International Journal of Civilizations Studies & Tolerance Sciences

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Vol. 2 No. 1 (2025): International Journal of Civilizations Studies & Tolerance Sciences

Acquiring through Letting Go the Bikkurim Commandment and the Foundations of Private Property

  • Aharon Ariel Lavi
Submitted
May 5, 2025
Published
2025-06-06

Abstract

The legitimacy of private property is a fundamental question in both economic theory and Jewish thought, as it seeks to resolve the paradox of how mortal beings can claim ownership over a world ultimately belonging to its eternal Creator. Jewish economic thought asserts that all private ownership derives from divine ownership and necessitates acknowledgment of this reality. This issue extends beyond theology, intersecting with modern political and economic discourse. This paper explores the similarities and differences between Jewish and Western philosophical perspectives on property by comparing John Locke’s theories of private ownership with Talmudic concepts found in Tractate Bikkurim of the Jerusalem Talmud. While both frameworks view creation as a divine blessing, Locke perceives it as an invitation for individuals to establish ownership through labor, promoting economic growth without intrinsic moral constraints. In contrast, the Talmud emphasizes a necessary transition between divine and human domains, advocating for limitations on ownership and wealth accumulation. It warns that unchecked human ambition endangers both individuals and society, upholding humility, restraint, and the relinquishment of absolute ownership as a moral imperative. By juxtaposing these perspectives, this study aims to enrich contemporary economic discourse and foster a deeper understanding of the ethical dimensions of property rights, as a venue to increase tolerance and understanding between religions, societies and civilizations.

References

  1. See: John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (Vermont: Everyman Library, 1924). In this I have also relied on the groundbreaking article by Rav Dov Berkowitz: Dov Berkowitz, “Those Who Bring to the Threshing Floor: A Consideration of the Meaning of Private Property in Light of Tractate Pe’ah,” in On Economy and Sustenance, ed. Aharon Ariel Lavi and Itamar Brenner (Tel Aviv: ContentoNow, 2016), 29–65.
  2. Psalms 49:17-18.
  3. Exodus 34: 26-27.
  4. Siftey Khakhamim, there.
  5. Mishna Bikkurim 1:1.
  6. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 1b.
  7. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 2a.
  8. Ibid.
  9. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 5b.
  10. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 6b.
  11. The Pney Moshe is a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud Yerushalmi, encompassing almost all of it, written by Rabbi Moshe Margalit in the 18th century in Germany.
  12. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 4a: “One who has set aside his Bikkurim and later sold his field, brings but does not read”.
  13. Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Bikkurim, chapter 2:14. Following Yerushalmi Bikkurim 5a.
  14. Ibid. 4b.
  15. However, he does not read the passage on Bikkurim over them since they are not the first fruit of his land, and in addition he does not need to pay fifths for them.
  16. Deuteronomy 8:8.
  17. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 2b.
  18. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 11b. The cited verse is from Ezekiel 36:17.
  19. Psalms 85:12.
  20. While The Sages of Caesarea permitted Sages be ordained outside of Israel, this was only with the intention of returning to Israel.
  21. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 2b.
  22. Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Bikkurim, chapter 2:3.
  23. Yeruhslami Bikkurim 12b.
  24. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 6a.
  25. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 6a.
  26. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 2b.
  27. Ibid. 4b.
  28. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 3a. See also further in that passage : “And if his mother was Jewish he brings and reads”. And one might ask why the Mishna calls one whose mother was Jewish a ‘proselyte’, when ostensibly one whose mother is Jewish is already a Jew for all intents and purposes. The answer is that the Mishna mentioned this to say that one whose father is not Jewish can also read the verses of Bikkurim since he is Jewish for all intents and purposes
  29. Deuteronomy 26:11.
  30. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 3a.
  31. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 3b. The cited verse is from Genesis 17:5.
  32. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 6a, the mishna at the end of the folio.
  33. Numbers 18:8.
  34. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 8a. Onnen is someone whose one of this close relatives died and still has not been buried. In such a case the Onnen is relieved of all positive mitzvot, until his or her relative is properly buried and the official seven days of mourning begin (with their own restrictions).
  35. Deuteronomy 12:5-6.
  36. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 8a.
  37. Deuteronomy 26:4.
  38. Ibid, verse 2.
  39. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 8a.
  40. This applies to Jerusalem, according to the law of davar she’yesh lo metirin (an item whose prohibition will eventually fade), since in Jerusalem one may eat with sanctity and hence the tithes are forbidden in certain scenarios. We have not expanded on this issue which is not central to the matter at hand.
  41. Another important matter that arises regarding this issue, from the discussion of an item whose seeds are perishable versus one whose seeds are not perishable, is the inclusion of additional – perhaps even surprising – crops as Bikkurim: “arums and garlic and onions are bound by Bikkurim”.
  42. The last part refers to things that need to be done along with the bringing of the Bikkurim: an animal sacrifice, a song by the Levites in the Temple, lifting the Bikkurim upward on the altar by the priest - and those who brought Bikkurim must spend a night in Jerusalem.
  43. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 10b.
  44. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 8a
  45. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 12b.
  46. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 12a.
  47. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 12b.
  48. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 12a.
  49. Yerushalmi Bikkurim 13a. The cited verse is from Psalms 112:3.

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