A down-to-earth approach to spirituality
that links your garden with biblical tradition.
“Perhaps you’re asking,
‘What is a “Jewish garden”?’ Though it
is essentially a collection of plants, it’s really more
than that. You don’t just grow plants in a Jewish garden;
you incorporate them into your life. Some will help transport
you to different times and places; others will provide your
senses with aromas, tastes, and beauty. All will help you
experience a more personal attachment to God and to
Judaism.”
—from the Introduction
This guide shows how your gardening can
sustain your spirit in new ways, whether you grow one fig tree
on an apartment terrace, or five acres of wheat in the country.
It may also help you realize, as never before, that for each
fruit and vegetable associated with every holiday, there is a
profound and sustaining reason.
To ancient Jews, figs symbolized
prosperity, grapes signified fertility, and olives represented
the renewal of life. Barley was the chief cooking staple, and
dates were a honey substitute. The
Jewish Gardening Cookbook gives
clear and easy-to-follow instructions on how these
foods—and more—can be grown and used for holidays,
festivals, and life cycle events. For example, following the
cycle of the Jewish year, it explains how to grow apples to
bake in apple-raisin-nut cake at Rosh Hashanah, potatoes for
latkes at Hanukkah, and ways to maximize use of your zucchini
crop with zucchini nut bread at Purim.
The Jewish Gardening Cookbook provides tasty vegetarian recipes so that what
you grow can be enjoyed during holiday meals, bringing our
biblical past into our lives as people who have a profound
relationship with the Land of Israel.
“Through gardening and cooking with
biblical plants, this creative book helps us to incorporate
religion into our daily lives.”
—Maureen
Gilmer, author of Rooted in the Spirit: Exploring Inspirational
Gardens
“Introduces us, with charm and
distinction, to the beauty of the land of Israel, its
traditions, the rhythms of the Jewish seasons, and all of this
within the fruitfulness of the garden . . . distills practical
recipes from the bounty of the garden’s produce which
enhance the festivals of the Jewish calendar.”
—Brother
Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette, author of Twelve Months
of Monastery Soups
“Forget corned beef, lox, and
bagels. Here is a sampling of real Jewish food: the stuff our
ancestors ate in Biblical days. . . . What a beautiful book,
celebrating the flow of sacred time while deepening our
appreciation for the ebb and flow of nature and the miracle of
God’s good earth. Especially great for families! I wish I
had this when I was raising my children.”
—Rabbi
Lawrence A. Hoffman, professor of
liturgy, Hebrew Union College; author of Israel—A Spiritual Travel Guide: A Companion for
the Modern Jewish Pilgrim
Michael Brown
is an avid gardener who has lived, planted, and harvested in
the United States and Israel. A reference librarian and
educator, he is the author of New
Jersey Parks, Forests, and Natural Areas: A Guide.