As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of 

צדק--zedek, of righteousness. In the words of our Torah: "Justice and righteousness shall you pursue." With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to righteousness.  

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

חזון-chazon, of vision.  

In the words of Proverbs: "Where there is no vision, people perish."

With this stepping stone, we create a path that embodies our vision. 

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

צחוק-tz'chok, of laughter and ריעות-reiut, friendship.

In the words of our Kahlil Gebran: 

"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.  For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed."

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to laughter and friendship.

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

שלום-shalom, of peace and wholeness.

In the words of our prayers:

"May the One who creates peace on high, create peace and wholeness for all of us, for all of Israel and let us say amen."

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to peace. 

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

הודאה-hoda'ah, of gratitude.

In the words of our prayers:"I am grateful before You, Eternal and Living God.  With great faith, You have renewed my soul within me." 

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to gratitude. 

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

שמחה-simchah, of joy. In the words of the Baal Shem Tov: "Those who live in joy do the Creator's will."

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to joy.

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

ענווה-anavah, of humility and selflessness. As it has been said: “Occupy a rightful space, neither too much nor too little. Focus neither on your own virtues nor the faults of others."

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to humility.

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

תקווה-tikvah, of hope. In the words of Eli Wiesel: "Hope is like peace. It is not a gift from God. It is a gift only we can give one another."

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to hope.

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

 הכללה-haklalah, of inclusion. In the words of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov: "Seek the good in everyone, and reveal it, bring it forth." 

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to inclusion.

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

 אהבה-ahavah, of love. In the words of Tanna d'Bai Eliyahu: "This is what the Holy One said to Israel: My children, what do I seek from you? I seek no more than that you love one another and honor one another." 

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to love.

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden devoted to shalshelet hakabbalah- הקבלה  שלשלת to continuing the chain of our tradition.

In the words of Rami Shapiro: "We are shaped by those who came before us.  As an acorn is formed by a tree that preceded it, yet gives rise to a tree uniquely its own, so we are formed by our ancestors, yet give rise to a Judaism uniquely ours."

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to the continuity of the chain of our tradition.

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

חסד-chesed, of loving kindness. In the words of the prophet Micah: "What does God require of you? Only to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to loving kindness.

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden infused with

נשמה-Neshamah, with soul. In the words of Elyse Frishman: "My soul came to me pure, drawn from the reservoir of the Holy.  All the time it remains within me, I am thankful for its thirst for compassion and justice. Let my eyes behold the beauty of all creatures, let my hands know the privilege of righteous deeds."

With this stepping stone, we create a path that affirms our soul.

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of אופטימיות-optimiut, of optimism. In the words of Pirkei Avot: "Greet every person with a pleasant face…Receive every person in a cheerful manner." 

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to optimism.

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

תפילה-tefilah, of prayer. In the words of Gates of Prayer: "Those who rise from prayer better persons, their prayer is answered." 

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to meaningful prayer.

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

יופי-yofi, of beauty.

In the words of Ecclesiastes: "God has made everything beautiful in its time and has placed eternity in the human heart."

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to beauty.

As we remember our Faith, we commit that this will be a garden of

 חיים-chaim, of life. In the words of our prayers: “You are forever mighty, Adonai... You sustain life through love, giving life to all through great compassion, supporting the fallen, healing the sick, freeing the captive, and keeping faith with those who sleep in the dust.”

With this stepping stone, we create a path that leads to life.

We are extremely thankful to the following people who helped create our garden.

Robert Nevel



Robert Nevel, the chair of the Social Justice Committeee  and one of the vice presidents of KAM Isaiah Israel, has been integral in the development of our garden. His ideas combining Jewish community with food justice and healthy eating have been inspirational to us in the creation of our garden.  Since the spring of 2009, Robert Nevel and his team of more than 100 volunteers have produced over 4000 pounds of food to donate to soup kitchens and shelters. They have also provided role models and tools to teach others.

Ann Marischen



Ann Marischen is an award winning master gardener with a passion for designing and building gardens and habitats filled with flowers, birds and butterflies. She designed many gardens with eager school children as her crew.   Ann’s sensitive passion helped design a garden to fit beautifully with our space and our ideas.

Ryan Barrett


Ryan Barrett was instrumental in organizing and building our garden. Ryan led our Temple Sholom community before our planting day, on our planting day, as well as helping to maintain the garden after our planting day. Ryan Barrett, along with the landscaping companies Scott Byron and XXX (?Temple Sholom landscaping company) helped with building the garden and giving our Temple Sholom community on the spot gardening lessons.