By Rabbi Ellen Bernhardt, Jewish Community Relations Committee Director and Community Chaplain
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As I’m writing this, we’ve just had a few days of warm weather—enough to send us running outside to check on our gardens, eager to dig in the dirt again. But now the cold has returned, and we must wait a few more weeks.
If we were living in Israel, the rhythm would be different. Israel has essentially two seasons—the rainy season and the dry season—each with its own beautiful flowers and shrubs. And, if we were in Israel right now, even in the midst of war, Friday afternoons would still find people bustling to prepare for Shabbat, buying flowers to adorn the Shabbat table. Old or young, rich or poor, religious or secular, everyone buys bunches of flowers from street-corner vendors and wishes one another “Shabbat Shalom.”
We are approaching the holiday of Shavuot, the festival of first fruits, when it is customary for children to wear crowns of flowers. Many families decorate their homes with greenery and blossoms in honor of the holiday.
The Hebrew name Shoshana—meaning rose or lily—is a common and beloved name, and flowers appear throughout Jewish tradition. They are mentioned in the Bible along with the Seven Species. While we do not typically bring flowers to a funeral, they often adorn the bimah in synagogue. Fragrant spices, sometimes floral, are used in the Havdalah ceremony at the close of Shabbat. There is even a holiday devoted to trees—Tu B’Shvat. And we recite a blessing when we smell a sweet fragrance.
In the Bible, especially in the Song of Songs, flowers and scents appear again and again:
“My beloved has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to feed in the gardens and to gather lilies.”
(Song of Songs 6:2)
Flowers are also common motifs in Jewish art, ancient and modern. Many ketubot (marriage contracts) feature floral borders. The poles of the huppah are often decorated with flowers, as are the interiors of the sukkah. There are countless examples of how deeply flowers are woven into Jewish life.
Judaism teaches the concept of Hiddur Mitzvah—beautifying a mitzvah, making it even more special. Certainly, bringing flowers and plants into our homes, our synagogues, and our celebrations is a beautiful way to elevate our mitzvot and infuse them with joy.
