Jewish community garden offers space to celebrate faith and food in Vancouver

Dozens of volunteers from Vancouver's Jewish community are ready to see the fruits (and veggies) of their labour this summer.

The rooftop garden, located next to the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on West 28th Avenue, opened to visitors for the first time Sunday during the final days of Jewish Heritage Month.

It's the realization of a dream for members of the congregation who, in partnership with Jewish Family Services (JFS) and the Jewish elementary school Vancouver Talmud Torah, have spent five years prepping the 900-square-metre space to grow food relevant to Jewish rituals that can also support community members in need.

"A lot of the food grown here will go directly to the Jewish food bank," said Rabbi Jonathan Infeld.

The Jewish food bank program serves over 1,600 Jewish and non-Jewish vulnerable people, according to JFS.

WATCH | Take a tour of the new rooftop Jewish community garden:

Organizers created the garden not only to grow food but also to grow and strengthen connections among people in the local Jewish community.

According to the JFS, it is the first community rooftop garden in the city and is on land provided by the Diamond Foundation, which finances Birthright Israel trips for young Jewish people.

The garden includes a covered gathering space for large groups and a classroom where kids can learn about food sustainability, as well as an orchard, grapevines and copious amounts of herbs and veggies in 20 raised beds.

Infeld said much of what is planted was done purposely because of its traditional role in Jewish holidays or dishes.

For example, it is customary for a blessing to be made over wine or grape juice at the beginning of every Jewish holiday and every Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, that takes place from sunset on Friday to sunset Saturday.

On Saturday evening, the closing ritual is known as Havdalah and includes blessing a cup of wine and smelling sweet spices.

"Hopefully, some of the spices we have grown here will be used for Havdalah ceremonies across the Lower Mainland," said Infeld.

Apple trees have also been planted in the hope that they are ready by mid-September for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year when it is customary to eat apples and honey.

Infeld said the original plan was just to have a couple of planters of veggies to make soup for the Jewish food bank, but over time, the project's scope grew.

'Before we knew it, we had created this incredibly beautiful and massive Jewish community garden that not only provides food to those with food insecurity, but also teaches our children, and the families connected to, about food security," he said.

Ilana Labow, the garden's project manager, said the organizations behind the garden wanted a space to offer their community that was more than just planters and garden beds. She is looking forward to welcoming people to yoga classes or sing-a-long sessions in the orchard and kids to the classroom space to learn about seeds and seasons.

"There was thought around the kinds of programs to be offered in this space, and then it was designed to host those," said Labow.

"I anticipate thousands of people will come through this space even this growing season," she said.