GrowTorah

We are incredibly excited to announce our newest Shorashim School partnership with GESHER YEHUDA INC ! ?? Over the winter the GrowTorah team will build the garden beds, and in the spring, the students will start weekly lessons. ?? Every week, students will work in the garden with our educators, learning lessons from the weekly Parsha while tending the micro-ecosystem that we create. ?? Through nature-based educational Torah experiences, we inspire participants to become passionate and compassionate leaders of a sustainable future rooted in Torah values. ???? Our nature-based hands-on activities bring Torah to life, cultivating Jewish communities committed to a deeper Torah connection with Hashem’s natural world and ecological responsibility. ?? We are SO excited to work together with Gesher Yehuda, and expand GrowTorah Shorashim Partnership even more! #growtorah #schoolgardens #mahrabumoments #rooftopgarden #nycgardens #brooklyngardens

I am so proud of our team for publishing this educational tool! ?? Order before 10/14 for arrival before we start Breishit! Amazing work Shoshana Ehrenreich, RDN, CDN, CLC Ayala Tiefenbrunn Abigail Glass

GrowTorah is excited to announce the publication of Tiferet HaTorah: An educational coloring book for the weekly Parsha, exploring the beauty of Torah and Nature. Tiferet Hatorah provides an engaging, hands-on experience for both children and adults alike as they explore the weekly parsha. ?? As we bring this project to life in Tishrei 5785, our tefillos are with our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael, and with all of Am Yisrael around the world. In the zechus of the Torah learned from this sefer, may we see refuah and nechamah for all of Klal Yisrael. May this work serve as an aliyah neshama for those lives tragically lost on 10/7/23, and in the following war since, as they defend Eretz Yisrael. ???? Our deepest hakaras hatov goes to the dedicated team at GrowTorah, who poured their hearts into every detail, and Abby Glass for the gorgeous illustrations. We are forever indebted to The CBR Fund, whose generous support made this project possible. ?? Whether you color these pages alone, with your family, or in chavruta, we encourage you to use this as an opportunity not just to engage creatively, but to deepen your connection to Hashem’s Torah and this beautiful Earth. May these pages fill your life with light and inspire a deeper sense of kedusha as you journey on this planet. ?? SHIPPING NOTE: Orders placed by 11:59pm EST October 14 will IYH arrive by Hoshana Rabbah. ORDER NOW here: www.growtorah.org/tiferet #parsha #growtorah #coloringbook #kidscoloringbook

Please join us in welcoming our newest team member: Yisroel Bass! ???? Yisroel is an experienced educator, farmer, and passionate Yiddish enthusiast. He co-runs the?Yiddish Farm?Educational Center with his wife, Yonit, where they cultivate organic spelt and wheat for Shmura Matzah and host educational programs for thousands of visitors each year. At GrowTorah, Yisroel teaches in several gardens, contributes to curriculum design, and serves as the resident farmer. ?? He divides his time between Monsey, NY, and the Yiddish Farm in Goshen, NY, alongside his wife and their children. Together, they enjoy sailing during the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter.

WE LOVE WORKING WITH Ayala Tiefenbrunn! We're so glad we've got more to Grow together! There's another BIG project in the works that YOU'll all get to enjoy as well! #staytuned!

Today we wrapped up our first Anafim Teacher Training Seminar at the Adamah Farm at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. ?? Thank you to all the amazing educators for an incredible 4 days of learning and growing, we are so excited to support you and your programs flourishing through the year at your school gardens across the country. Thank you Brauser Maimonides Academy, Darchei Noam Montessori , Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School, SAR Academy ELC, Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC), and Akiba Yavneh Academy for joining, and to the The Covenant Foundation and the CBR fund for your funding support! Thank you Hashem for bringing us to this point, onwards we grow! #schoolgardens #farmtorah #gardentorah #mahrabumoments

JOIN OUR ANAFIM PROGRAM EXPANSION ACROSS THE USA! In 2021, we initiated the Anafim program, aiming to expand the profound impact of our Shorashim school garden initiatives beyond the NYC region, supported by an Ignition grant from The Covenant Foundation. Our journey began with cultivating lesson plans and offering comprehensive online training for educators nationwide, enriched by coaching sessions throughout the year. Rooted in Jewish values from the weekly parsha and hands-on garden experiences, our curriculum blossomed with depth, and our reach expanded in breadth. This summer, fertilized by a transformative Signature Grant (also from the Covenant Foundation), our Anafim program will thrive even more with an immersive training seminar at the Adamah Farm in the Berkshire Mountains. Here, the Anafim educators from across the country will learn deeply with our GrowTorah team for several days. Throughout the year, we will share professionally produced tutorial videos and an updated curriculum with the participants, ensuring deep learning throughout all of our Anafim partner schools. We take pride in nurturing this community of Anafim educators, and look forward to growing it this summer. If your school does not yet have an GrowTorah garden - please reach out - we would love to partner with you! Through our nature-based Torah education, we cultivate a more passionate, compassionate, and sustainable future driven by Torah values.

In honor of Registered Dietitians Day, we are sharing some kid-friendly nutrition tips and tricks from our on-staff Registered Dietitian, Farmer Shoshi (Shoshana Ehrenreich, RDN, CDN, CLC). We use these tips in our school gardens across the country: 1. ? No-Pressure, No-Problem! We want our students to love the foods we grow, but we know that not all children are excited to try new foods. Often, when children feel pressured to eat, they go the opposite direction. In our gardens, we use a pressure-free approach to tasting. 2. ?? Eat the Rainbow! In our gardens, we grow rainbows! Produce is filled with vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber and other nutrients. Each colored fruit, vegetable, herb, and plant has its own set of nutritional benefits. Encourage your family to eat at least 1 fruit or vegetable a day from each color of the rainbow! 3. ?? Grow-at-home. Research has shown that when children are involved in preparing the food they are offered, they are more likely to eat (and enjoy) it! This preparation can start as early as planting the seed! Our students (and parents) have noted that they eat foods in the garden they don’t usually eat anywhere else…because THEY grew it. Set up a small garden in your backyard, or grow a tomato plant in a pot on your porch. See how that changes your family's feelings towards that food. You might be surprised! ?? Thanks to all the RDs out there helping us maintain a healthy relationship with food! Head to our blog the full article (www.growtorah.org/blog). #NationalNutritionMonth #nationalnutritionmonth #nationalnutritionmonth2024 #registereddietitianday #registereddietitian #registereddietitians #healthtips #healthytips #growtorah

ANAFIM NATIONAL TORAH GARDENS EXPANSION Thanks to a Signature Grant from The Covenant Foundation , our team is making major updates to our Anafim program. ?? Most significantly: our educator training will take place at the Adamah Farm at Isabella Freedman Retreat Center this July! Adamah ???? We are so excited to welcome Anafim educators from around the country to join us for this intensive training, along with all of the other curricular resources and biweekly coaching that is part of the program. ?? We are actively recruiting new school partners to join - is that you or your school?! Learn more here: www.growtorah.org/anafim

GrowTorah Executive Director Sara Just-Michael helps teachers make Torah learning fun and experiential so that "students fall in love with Hashem’s earth and get excited about caring for the environment." She explains how in this conversation with JEIC Managing Director Sharon Freundel in our new Keystones Podcast episode, "Learning Torah Through Gardening." Listen to the podcast or read the transcript here: https://tr.ee/k2uptK-ywb #podcast?#JewishEducation?#jewishdayschools?#professionaldevelopment?#pedagogy?#Torah?#JudaicStudies?#limudeikodesh?#handsonlearning?#experientiallearning #enviromentalism