Rosh Hodesh: Celebration of the New Moon
Rosh Hodesh, also spelled Rosh Chodesh (“Ch” as in “Bach”), is the celebration of the new Hebrew month, an ancient festival finding renewal among contemporary Jews.
A Shabbat Experience: Relax in a Hammock
A hammock is the perfect place to hear the wind.
Scents Feed the Soul
Neuroscientists and psychologists tell us that the sense of smell is closely connected to memory and emotion. Scents can tie us to our traditions (the smell of challah baking or latkes frying), and to Nature and places of the soul. (more…)
Hands on the Earth: Find Your Own Garden Connection
Experience a taste of Eden by growing some of your own vegetables, fruits, or flowers. There are may ways to find your own connection to the vibrant energy of growing plants, wherever you may live. (more…)
Bitter and Sweet of the Garden at Passover
Passover, the Festival of Spring and Freedom, is a holiday associated with food. Matzah, of course, the flat unleavened bread (I recommend whole wheat), to remind us of the unleavened bread that our ancestors baked in their haste to leave slavery in ancient Egypt, with no time for the dough to rise. The other tastes of Passover have their own associations, bitter and sweet. Eating these symbolic and seasonal natural foods helps to literally internalize the Seder’s message of freedom.
Community Gardens: Edible Towns and Gangsta Gardeners
Gardening today is becoming one of the most innovative areas of Tikkun Olam, healing and repairing the world. Community Gardens and sharing of garden harvests help the environment and feed the hungry while fostering community.
Gallery: A Synagogue Farm in the Suburbs
Congregation Sons of Israel in Briarcliff Manor, New York, founded the CSI Community Organic Farm on 1.5 acres at the back of the synagogue’s property. The farm offers communal gardening, a farmer’s market, and donations to the needy. Chickens are raised and their eggs are sold at the farmer’s market. The farm promotes Jewish traditions and values in areas such as ecology, agriculture, nutrition, wellness, spiritual connection, social and environmental justice. Check back for more photos as they grow!
Please share in the comments if you know of a synagogue farm or communal garden. (Return to the Gateway of Gardens.)
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