Jewish Beekeepers Sweeten Rosh Hashanah, New Year Holiday · beekeepers are called. A worldwide,...

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JewishBeekeepersSweetenRosh

Hashanah,NewYearHoliday

Don'tmissthehoneycakerecipeattheend.

Posted: 09/13/2015 08:18 AM EDT

(RNS)SabrinaMalachacknowledgesthatsheoncefeltsome“Jewishguilt”abouther

honeybees.

“Arewestealingfromthem?”shehadaskedherself.“They’vedoneallthiswork.Theynever

stop,andnowwe’retakingalltheirhoney.”

ButasshelookstowardtheJewishNewYear,whichbeginsSundayevening(Sept.13),the

Jewishbeekeepersharesthatsheeventuallylearnedtheoppositelessonaboutbeesandhoney,

agastronomicsymboloftheholiday.

“Beesteachthatnatureisgenerousandabundant,”saidMalach,whoworksatShoresh,a

CanadiannonprofitthatlinksenvironmentalismtoJewishpractice.

“It’sthroughpollinationthatIseethespiritualityofbeekeeping,”shesaid.Theyareaspecies

thathelpsotherspeciesthriveandsurvive.”

ThelessonsofthehiveareallthemorecrucialtolearnthisNewYear,sayJewishapiarists,as

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COURTESY OF RISA ALYSON COOPER

Sabrina Malach observes her bees at Bela Farm, run by Shoresh, a Canadian Jewish environmental group.

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Edition: US

beekeepersarecalled.Aworldwide,decade­longcollapseofhoneybeehivescontinues,and

beesmaybeabellwetherspeciesoftheconsequencesofenvironmentaldegradation.

Beekeeping,formany,isbothanecologicalandreligiousmission.

Shoresh’ssixhealthyhives,tendedonafarmaboutanhour’sdrivefromthegroup’sToronto

headquarters,thisyearwillproducemorethan40gallons,or1,000jarsofhoneyintimefor

RoshHashanah,theHebrewnamefortheholiday.

OnRoshHashanah,“theheadoftheyear,”Jewstheworldoverwilleatapplesdippedin

honeyandwisheachothernotjustahappy,buta“sweet”newyear.IntheTorah,orHebrew

Bible,thePromisedLandisknownas“thelandofmilkandhoney.”FordessertatRosh

Hashanahdinner,Jewishfamiliesbakehoneycake(recipebelow).

Andthoughnooneiskeepingtabs,theideathatRoshHashanahhoneyshouldcomenotfrom

thesupermarket,butfromafellowJewwhohastakenupbeekeepingasaspiritualhobby,

seemstobespreading.It’spartofaJewishback­to­the­farmmovement,saidCalifornia

beekeeperAlisaGoldberg,anditstretchesfromherSanJosebackyardtotherooftopsof

Brooklyn.

“EatinghoneyonRoshHashanahcanseemevensweeterwhenitcomesfromyourownhive,

orthatofaneighbororfriend,”saidGoldberginanemailfromIsrael,wheresheisspending

theholiday.Herhusband,HaroldGoldberg,hasinspiredseveralneighborstoestablishhivesof

theirown,andthisyearfiveJewishfamiliesjoinedtogetherforapre­RoshHashanahhoney

extractionproject.

“Wedon’tsellthehoney,buttrytoshareitasgenerouslyaswecan,”hesaid.

AvrahamLaber,anOrthodoxrabbiandbeekeeperwholearnedthecraftfromhisneighborin

Troy,N.Y.,10yearsago,nowuseshishobbytoteachbothadultsandchildrenabouttaking

responsibilityfortheircommunitiesandtheplanet.

Honeybees—whichpollinateplantsastheynourishthemselves,andwhichformharmonious

hiveswhereeachinsectcontributestothewelfareofeachother—reflectJewishteachingson

lifeandthedivine,Jewishbeekeeperssay.

COURTESY OF ANDREA SHUGAR

Bela Farm honey harvest. Photo courtesy of Andrea Shugar

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“Whatweseeintheserviceofhoneybeesistheamazinglessonthateveryonecanbebotha

giverandreceiver,”saidLaber,oftheChabadmovement.

