לעבדה ולשמרה
A beautiful world comes with great responsibility
OUR MISSION:
GrowTorah aims to cultivate a more passionate, compassionate and sustainable future driven by Torah values.
WHAT WE DO:
GrowTorah develops experiential & environmental Torah education programs for Jewish institutions.
“וינחהו בגן־עדן לעבדה ולשמרה
...and G-d placed him in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it.”
SCHOOL GARDEN PROGRAMS
Our Shorashim and Anafim Partnerships bring our educational garden programs to 27 schools and 8 camps across the USA.
THE INCHWORMSHIP
GrowTorah’s college internship, run in partnership with the OU Impact Accelerator is a paid program for college students interested in GrowTorah’s mission.
WORKSHOPS
We provide experiential workshops on a variety of topics for schools, shuls, JCCs, and more. In 2022, we ran 30 workshops to over 3000+ participants.
CAMP GROWTORAH
We run a Torah farming day camp in New City, NY for the last few weeks of August. Sholarships are available thanks to the support of the Mina Gillers Memorial Fund.
testimonials
“Our boys wholeheartedly enjoyed their experience at Grow Torah! They came home smiling each day, excited to share all that they had learned. Thank you!!”
Camp GrowTorah Parent
“Spence put on a fantastic show at our Microgreens event. Everybody was engaged and excited, and we can't wait for our seedlings to grow!”
Tu B’shvat workshop attendee
“Thank you for helping us grow plants. I appreciate that you help us with puling carrots and naming the plants. I also loved that you told us the plant that ladybugs like. Now when we see a ladybug we out it on the plant. I like how you combine Torah and plant growing. Thank you for teaching us. ”
2nd grader from a Anafim School
“Getting my hands dirty on real farms was such a cool experience and gave me tons of confidence in my gardening abilities and my ability to make an impact in this world.”
Summer Inchworm
See below for upcoming events:
We are always working on new program offerings to bring you meaningful inspiration! Got an idea for us? We’d love to hear it!
Keep scrolling for the latest at GrowTorah, and feel free to get in touch with us with any questions!
What’s ‘Growing On’ this month at GrowTorah?
July 20, 2024 | Tamuz 15, 5784
Monthly Newsletter Volume 7.4 | Issue #74
TENDING NEW GROWTH: THE ANAFIM PROGRAM
The GrowTorah Anafim Educator Training Seminar was deeply enriching experience, bringing together teachers from across the country to immerse in experiential and environmental Torah at The Isabella Freedman Retreat Center and Adamah Farm.
Over four days, teachers from Akiba Yavneh Academy (Dallas, TX), Brauser Maimonides Academy (Hollywood, FL), Darchei Noam Montessori (Baltimore, MD), Hillel Torah (Skokie, IL), SAR Academy ELC (Riverdale, NY), Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (West Hempstead, NY) engaged in hands-on farm activities, such as seeding cilantro, harvesting carrots, and trellising tomatoes, while learning our core Torah values through each activity. Much of the delicious food came straight from the farm, helping to drive home the seminar lessons while living our values.
The collaboration with these school partners and the generous support from The CBR Fund and The Covenant Foundation have been instrumental in the program's success. We are filled with gratitude to all of our partners!
This inspiring training will continue throughout the year with regular coaching and cohort-wide webinars, ensuring sustained growth and learning for all participants and their thousands of students across the country.
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! 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?!
WORK AT CAMP GROWTORAH!
Are you ready to cultivate Torah wisdom while getting your hands dirty in the fields of education and farming? Camp GrowTorah is seeking spirited teens to join our team as we nurture young minds and harvest a bounty of Jewish values!
Camp GrowTorah is not just a weeklong day camp—it's a vibrant garden (quite literally) where every day blooms with learning, laughter, and love for Torah and the land. From tefillah amidst the fields to crafting natural judaica, we offer a fertile ground for spiritual growth and hands-on exploration for campers and staff alike.
Staff are encouraged, but not required, to work both weeks of camp: August 19–23, 2024 & August 26–30, 2024.
If you're passionate about pedagogy and peas, we want you to be part of our flourishing farmily!
REGISTER FOR CAMP GROWTORAH!
We are so happy to open registration for Camp GrowTorah 2024! Campers will explore, play, create, and learn on the many acres of farmland and with all the sweet animals. Be”H Camp GrowTorah 2024 will be held: August 19–23, 2024 & August 26–30, 2024 from 9 AM–3 PM for campers ages: 5–10 years old. Camp is on the grounds of our partner Rockland Farm Alliance’s largest farm project, Cropsey Community Farm (220 S Little Tor Road, New City, New York 10956).
MINA GILLERS MEMORIAL FUND
We offer Camp GrowTorah on a sliding scale, thanks to the incredible generosity of so many of you. In 2023, 37% of campers made use of these scholarship funds. With your support, we will be able to continue carrying on Mina’s legacy, sharing the glory of Hashem’s creation with children and their families through Camp GrowTorah. Please consider making a donation today to the Mina Gillers Memorial Fund:
INTRODUCING: CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS
Do you want to help GrowTorah with your work at a for-profit corporation? We developed our Corporate Partnership program to enable corporations to give back to our community while donating to GrowTorah. As a token of our gratitude, we offer perks for each partnership level. Check out the linked brochure to learn more. We look forward to working with you soon!
PARSHA COLORING PAGEs
This year we launched our free Parsha Coloring Pages! Here’s the explanation for parshat Noach: After the Mabul (flood), Noach's intentions were to rebuild and refill the land, to start fresh. This illustration depicts a farmer working in a vineyard, caring for the land, with the Teva and rainbow visible in the background - reminding us that Noach's caring actions within the Parsha can serve as a model for how we treat of Hashem’s creatures.
Thank you again to Abby Glass (GrowTorah Inchworm 2021) for these incredible illustrations!
Mazals - you dug down to the bottom of our website!
If you’d like more GrowTorah goodness, check out our Library here, or join us on the following social media channels: