Events

Arrange a Torah Flora Event
Upcoming Events
Recent Programs
Sample Speaking Topics

Arrange a Torah Flora Event

If you are considering a Torah Flora program, I encourage you to contact me (jon@torahflora.org) to discuss possible formats and topics. I would be happy to collaborate with you to come up with a format and topics that are customized for your audience. I invite you to read the Reviews by sponsors and attendees of past Torah Flora events.

I’ve listed some sample topics following the list of events below. The list of possible formats and topics for a Torah Flora program is flexible and always changing. Possibilities that may be suitable for your group include Zoom lectures, botanical garden tours, PowerPoint lectures, hands-on student activities, a scholar-in-residence program, ancient food and drink tasting or dinner, or a presentation followed by a food tasting.

Upcoming Events

Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 8 PM
Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer, the Barroom Brawl and Culture War that Shaped Jewish History
Young Israel of Deerfield Beach, 202 Century Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL. Copies of Fruits of Freedom, the Torah Flora Hagadah will be available for purchase ($35, cash only, please).

Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025 10:30 AM-12:00 PM
Guided Torah Flora walking tour of Flamingo Gardens
3750 S. Flamingo Rd., Davie, FL sponsored by Young Israel of Hollywood-Ft. Lauderdale. We have obtained a discounted admission fee of $18 per person. Click here to reserve a place. Copies of Fruits of Freedom, the Torah Flora Hagadah will be available for purchase ($35, cash only, please).

Currently Planned Speaking Tours
Spring 2025  Israel
Summer 2025 New England and Quebec
September 2025 Israel
Details will be posted here soon. E-mail me to add your community to the itinerary!

Bring Torah Flora to Your Community!
I am always planning new speaking tours. If you would like to arrange a Torah Flora event, please contact me at jon@torahflora.org. Information about future events will be listed on this page as it becomes available.

To receive e-mail announcements of upcoming Torah Flora events and new articles, please e-mail me at jon@torahflora.org. The Torah Flora e-mail list is strictly confidential and involves no ads, spam, or sharing of e-mail addresses.

Recent Programs

Thurs., Nov. 14
Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer: The Barroom Brawl and Culture War That Shaped Jewish History
Harvard University Hillel
Cambridge, MA. Illustrated lecture with refreshments.

Fri., Nov. 15-Sat., Nov. 16
Scholar in Residence (3 lectures)
Congregation Shaarei Tefillah
Newton, MA.
Friday night, Nov. 15
Dinner and lecture: Lessons From the Olive Tree for Families, Jewish Unity and the Social Security System.
Sat., Nov. 16 Two short lectures:
• Following 9:00 AM services: Words Over Wine: The Neurobiology of Kiddush
• At Seudah Shlishit following Mincha: Some Puzzles and Solutions in Torah and Science

Sun., Oct. 20, 2024
Brooklyn Botanical Garden
Guided Torah Flora walking tour

Friday, Sept. 20, 2024
Biblical Botany Walking Tour (in English)
Jerusalem Botanical Garden
1 Rechov Yehudah Borla, Jerusalem

Thurs., July 18, 2024
Lessons from the Olive Tree for Families, Jewish Unity, and the Social Security System
Congregation Knesset Israel, Pittsfield, MA
Illustrated lecture sponsored by Jewish Federation of the Berkshires.

Sun., July 14, 2024 10 AM
Biblical Botany Walking Tour
Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morristown, NJ.

Apr. 22-30, 2024
Daily Torah Flora Programs
For guests of the Passover program at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center
116 Johnson Rd., Falls Village, CT

Monday, April 8, 2024
Pomegranate Trees, Barbecue Physics and a Beer Goddess: Insights into Passover from the History of Jewish Food and Agriculture
Pre-Passover Zoom lecture sponsored by Temple Emanuel of Newton, MA. Click here to see a video recording of this event.

