After more than twenty years at Temple Beth Shalom in Vero Beach, Rabbi Michael Birnholz recently moved to the west coast of Florida and is now serving Temple B’nai Israel in Clearwater. Rabbi Birnholz enthusiastically shares his ruach and koach – spirit and strength – with the many diverse generations and facets of the Jewish community. From the the garden project to lively Shabbat experiences, from Men’s club breakfast to adult learning while making challah, he is proud to be part of a vibrant and meaningful life of his congregation.
Rabbi Birnholz has also enjoyed his wide variety of community opportunities to teach and preach Jewish values and wisdom. His hope is to build Temple B’nai Israel into a community full of Shalom: wholeness, harmony and peace and see these efforts spread caring, compassion and justice to the surrounding community.
Rabbi Michael Birnholz is available to teach/facilitate in-person or on Zoom a wide range of Jewish garden and Jewish food related lessons and activities
About Planting Jewish Seeds: The Goal of this website is not to teach how to garden. Each area/environment is its own space and place with temperature gradients, sun exposure, seasonal patterns, and soils. One of the most important values of gardening is realizing: right plant in the right place. Each garden community is unique in its pool of workers, space to work in and goals for its produce. Some might be content with five tomatoes. While others may not feel successful if they don’t deliver 500 pounds of vegetables to the local food bank. There are also countless garden guides and teachers. They can help you create a garden space that will be bountiful and beautiful.
What Planting Jewish Seeds does offer is different frameworks, activities, and ideas for using a garden to teach Jewish values and the Jewish values for taking care of a garden. If the Garden of Eden was humanity’s first classroom it should not be a surprise that a Jewish garden (even if it is one large pot with three plants) has the opportunity to be a magnificent place of learning, experiencing and connecting.