Bringing Shavuot Home
Written by Sara Just-Michael
Edited by Evonne Marzouk
Shavuot has arrived. The time of counting the omer and refining our character in preparation to receive the Torah is winding down. So we must be quite refined by now and proud of who we are, right?
Maybe, but maybe not.
Sefirat Ha’Omer is a powerful spark to get our fires going. We begin by changing our tefillot: stopping our request for rain from Hashem. Beginning with Pesach, the spring holiday where everything in nature begins to bloom, we mature with the earth, bringing us to Chag Ha’Bikkurim of the first harvest. But we must use this spark to ignite our fires.
During this time at home, GrowTorah has seen a spike in home gardening interest. We have been inspired to see so many Jews find a new connection with the land they live on and learn about stewarding Hashem’s earth by watching plants grow. In normal times, most produce travels 1500 miles from farm to plate. By growing our own food, we greatly reduce the carbon footprint of our food. This is an amazing way to minimize our personal carbon footprint and take action toward helping Hashem’s earth.
Planting your own home garden is a great step toward environmentally sustainable lifestyles. But let us keep the spark going! We can also minimize our carbon footprint and support those who will have the hardest time recovering from this pandemic by supporting local, organic, and regenerative farms.
Though the pandemic has created so many difficult challenges, there are also opportunities in this time. Staying home can help us reevaluate our actions and their ripple effects in the world. Hashem has given us the gift of time for introspection and refinement through the omer. In this time of darkness in the world, may we find the strength to use that gift intentionally through our actions. As we increase our Torah learning this week during Shavuot, let us also commit to maximizing our teshuva during quarantine and becoming more connected to the earth.
This blog post is Inspired by several articles from Canfei Nesharim, now part of GrowTorah.
