The first celebration of Bikkurim in Gan Shmuel (1938)
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Yom (Hag-) HaBikkurim
Shavuot, the Feast of the Weeks, is the Israeli (Jewish) holiday celebrating the harvest season in Israel. Shavuot, which means "weeks", refers to the timing of the festival, which is held exactly 7 weeks after Passover. Shavuot is known also as Yom Habikkurim, or "the Day of the First Fruits", because it is the time the farmers of Israel would bring their first harvest to Jerusalem as a token of thanksgiving. Shavuot also commemorates the anniversary of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai.
Celebrating the Day of the First Fruits in Historical times
The farmers of Israel would begin their spring harvests with the barley crop at Passover. The harvest continued for seven weeks as the other crops and fruits began to ripen. As each fruit ripened, the first of each type would not be eaten but instead the farmer would tie a ribbon around the branch. This ribbon signified that these fruits were Bikkurim, or the first fruits.
At Shavuot the farmers would gather the Bikkurim into baskets and bring them to the city of Jerusalem where they would be eaten in the holy city. The farmers living close to Jerusalem would bring fresh fruits, while those who had to travel a long distance carried dried raisins and figs. This joyful occasion was celebrated with the music of fifes, timbres, and drums. As the pilgrims approached the city walls the inhabitants of the city greeted them. Sometimes the King himself would join the procession to the Temple Mount. The Bikkurim ritual is no longer practiced in present day Israel.
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Celebration of Bikkurim in Gan Shmuel
The late Ceska Rosenthal initiated celebration of Bikkurim in Gan Shmuel in the 30's of the previous century. At that time, Ceska was a young woman pioneer, born in countryside elsewhere in eastern Poland, when she immigrated (performed ALIYAH) to Israel and joined the kibbutz as a member. Ceska was also a very creative woman who understood very well, that celebration of agricultural holidays is of extreme importance for the new generation of Jewish settlers, who wished to transform themselves from merchants, as they were in Diaspora, into people, emotionally connected to land of Israel and to agricultural crops and harvests. Ceska combined her ideas and dreams on a modern Jewish pioneer in Israel who lives and works the soil, to stories and legends, as they are described in the Bible. The result was a Bikkurim feast that is celebrated in Gan Shmuel for more than 65 years and become very famous festival in Israel.
Thousands of people from all over the country, as well as tourist from abroad, are coming year by year to share with the kibbutz members their feast and dancing festival, dedicated to the First Harvest of Agricultural Crops - the BIKKURIM ceremony.
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"Bikkurim in Gan Shmuel - 1940",and .........................at present
This year, in 2001, kibbutz Gan Shmuel celebrates 80 years anniversary as a kibbutz settlement. Therefore this year our plan is to invite all people that lived in the past either as members of Gan Shmuel, or were educated in our school. We expect hundreds, or even more, guests that will come and share with us the special event of Bikkurim, with their families.
The Dancing Rehearsal and training of Rondo Dances Performed at Bikkurim
And the Bikkurim Celebration as it really was......
All people say that such an impressive Bikkurim Ceremony, with so many guests, has never been celebrated in Gan Shmuel. All people that have spent a part of their life in the kibbutz, as school students or members, have been invited to join us and to meet friends from the past. It was an exciting event and happening for all thousands of the participants. After the ceremony, that was held on the main lawn, in front of our dining-hall, all people were invited to have a great dinner party on the other side of our dining-hall building.
Since Gorbatshov, the former president of Russia is presently visiting Israel, as a guest of the foreign minister Mr. Shimon Peres, he was invited to join kibbutz Gan Shmuel at the feast. However, due to very busy timetable he was unable to come. We are sure that he would enjoy the visit very much, if he could come.
