The Judaica & Art Shop Partners with Shoresh

The Judaica & Art Shop Partners with Shoresh

The Judaica & Art Shop will now be carrying products by Shoresh. We are super excited about this. Here’s why.

Shoresh is a nature-based Jewish charity, which both aims to be and inspires others to be Shomrei Adamah, protectors of the earth. Founded in 2002 as Torat HaTeva, The Jewish Nature Centre of Canada, Shoresh began by offering hands-on educational programs and hosting an annual Tu B’Shvat Seder. With the help of grants and donations over several years, Shoresh created Kavanah Garden (now run by York Region Food Network), Maxie’s Garden (now called Dawne’s Garden), and Bela Farm; and it developed a range of educational experiences and camp programs for children and adults. Along the way, Shoresh received loads of well-deserved awards and media attention. You can read all about it on their website.

But how does this relate to the Judaica & Art Shop, you may be wondering?

Bela Farm, established in 2013, is Shoresh’s 100-acre rural home for land-based sustainable Judaism. On the site, Shoresh planted 11,000 trees and created an extensive program to protect native pollinators, such as bees. The beekeeping program includes planting flowers, monitoring pollinator counts, working in the apiary, and harvesting honey and beeswax. That honey has deliciously found its way to our shop. We also carry beeswax candles for Shabbat, Chanukah, and Havdallah, made by local artisans partnering with Shoresh, and Shoresh’s naturally dyed challah covers.

This new relationship between The Shop and Shoresh is a win-win. Sabrina Malach, the Director of Community Engagement for Shoresh’s Jewish Environmental Programs, feels the same way.

We are very pleased to partner with the Judaica and Art Shop at Holy Blossom Temple. At Shoresh, we believe that we are better together. Any opportunity to collaborate in meaningful ways is important to us. We are eager to share our earth-friendly Jewish products with the Holy Blossom community and to help community members bring sustainability home, by offering eco-friendly ritual items.

Purchasing Shoresh products supports Holy Blossom Temple and Women of Holy Blossom. It also supports Shoresh, in their efforts to propagate the bee population of Ontario and, by extension, to sustain Ontario’s ecosystems and food systems, all of which uphold the Jewish values of mah rabu ma’asecha, to hold a sense of radical amazement for the natural world; l’ovdah u’l’shomrah, to be responsible stewards of the earth; and tzedek tzedek tirdof, to pursue justice for the earth and its creatures. Sabrina notes, “As a Jewish organization, Shoresh grounds its work in these Jewish teachings and values”.

If this isn’t enough, honey is good for our bodies and delicious.  But don’t take our word for it. Try it yourself.

Visit the Judaica & Art Shop, operated by Women of Holy Blossom, for more on the Shoresh products and to get ready for the High Holy Days. Hours and contact information are on our webpage.