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Why did Hashem (ה׳) create vegetation with seeds rather than having the earth continuously produce crops? The shiur develops a yesod that Hashem designed creation to give man independence - one may only take from the world to the extent that one contributes to it. This principle explains both the agricultural laws and why Adam could eat plants but not animals.
Rabbi Zweig begins by questioning why Hashem (ה׳) created vegetation with seeds rather than having the earth continuously produce new crops each year. He notes that the Talmud (תלמוד)'s section on agriculture is called "Zeroim" (seeds), yet most of its laws deal with fruits, not seeds - from berachos on finished products to laws of pe'ah, maaser, and bikkurim. The fundamental principle emerges that Hashem created the world to give man independence. Just as man must earn his share in the world to come through mitzvos, he must also earn his physical sustenance in this world. The system of seeds ensures that man can only take from creation to the extent that he contributes to it - what he plants, he may harvest.
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Chulin 60a
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