Jewish Values to Plant: a land flowing with milk and honey
Eretz z’vat chalav u’dvash: A Land flowing with milk and honey. At the end of a funeral, soil from the Land of Israel, specifically from the Mount of Olives, is added to the grave. Despite living outside of Israel, this is moment when we are uniquely connected to the variety of promises God made our […]
Jewish Concept Gardens: Peace/Justice Garden
Peah Garden. Peah refers to the corners of the fields that were not harvested by the owner of the field. Instead, the produce of these corners were left for the stranger, the widow and the orphan. (Leviticus 19) There is a whole classification of produce: peah, leket, shichach – the corners of the field, the […]
Jewish Values to Plant: Beautiful Ritual
Hiddur Mitzvah: Beautiful RitualAccording to Jewish tradition, we should not just complete the ritual, even with the best of intentions. Instead, we should try to make it beautiful, rich with color and texture. This is the reasoning behind the adorned candle sticks for Shabbat and the beautiful melodies for our prayers. We want our rituals […]