Sunday, April 7, 2024
Pomegranate Physics and the Theology of Table Settings: Seder Insights From the History of Jewish Food and Agriculture
Pre-Passover Zoom lecture sponsored by Young Israel of Southfield, MI.

Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 8 PM
Lessons From the Olive Tree for Families, Jewish Unity, and the Social Security System
Young Israel of Deerfield Beach, 202 Century Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL

Thurs., July 6, 2023
Friends and Enemies: Some Puzzles and Solutions in Torah and Science
Congregation Knesset Israel
16 Colt Rd., Pittsfield, MA
PowerPoint lecture sponsored by Jewish Federation of the Berkshires.

Thursday, June 29, 2023
Walking tour of Rodef Shalom Biblical Garden
Sponsored by Congregation Rodef Shalom, 4905 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA.

Sunday, June 25, 2023
Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer, The Barroom Brawl and Culture War that Shaped Jewish History
Torah Flora brunch at Congregation Brith Sholom, 1190 W. Macada Road, Bethlehem, PA.

Thursday, May 25-Sunday, May 28, 2023
Daily Torah Flora Programs
For guests of the Shavuot program at the Pearlstone Center in Reisterstown, MD.

Wed., Apr. 5-Thurs., Apr. 13
Daily Torah Flora Programs for Passover Guests at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center
116 Johnson Rd., Falls Village, CT.

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023
Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer: The Culture War and Barroom Brawl That Shaped Jewish History
Torah Flora Lunch & Learn Program
Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center, N. Miami Beach, FL. Co-sponsored by MARJCC and Chabad Chayil-Highland Lakes Jewish Center.

Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023
Friends and Enemies: Some Puzzles and Solutions in Torah and Science
Torah Flora Lunch & Learn Program
Boca Raton Synagogue, Boca Raton, FL

Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023 10:30 AM
Torah Flora Walking Tour
Mounts Botanical Garden, W. Palm Beach, FL

Sunday, July 3, 2022
US Botanic Garden and Conservatory, Washington, DC
Biblical botany walking tour

Thursday, June 30, 2022
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, VA
Biblical botany walking tour

Sunday, June 26, 2022
Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Garden,  Baltimore, MD
Biblical botany walking tour

Thurs., June 23, 2022
Torah Flora Dinner Program
Har Zion Temple, Penn Valley, PA
Multi-course dinner with wine and beer pairings and Torah Flora narration.

Monday, June 20, 2022
Torah Flora Walking Tour and Lunch & Learn
Young Israel of Fort Lee, Fort Lee, NJ

Friday, June 3-Monday, June 6, 2022
Daily Torah Flora Programs
For guests of the Shavuot program at the Pearlstone Center in Reisterstown, MD.

Monday, May 23, 2022
Irrigation and Idolatry: Lessons for Emunah from Sefirat HaOmer and the Ecology of Egypt and Israel
Zoom Lecture

May 15, 2022
The Agricultural Roots of Jewish Faith: Sefirat HaOmer and the Ecology of Egypt and Israel
Zoom presentation sponsored by the Sisterhood of Congregation Shearith Israel (New York).

Fri., Apr. 15 – Sun., Apr. 24, 2022
Daily Torah Flora Passover Presentations
For guests of the Passover program at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, 116 Johnson Rd., Falls Village, CT.

Sun., Apr. 10, 2022
Torah Flora Walking Tour, Teaneck, NJ
Sponsored by Congregation Lev LeDaas.

Thurs., April 7, 2022
Zoom Lecture on Biblical and Talmudic Ethnobotany
Sponsored by Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morristown, NJ. Click here and scroll down to April 7, 2022 for a video recording of this event.

Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Seder Gems From Fruits of Freedom, the Torah Flora Hagadah
Zoom lecture sponsored by Young Israel of Hollywood-Ft.Lauderdale, FL.

Mon., Feb. 21, 2022
Torah Flora Walking Tour
LA County Arboretum and Botanical Garden, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA.

