GrowTorah

Torah blossoms in our beautiful outdoor garden – literally sprouting before our very eyes.

GrowTorah is an environmental education program that cultivates a compassionate and sustainable future driven by Torah values. Each GrowTorah lesson begins with a conversation with Farmer Sara about the week’s parasha, relating what students have learned in the classroom to our garden – and the world. Then, during hands-on gardening activities, students are encouraged to get their hands dirty! They get to work planting, watering, tending, and harvesting the garden – all while connecting to the earth, to each other, and to their Jewish education.

The NSHA garden provides countless teachable moments and learning opportunities. Halachic laws about agricultural charity and technicalities of gardening on Shabbat are distilled into age-appropriate lessons. Teachers use the garden as a springboard for conversations about local and global food and environmental policies. Growing food inspires students to eat more healthfully, and recite their brachot more thoughtfully and with greater meaning and intention.

GrowTorah weaves four core values into each lesson:

• Incubating Emunah – Students gain new appreciation for the meanings of their brachot as they grow a harvest that will nourish them and their community.
• Cultivating Compassion for Creatures – As students explore the garden, they learn to treat each creature they encounter with kindness and respect. Before long, their “ews” turn into “aws!”
• Stewarding the Earth – Students become budding environmentalists as they learn about the effects humans have on the planet, both positive and negative.
• Reimagining Tzedaka – Our young gardeners donate 90% of the food they grow, and share the 10% that remains, learning compassion and selflessness along the way.

Learn more about GrowTorah.