Orot Israel College Students Visit Zichron Yaakov

by Luzit Odesser

Early Childhood Education Department

Students from Orot Israel College’s early education department had the privilege of visiting Zichron Yaakov and its environs. The magical trip served a dual purpose: It gave us a chance to bond while learning in a manner that will help our future students. Our first stop was Zichron’s cemetery and original street, where our talented guide told us about the first settlers in what was then a moshava (agricultural settlement), the difficulties and challenges they overcame, and the moshava’s early years. Outside the synagogue, we heard about Baron Rothschild and all that he did for Zichron and its inhabitants. We discussed the complex situation whereby the Baron’s contributions enabled the moshava to exist and develop, but his clerks made the farmers’ lives miserable. Next, we proceeded on to Ramat Hanadiv.

When we were planning our trip, the Ramat Hanadiv staff suggested that we sign up for an activity in their educational garden. Initially, we turned down the offer, because we thought it would not be appropriate for shmitah. However, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the Ramat Hanadiv gardens observe shmitah! Thus, we decided to book a tour that was geared for the early childhood years and that focused on observing shmitah in gardens and preschools. According to Ramat Hanadiv’s website:
“The Talmudic sages construed [the relevant psukim from Vayikra 25] to mean that during the Sabbatical Year, the Jewish people should refrain from planting. The prohibition against pruning vineyards was extended to include all activities that might significantly improve or spur the growth of plants; pruning and other maintenance jobs were permitted only if they were deemed absolutely necessary to keep plants alive. All this was geared towards a single purpose: to give the land a rest, an opportunity to renew and strengthen itself, so that it would yield new fruits for the six years following Shmitta. At Ramat Hanadiv, we are marking the Sabbatical Year in its agricultural sense as well as in social and environmental terms.”

And in fact, when we arrived at the beautiful and well-maintained Ramat Hanadiv gardens, we noticed many signs of shmitah-observance. Instead of the usual beds of seasonal flowers at the entrance to the memorial garden, we were greeted by thousands (!!) of lovely, colorful, and unique clay flowers, which were assembled by senior citizens across the country. And as we strolled along the garden’s paths, we saw that the topiaries had not been pruned. Even in the aroma garden geared for the visually impaired – the strong scent of the herbs growing in the garden invites the visitor to pick them, to rub them between one’s fingertips, to recite the “borei issvei besamim” blessing, and to fill one’s lungs with their fragrance – we observed further evidence of shmitah-observance: Some of the flowerbeds were empty, and small signs with the missing herbs’ names were the only indication of their absence. Another sign referred to the Baron’s connection to shmitah and sparked a discussion about the so-called Shmitah Dispute of 1889.

Ramat Hanadiv also comprises additional gardens, such as a therapeutic garden, a sustainability garden, and more. In a garden filled with butterflies, we learned about the concept of “ecological footprint” and saw an extremely giving tree. We also talked about gardening with preschool children in general and during shmitah in particular.

The Orot Israel College students said that they had a wonderful time, and we all look forward to implementing the many ideas we learned during the course of our visit to Zichron.