This photograph was taken during the ceremony of Bikkurim – offering of the first fruits on Shavuot. Young members of Kibbutz Ginegar sit on a cart decorated with hay and branches of a palm tree, playing various musical instruments including a mandolin, accordion and recorder. The exact year when this was taken is unknown. The young people in the photograph are dressed in the traditional dress of kibbutzniks of the time – embroidered white shirts in Russian style.
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Bikkurim - Shavuot is also known as the festival of the first fruits. The first fruits of the year, known as the bikkurim, where brought as an offering to the kohanim (priests) in the Temple. The bikkurim, that consisted only of the seven species - wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates, were brought to the temple between Shavuot and Sukkot.
With the beginning of the new settlement in the Land of Israel in the 19th and 20th century, the agricultural settlements, moshavim, kibbutzim and villages, revived the biblical tradition. The members of these settlements organised celebrations for the first fruits of the season, featuring colourful performances and processions.
Kibbutz Ginegar - Kibbutz Ginegar is located in the northern Jezreel Valley, near the city of Migdal Haemek, in the area of the Jezreel Valley Regional Council. The kibbutz was founded in 1922 and today, in addition to agriculture, it has factories and other industries.
Connection to Parashat Emor
At the end of Parashat Emor, the Torah links the festivals of the year to the agricultural cycle of the year. Shavuot, which occurs forty nine days after the omer sacrifice has been brought, signifies the start of the period whereby farmers and landowners may bring the first fruits to the temple.
