First Fruits: A Shavuot Story by Amalia Hoffman © 2023, Agawath, Massachusetts: Harold Grinspoon Foundation; Library of Congress Control Number 2023943564, 18 pages, $8.95.
SAN DIEGO – Shavuot arrives this year on Tuesday night, June 11. This hard-cover book is intended to introduce your toddler to the holiday of Shavuot, getting your hands dirty gardening, the joy of sharing, and the names of the seven species of ancient Israel.
Deuteronomy 8.8 describes the Land of Israel as a “land of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey.” Illustrations of each of these species are juxtaposed with handprints, making the point that growing fruits and vegetables requires manual labor,
This well-illustrated PJ Library-selection then turns to woven baskets in which the fruits may be carried to share with friends. This is a modern-day iteration of the ancient tradition of bikkurim, when the Israelites brought baskets of their first fruits to the Holy Temple.
Illustrations of the friends with whom Shavuot baskets may be shared show boys and girls of multiple races and a range of ages, some religious (as indicated by a yarmulke) and some secular.
I’m willing to bet that little children will want to put their hands against the pictured handprints, not only to compare theirs with those but also to feel like participants in the Shavuot action.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.