Dear Farmily,

“I am one of Hashem's creations!”

One of our students recently made that joyful declaration during a lesson in his school’s GrowTorah garden. Yes, every single one of us, every plant we grow, and butterfly we tend to, is all part of this amazing Earth that Hashem created for us to work and to protect, “l’ovdah ul’shomra” לעבדה ולשמרה.

As we work the soil with our students here in America, our hearts ache. Our hearts ache for our family suffering in Israel, our hearts ache for our family here, and our hearts ache for the loss of every innocent life. As educators, we have an obligation to instill good middot in the next generation. Each year, thousands of children enjoy our middot-based experiential and environmental Torah lessons in GrowTorah gardens across the continent, connecting them to Torat Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael.

Our mission at GrowTorah is to cultivate a more passionate, compassionate, and sustainable future driven by Torah values. Every student in every garden, every pound of compost, and every family fed strengthens our relationship to Hashem and brings us closer to the future we dream of.

“Tuesday is now my favorite day!”

Another student recently shared that with a friend, after learning on which day her class would visit the GrowTorah garden this year. According to Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, every blade of grass has an angel hovering over encouraging it to “grow, grow, grow”. We have the gift and opportunity to teach our students about the beauty of each growth stage, from planting the seeds to harvesting the fruits of their labor. As our students grow food in our school gardens that will feed families in our communities we, their educators, aim to emulate the lofty angels and encourage our students to “grow, grow, grow”: in Emunah, with compassion, and with a sense of responsibility to all of Hashem’s creations.

“We’re doing a mitzvah. And if you’re doing a mitzvah, you can’t do it half. You gotta do it fully.”

Once when Farmer Menuchah offered to complete the task of watering the garden for her students, she received that reply. Despite their slight stretch of Halacha, these students embody the values that we teach. GrowTorah has inspired a passionate, compassionate connection to the mitzvot in children across the country: in joyfully caring for their environment, motivated by Torah and mitzvot, they embody our mission. In this difficult time for Am Yisrael, their youthful dedication inspires us in turn.

Our gardens bring green growing spaces to our schools and communities:

Growing spaces that thrive.

Growing spaces that teach.

Growing spaces that nourish our communities, in body and soul.

Join the Farmily this Growing Tuesday and support our work to grow with us!

Growing Tuesday 2023

By GrowTorah

Growing Tuesday 2023