Tues., Feb. 22, 2022
Torah Flora Walking Tour of Coastal Roots Farm
Sponsored by Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Congregation Beth Israel, and Coastal Roots Farm, 441 Saxony Rd., Encinitas, CA.

Thurs., Feb. 10, 2022
Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer: The Barroom Brawl and Culture War that Shaped Jewish History
Zoom lecture sponsored by Valley Bet Midrash, Phoenix, AZ. Click here to view video recording.

Sun., Jan. 16, 2022
On-Line Pre-Tu b’Shvat Lecture on Trees in Jewish Tradition
Zoom Event sponsored by IMLI Virtual Adult Jewish Winter Camp.

Thurs., Nov. 11, 2021
How the discoveries of Isaac Newton and Ferdinand Magellan changed the halachic definitions of up and down, and some other puzzles and solutions in science and Torah
Zoom lecture sponsored by Valley Bet Midrash, Phoenix, AZ. Click here to view video recording.

Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021
Torah Flora Neighborhood Walk
Sponsored by Congregation Netivot Shalom, Teaneck, NJ.

Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021
Torah Flora Walking Tour
Farfields Farm, Afton, VA.

Sunday, July 11, 2021
Biblical Botany Neighborhood Walk
Teaneck, NJ

Mar. 11, 2021
Zoom narration of wine tasting and lecture on symbolism of wine and its significance in Jewish history, sponsored by Young Israel of Century City, Los Angeles.

Zoom Events Introducing Fruits of Freedom, the Torah Flora Hagadah!

Sunday, Mar. 21, 2021
Zoom lecture sponsored by Temple Emanuel of Newton, MA. Click here to view a recording of this class.

Monday, Mar. 15, 2021
Zoom lecture sponsored by Jewish Federation of the Berkshires.

Thursday, Mar. 11, 2021
Zoom lecture sponsored by Congregation Ansche Chesed, New York City. Click here to view a recording of this class.

Wednesday, Mar. 10, 2021
Zoom lecture sponsored by Temple Sinai of Cranston, RI.

Monday, Mar. 8, 2021
Zoom lecture sponsored by Westwood Kehilla of Los Angeles.

Sunday, Mar. 7, 2021
Zoom lecture sponsored by Temple Sholom of Chicago.

Tuesday, Mar. 2, 2021
Zoom Lecture sponsored by Congregation Rinat Israel, Teaneck, NJ. A recording of this Zoom lecture is posted here.

Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021
Zoom Book Launch Celebration

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020
Citron Detectives, Nomadic Acacias, and Pomegranate Physics: Some Puzzles and Solutions in Biblical Ethnobotany
Zoom lecture sponsored by the Botanical Garden of the University of California at Berkeley.

Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020
Lessons and Inspiration for Faith and Resilience from Biblical Flora
This Zoom lecture was part of an annual event for the benefit of NechamaComfort, an organization that provides counseling and support to people who have suffered the loss of an infant or pregnancy.

Sunday, Oct 6, 2019
Biblical and Talmudic botany walking tour
Frelinghuysen Arboretum, 353 East Hanover Ave., Morristown, NJ

Thursday, August 15, 2019
Guidance From the Plant Kingdom in Preparing for the High Holidays
Illustrated lecture at Congregation Knesset Israel, Pittsfield, MA. Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires

Friday, August 16 and Saturday, August 17, 2019
Two lectures at Hazon Food Conference (Aug. 14-18)
Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, 116 Johnson Rd., Falls Village, CT: “The Hazards of Natural Religion: The First Fruits, the Seven Species, Irrigation, and Idol Worship” and “Lessons from the Olive Tree for Families, Jewish Unity, and the Social Security System”

Sunday, July 14, 2019
Biblical and Talmudic botany walking tour
Montreal Botanical Garden, 4101, rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, Québec, H1X 2B2.

