When I was a senior in college, the chair of the Religion department gifted each student a packet of plant seeds that best represented them. It was a new personalized twist on an annual tradition to recognize members of the Religion department. I received watermelon; a social plant with long and curly vines connecting it with other watermelons. A specific breed of beans was given to Kaitlin, representing her strength, resilience, and her hometown Boston (“Beantown”). Lynn received a Cosmos plant for her penchant for the mysterious and mystical. As you can probably tell, these gifts had more quirky resonance rather than true horticultural meaning. Regardless, I still have that packet of seeds.
I am fond of the metaphor that we are all plants, organisms that blossom at different times with a myriad of blooms. If we are plants, then our synagogue can be our garden. A garden of watermelons would be dull as would be a garden of only blue hydrangeas (my mother’s favorite). One only has to look to Rodef Shalom's Biblical Botanical garden to know that it is the variety in a garden that makes it magnificent.
The Jerusalem Talmud tells us: “It is forbidden to live in a town that does not have a green garden.” (Jerusalem Talmud,Kiddushin 4:12) We, as a community of members, are that garden, and therefore are committed to making it lush and green. So, next time you find yourself sitting within the synagogue walls, look to the person to your left and take a moment to appreciate his or her sunflower-esque confidence. Stop and admire the prickly succulent in our midst. For only together do we make up the beautiful garden that is our community.
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