The fruit of your labors

When I planted tomato seeds in a pot in my backyard, the first sprouts through the soil brought me a little pride and excitement. When my kids brought home sunflower seeds to plant in little cups, the first sprouts also brought the promise of towering, yellow flowers that we could claim as our own produce. When the tomato sprouts were taken by a night critter and the sunflower sprouts choked because I didn't move them to a bigger pot, I was not only disappointed; I felt like the world was trying to teach me a larger lesson: ideas and future hopes will die if they are not properly cared for and protected. Maybe that was a little rabbinic grandiosity in my own mind, but the world has a way of letting us continue on a path once started. The success of Gan Mazon: MRT's Garden of Plenty has become most evident this week. Though I am not there to see them in person, I have seen the fruits of our labors. There are cucumbers and zucchini big enough to eat and give away to those in need. If my personal dabblings in gardening were a bust from which I learned something about nurturing the future, this temple garden is a comfort - a "Nachamu, Nachamu" - that reminds me we can not be shaped by our failures and disappointments alone. There is also the possibility of teshuva, return to the path we wish we had walked when given the first opportunity. The garden - a source of food for the hungry - also teaches us that acts of tzedakah help return us to our right path.

Kol HaKavod to all the Gan Mazon grow team, especially to Howard, Carly, Elmo, Mary Beth and Sara. They've harvested 20 lbs already and the soon-to-ripe tomatoes will boost that yield significantly.