Sunday, June 2, 2019
Biblical and Talmudic botany walking tour
Temple Emanuel, Newton, MA

Shavuot Weekend Friday, June 7 – Monday, June 10, 2019
Lecture series for patrons of FlakeyJakePresents.com Shavuot program
Mountain Laurel Resort and Spa, White Haven, PA.

Friday, April 19-Saturday, April 27, 2019
Daily Torah Flora Passover Lectures
Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT.

Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer: The Barroom Brawl and Culture War that Shaped Jewish History
Illustrated lecture followed by related refreshments (kosher for Passover wine tasting) for patrons of Mendy Vim’s Holidays Passover program at the Heritage Hotel and Conference Center, 522 Heritage Rd., Southbury, CT.

Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019
Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer: The Barroom Brawl and Culture War that Shaped Jewish History
Illustrated lecture with related refreshments at the KOH Library and Cultural Center, Sacramento, CA. Presented by the Organic Yeshiva, and co-sponsored by Congregation Beth Shalom, Kenesset Israel Torah Center and the KOH Library and Cultural Center

Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019
Ethnobotanical Insights into Biblical Life and Language
Lecture at University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley

Monday, Feb. 18, 2019
Two Biblical and Talmudic Botany Walking Tours
University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley

Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018
Address to 24th annual dinner of Rachel’s Children Reclamation Foundation at Manhattan Beach Jewish Center, Brooklyn, NY

Sunday, Sept 16, 2018
Torah Flora walking tour of the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morristown, NJ

Monday, August 20, 2018
Decoding the Bible for Modern Readers: The Mystery of the Arar
Illustrated lecture at Congregation Knesset Israel, Pittsfield, MA sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires

Friday, Aug. 3-Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018
Shabbat guest speaker at Hazon Food Conference, Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT

July 12-17, 2018
Speaking tour of southern California

Friday, May 18-Monday, May 21, 2018
Scholar-in-Residence (four lectures) at Flakey Jake Presents Shavuot program, Radisson Hotel, Piscataway, NJ.

April 3-7, 2018
Passover scholar-in-residence at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT.

April 2, 2018
Insights on the Meaning of Pesach from Barbecue Physics, Peter Rabbit, and the History of Beer
Lecture for guests of the Sharmel Caterers Passover program at the Hilton Doubletree Somerset Hotel & Conference Center, Somerset, NJ.

August 18-20, 2017 Speaking Tour of Toronto:
Friday, August 18
Short Torah Flora talk during Shabbat services at Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Congregation (BAYT), 613 Clark Ave. West, Thornhill, ON.
Sunday, August 20, 2017 Two events:
10:30 AM Guided Torah Flora walking tour of the Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence Avenue East, Toronto, ON.
8:00 PM Torah and Jewish History Through Food and Drink
Illustrated lecture with related refreshments at Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Congregation (BAYT), 613 Clark Ave. West, Thornhill, ON.

Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017
Fruits and Flowers, Table Settings, and the Colors of Wine: From Everyday Objects to Religious Symbols.
Lunch and Learn PowerPoint lecture at Greenwich Jewish Community Center, Greenwich, CT.

July 16-24, 2017
Speaking tour of Los Angeles area

  • Tuesday, July 18, 12:00 PM Eating and Drinking our way Through Torah and Jewish History
    Lunch and Learn at Shaarei Tefila Congregation, Los Angeles.
  • Shabbat, July 21-22 Scholar in Residence at Westwood Kehilla, Los Angeles. Three narrated Torah Flora meals..Shabbat Dinner, July 21 Milk and Honey: Blessing or Curse? Theology, Resilience, and the Color of Wine

    Shabbat Lunch, July 22 Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer—The Barroom Brawl and Culture War that Shaped Jewish History

    Seudah Shlishit, July 22 Olives & Social Security; Edible Lilies—Egyptian god, Israelite gourmet export, and Dutch colonial business efficiency

Monday, July 3, 2017
Fruits and flowers, table settings, and the colors of wine—From everyday objects to religious symbols
Illustrated lecture at Congregation Knesset Israel, 16 Colt Rd., Pittsfield, MA sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires.

