you shall place them (The fruits) in a basket”, which basically means, the receptacle. Specifically according to that which is known [and taught]; the word ‘טֶנֶא’ is an acronym for: ‘טְעָמִּים’ which are the musical notes, ‘נְקוּדוֹת’ which are the vowels, and ‘אוֹתִּיּוֹת’ which are the letters. This symbolises a ‘Hamshocha’ from above to below.
The Ultimate Blessing and Redemption
And may it be HaShem’s will, that this will bring the greatest of blessings, when we fulfil the literal meaning of the words וְהָיָה כִּי־תָבוֹא אֶל־הָאָרֶץ “When you will come to land” in reality, with the coming of our righteous Moshiach, he will come and redeem us and bring us all proudly to our land and in our time.
This will be achieved specifically through the Mitzvah of prayer which is in place of Bikkurim, about which it says “Do this Mitzvah, for because of it, you will enter the land’, and as the Sifri explains: that ‘וְהָיָה כִּי־תָבוֹא’ means immediately”.
And as the Rambam writes: “The Torah promised that at the end [of days], the B’nei Yisroel will repent and immediately they will be redeemed.” This means immediately, according to Halacha’s definition of immediately, and then, there will be perfection in Torah, perfection of the nation and perfection of the land, and there we will bring the Bikkurim in the Third Beis HaMikdosh, as the Possuk states: מִּקְדָש ה׳ כוֹנְנו יָדֶיךָ “The sanctuary, HaShem, which Your hands founded,” may it be speedily, in our days, in actuality.
