This page is about the book of Bikkurim. See First Fruits: Old Testament for the offering.

Bikkurim is the eleventh tractate of Seder Zeraim

Zeraim

Seder Zeraim is the first and shortest Seder of the Mishnah, the first major work of Jewish law. The section of mishnah was written by the rabbis to inform all Jews what must be done to fulfill their biblical obligations of prayer and commandments about food.Observers of Jewish law are bound with...

("Order of Seeds") of the Mishnah

Mishnah

The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...

and of the Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

. All versions of the Mishnah contain the first three chapters, and some versions contain a fourth.

The three chapters found in all versions primarily discuss the commandment to bring the first fruits found in Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy

The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...

 chapter 26, verses 1-11 and to make a declaration upon bringing it. As is common in the Mishnah, related matters are also discussed.

The first chapter discusses who has the responsibility to bring the first fruits and make the declaration, who needs to bring the first fruits but not make the declaration, and who can not bring the first fruits. Among those who bring the first fruits but don't make the declaration are converts

Conversion to Judaism

Conversion to Judaism is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community. A Jewish conversion is both a religious act and an expression of association with the Jewish people...

, so other halakah regarding differences between the obligations of converts and those born Jewish are also discussed here. This difference for converts was disagreed with by Rabbi Judah HaNasi

Judah haNasi

Judah the Prince, or Judah I, also known as Rebbi or Rabbeinu HaKadosh , was a 2nd-century CE rabbi and chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah. He was a key leader of the Jewish community during the Roman occupation of Judea . He was of the Davidic line, the royal line of King David, hence the...

 and later Maimonides

Maimonides

Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...

, and it is their position that has become the practice of the Jewish community.

The second chapter compares the Terumah

Terumah

Terumah is a Hebrew word, originally meaning lifted apart, but meaning donation in modern Hebrew. It can refer to:*Heave offerings - a type of sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible...

, Maaser and Bikkurim tithes and offerings, and makes other legal comparisons. The third chapter describes more fully the process of bringing the first fruits to the temple at the festival of Shavuot

Shavuot

The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....

.

The fourth chapter, which is only sometimes included, originates from the Tosefta

Tosefta

The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...

 Bikkurim. It compares the laws relating to men, women, and those of intermediate sex, including the tumtum (one with no genitalia) and the androgynos.