First Fruits

Shalom and thank you for your question. When you use the term first fruits, I assume you are referring to the Jewish festival called Shavuot (Festival of Weeks,) which is also known as the Festival of Harvests. This festival is tied to the festival of Passover, and for this reason it is called the Festival of Weeks. From the second day of the seven-day festival of Passover, we are commanded to count forty-nine days, and then to celebrate the giving of the Torah on the fiftieth day, as it states in Leviticus 23:15, “And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath seven complete Sabbaths.” The text of the Bible cannot be properly understood without the commentaries, for it was meant to be studied intensely and handed down through the generations. The commentaries explain that the ‘day after the Sabbath’ refers to the second day of the Passover festival, meaning that the first day of the festival, which is celebrated in a similar manner to the Sabbath, (although not exactly in the same way,) is referred to as a Sabbath, although in other contexts it is specifically referred to only as a festival. What all this means is that, as I mentioned, the festival of Shavuot which is also known as the festival of the Harvests, is tied to the festival of Passover, because there is a deep spiritual connection between them.

The festival of Passover is the festival of freedom from slavery IN ORDER to become a nation that is free to receive the Torah from G-d, which is what happened seven weeks later at Mount Sinai, and thus the festival of Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah by G-d to the Jewish people. The reason that it is also known as the festival of the harvests, is because on that day the Jews would bring their first fruits to the Temple to sanctify them. When we are blessed with bounty by G-d we need to express our thanks.

It is also unclear from your use of the term ‘high Shabbat’, exactly to what you are referring, but since the day of Yom Kippur is referred to in the Torah as ‘Shabbat Shabbaton’, the Sabbath of Sabbaths, perhaps that is the day you mean. However, although connections can be made between many concepts in Judaism, there is no direct connection to my knowledge between the festivals of Passover and Shavuot, and the ‘Sabbath of Sabbaths.” The Sabbath of Sabbaths, Yom Kippur, is ‘a day of atonement’, and has been called ‘at one-ment’, that is – becoming one with G-d. It is a fast day, for prayer and return to G-dliness.

We hope this has been helpful!