How to Create Paradise

Julie Zupan taught this year's Parenting Through a Jewish Lens class in Sharon. Julie is the Jewish Family Educator for the Early Learning Centers of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Boston (JCCGB) and lives in Sharon with her husband, Rabbi Joseph Meszler, and their two school-age children.

A Hasidic Rebbe taught:

The trees in the Garden of Eden were planted from seeds of people's good deeds; each of us can create our own paradise through our actions.

This month, especially after having celebrated Tu B'shevat, the Jewish Birthday for Trees, we might think of each of our actions as a seed we are planting. Even the smallest kindness has the potential to grow to be a mighty tree.

What do you hope will grow from the "seeds" you plant this month?

How can we nurture and nourish what we have already planted?