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When bringing first fruits we are commanded to say the following to the priest: וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִהְיֶ֖ה בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֑ם וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֗יו הִגַּ֤דְתִּי הַיּוֹם֙ לַיהוָ֣ה אֱלֹה...
#2: Post edited
by
robev
·
2020-09-03T14:38:37Z (over 4 years ago)
When bringing first fruits we are commanded to say the following to the priest:
> וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִהְיֶ֖ה בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֑ם וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֗יו הִגַּ֤דְתִּי הַיּוֹם֙ לַיהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ כִּי־בָ֙אתִי֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֧ע יְהוָ֛ה לַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ לָ֥תֶת לָֽנוּ׃
> You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, “I acknowledge this day before the LORD **your** God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to assign us.” (D'varim 26:3)
My question is about the part I've put in bold. Why does the person who is bringing the offering say "before Hashem *your* God" rather than "*our* God"? The speaker acknowledges the personal connection later in the sentence ("swore to *our* fathers to assign *us*"), so it's not the "exclusive 'you'" of the *rasha* in the *haggadah* (*l'havdil*).
I noticed this during study today and none of the commentaries we had to hand addressed it (Rashi and a variety of *chumashim*). Later I found [a S'forno](https://www.sefaria.org/Deuteronomy.26.3?lang=bi&aliyot=0&p2=Sforno_on_Deuteronomy.26.3.1&lang2=bi) on Sefaria that seems to say that the speaker is reminding the priest that he, too, answers to someone else -- the "your" is a reminder that the priest isn't the top of the chain. But that seems a little weak, because the participants are standing in the temple when this is happening and that ought to provide *ample* reminders of Whom they're serving. But I'm relying on the English for the S'forno and the translator notes some uncertainty, so maybe the answer is there if only my Hebrew were better.
This is commanded text, not something the speaker is saying in the moment. We can presume that the words here are exactly the words that God wants to hear. Why does the torah command the speaker to say "your" here?
#1: Initial revision
by
Monica Cellio
·
2020-09-02T17:47:26Z (over 4 years ago)
When bringing first fruits, why do we say to the priest "your God" rather than "our God"?
When bringing first fruits we are commanded to say the following to the priest:
> וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִהְיֶ֖ה בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֑ם וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֗יו הִגַּ֤דְתִּי הַיּוֹם֙ לַיהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ כִּי־בָ֙אתִי֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֧ע יְהוָ֛ה לַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ לָ֥תֶת לָֽנוּ׃
> You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, “I acknowledge this day before the LORD **your** God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to assign us.” (D'varim 26:3)
My question is about the part I've put in bold. Why does the person who is bringing the offering say "before Hashem *your* God" rather than "*our* God"? The speaker acknowledges the personal connection later in the sentence ("swore to *our* fathers to assign *us*"), so it's not the "exclusive 'you'" of the *rasha* in the *haggadah* (*l'havdil*).
I noticed this during study today and none of the commentaries we had to hand addressed it (Rashi and a variety of *chumashim*). Later I found [a S'forno](https://www.sefaria.org/Deuteronomy.26.3?lang=bi&aliyot=0&p2=Sforno_on_Deuteronomy.26.3.1&lang2=bi) on Sefaria that seems to say that the speaker is reminding the priest that he, too, answers to someone else -- the "your" is a reminder that the priest isn't the top of the chain. But that seems a little weak, because the participants are standing in the temple when this is happening and that ought to provide *ample* reminders of Whom they're serving. But I'm relying on the English for the S'forno and the translator notes some uncertainty, so maybe the answer is there if only my Hebrew were better.
This is commanded text, not something the speaker is saying in the moment. We can presume that the words here are exactly the words that God wants to hear. Why does the torah command the speaker to say "your" here?