In Parhsat Shoftim, Devarim 18:4 we read: “The first portion of your grain, your wine and your olive oil and the first of the shearing of your sheep are you to give him (the Kohen).

Rashi points out that this pasuk refers to the Teruma offering.

We learn in the Gemara in Chullin 136a that just as the mitzvah of Teruma is only in effect in the Land of Israel so too is the mitzvah of giving the first of the shearing of your sheep (reisheet gez) only in effect in the Land of Israel.

According to Collins Atlas of the Bible, “The economy of Israel has generally been pastoral-agrarian in character. Agriculture has traditionally been based on the well known  Mediterranean triad of grain, wine and olive oil.”

When you walk through the shuk (open air market) in Jerusalem today, you smell the fresh pita bread. In the supermarkets, there are hundreds of bottles of wine to choose from (all Kosher) as well as a large selection of olive oil.

What if you want to get the feeling of what it was really like in the days of the Torah, before the products were readily available in the local markets?

In Israel today, there are opportunities to literally have a taste of what it was like to live in Biblical times. On the farm of Moshav Mevo Modiim (also known as the Carlebach Moshav) visitors have the opportunity to grind wheat and bake pita bread, press olives to make olive oil, visit a vineyard and learn about wine making as well as sheer the sheep and spin the wool into yarn.

These hands-on experiences really help make the Torah come alive.

Those of us who live in Israel or who will be visiting Israel should try to make time for these experiences and become familiar with produce of the Land of Israel.