First Fruits: A Harvest Offering

It is not an easy task
You have given us, God of Creation
To till the soil, plant and harvest,
   and care for all that You have created.

Only You can decree rain in its time,
or hold back the late frost
bringing certain death
to the strawberry flower.

I long to place before You my offering,
  the best I can gather from my fields.
But delayed rain did not revive the garden
  and the late frost killed the first fruit.

I want to rise before You as an offering,
but what are my first fruits?
I am too often a prayer spoken in haste,
my tongue tripping carelessly over sacred words.

The first strawberry is the largest,
a deep and vibrant red.
But the second fruit that grows in its shadow
  is very often the sweetest.

My prayer is sincere, but my offering
  is not sufficient to rise before You.
So please, Compassionate One, meet me
  halfway between earth and heaven.

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on email
Email

Ritualwell content is available for free thanks to the generous support of readers like you! Please help us continue to offer meaningful content with a donation today. 

One Response

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Rituals

Shop Ritualwell - Discover unique Judaica products

The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

Jewish Spiritual Autobiography

 Writing a spiritual autobiography helps you to discover how teachers, touchstones, symbols and stories have led you to make meaning and understand the sacred in your personal story. In this immersion, join Ritualwell’s Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, a writer and spiritual director, to map out and narrate your most sacred life experiences. Four sessions starting May 16, 2024. 

Get the latest from Ritualwell

Subscribe for the latest rituals, online learning opportunities, and unique Judaica finds from our store.

The Reconstructionist Network