Takethetreesthatneedthebeestopollinatetheirflowersbeforetheycanbearfruit.“God

createdthemthattheydon’tjusthavetobegforhelp,”hesaid.“Theycanoffersomethingin

exchange—theirnectar—togetwhattheyneed.”

Ofcoursehoneybeesarenotgettingwhattheyneed.Scientistsinthepastdecadehave

documentedtheglobaldemiseofthespecies:Eachyearaboutathirdofhivescollapse.

Theproblem,knownascolonycollapsedisorder,terrifiesfarmersandenvironmentalistswho

understandthathoneybeesarekeytothesurvivalofahostofcrops.Anumberofculpritsare

thoughttohavecontributedtothemassbeedeaths.Amongthem:pesticides,amite,harsher

weatherandthedecliningdiversityofpollen­producingwildflowers.

RabbiFredScherlinderDobb,oftheCoalitionontheEnvironmentandJewishLife,doesnot

keepbees,butseesthemassymbolsofnature’sintricacy,celebratedonthebirthdayofthe

EartheachRoshHashanah.

HenotesthatGodintheTorahpronouncespartsofhiscreation“good,”butonlyproclaimsit

“verygood”afterhesurveys“all”thathecreated,“theinterconnectedwhole.”

“Thatistheweboflife,andbecausebeestouchsomanystrandsofthatwebwithinalocal

ecosystem,weneedtohearthesilentcryoftheabsentbees,”saidScherlinderDobb.

Hecalleditanecologicalandtheologicalwarning.

“Witheveryhivethatcollapsesweareseeinghumanityplacingitsfootprintdirectlyoverthe

divinesignatureofcreation.”

HONEYCAKE

(Serves10­12)

3­1∕2cupsall­purposeflour

1tablespoonbakingpowder

COURTESY OF LISA BORDEN

Bee keepers tend to the bees at Bela Farm. Photo courtesy of Lisa Borden

1teaspoonbakingsoda

1∕2teaspoonsalt

4teaspoonscinnamon

1∕2teaspoongingerpowder

1∕2teaspoonallspice

1∕8teaspoonnutmeg

1cupvegetableoil

1cuporangeblossom,cloverorTupelohoney

1cupsugar

1∕2cupbrownsugar

2largeeggs

1teaspoonvanillaextract

1cupwarmcoffeeorstrongbrewedtea

3∕4cuporangejuice(notfromconcentrate)

1∕2teaspoonorangezest

1∕2cupslicedtoastedalmonds

Powderedsugarfordusting

1.Preheattheovento350degrees,andevenlygreaseaBundtpanwithbutter,vegetableoilor

cookingspray.Inalargebowl,whisktogethertheflour,bakingpowder,bakingsoda,saltand

spices.

2.Makeawellinthecenterandaddtheoil,honey,bothsugars,eggs,vanilla,coffee,orange

juiceandzest.Usingawhiskoranelectricmixersettolowspeed,combinetheingredientsto

makeastiffbatter.

3.Spoonbatterintopreparedpan.Placethepanonabakingsheet,andbakeuntilthecake

springsbackwhenyoutouchitinthecenter,about1hour.(Becarefulnottooverbake.)Let

cakestandfor15minutesbeforeremovingitfromthepan.Theninvertontoawireracktocool

beforeslicing.Servetoppedwithalmondsanddustedwithpowderedsugar,ifdesired.

Source:TheJewishDailyForward’sblog,“TheJewandtheCarrot”

AlsoonHuffPost:

1 of 13 RoshHashanahRecipes

Flickr:grongar

MORE:Judaism,NewYear,Honey,Beekeeping,RoshHashanah,Recipe

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1 Comment Sort by

Lorne Newman · Tel Aviv, IsraelI bought my honey from a Druse woman at the Druse village of Majdal Shams in theGolan Heights. Terrific quality!

Like · Reply · 1 · Sep 14, 2015 10:36am

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