Thursday, June 1, 2017
Neighborhood Torah Flora walking tour for children in grades 1-5 and their parents
Congregation Beth Aaron, Teaneck, NJ.

Sunday, April 30, 2017 1:00 PM
Biblical and Talmudic botany walking tour of the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morristown, NJ.

Flakey Jake Presents Passover 2017
Daily Torah Flora programs at Hudson Valley Resort, Kerhonkson, NY

Speaking Tour of Connecticut and Massachusetts

  • Thursday, July 14, 2016
    Lunch and Learn at Greenwich Jewish Community Center, One Holly Hill Lane, Greenwich, CT 06830. This illustrated lecture focused on the Biblical, Talmudic, and Jewish historical significance of the foods served.
  • Monday, July 18-Tuesday, July 19, 2016
    Lecture and two Biblical botany garden tours at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT.
  • Monday, July 18, 2016
    Some Puzzles and Solutions in Science and Torah, illustrated lecture at Congregation Knesset Israel, 16 Colt Rd., Pittsfield, MA 01201

Speaking Tour of Santa Fe, NM and San Francisco, CA

  • Friday, June 24, 2016. Botany, Prophecy, and Theology: Jeremiah and the Mystery of the Arar. Dinner and lecture following Shabbat services at Kol BeRamah Torah Learning Center, 1409 Luisa St., Santa Fe, NM.
  • Saturday, June 25, 2016. Noah’s Wine vs.Pharaoh’s Beer: The Barroom Brawl that Shaped Jewish History. Kiddush and lunch lecture following Shabbat services at Kol BeRamah Torah Learning Center, 1409 Luisa St., Santa Fe, NM.
  • Sunday, June 26, 2016. Biblical and Talmudic botany walking tour of Santa Fe Botanical Garden, 715 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe, NM.
  • Thursday, June 30, 2016. 7-8:30 PM. Noah’s Wine vs.Pharaoh’s Beer: The Barroom Brawl that Shaped Jewish History. Illustrated lecture with beer, wine, and mead tasting and Biblical and Jewish-historical snacks at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, 3200 California St., San Francisco, CA.

Sunday, June 19, 2016
Biblical and Talmudic botany walking tour of Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morristown, NJ.

April 25-30, 2016 Passover at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
Events included lectures and a Biblical and Talmudic botany tour of the Isabella Freedman greenhouses and garden.

Saturday, December 5, 2015
Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer: The Culture War that Shaped Jewish History
Illustrated lecture with related refreshments (wine, beer, and desserts) at Congregation Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, NJ.

Saturday, October 24, 2015
Narrated Torah Flora kiddush-luncheon with beer and wine tasting at Congregation Kadimah-Toras Moshe, Brighton, MA

August 1-4, 2015
Speaking tour of San Francisco Bay area

  • Saturday, August 1
    Lessons From the Olive Tree for Families, Jewish Unity, and the Social Security System
    Lecture at Congregation Am Echad, San Jose
  • Sunday, August 2
    Biblical and Talmudic botany walking tour of San Francisco Botanical Garden.
  • Tuesday, August 4
    Spices: Sacraments, Medicines, and Symbols. Lecture with related refreshments at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco.

Sunday, July 19, 2015
Two Biblical and Talmudic botany walking tours of Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morristown, NJ

July 12-15, 2015
Adult Summer Camp at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
Three lectures and a Biblical and Talmudic botany tour of the Isabella Freedman gardens.

Sun. June 28, 2015
Two Biblical and Talmudic botany tours of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY

Sun., June 21, 2015, 2:00 PM
Biblical and Talmudic botany tour of the New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY

Sat., May 30, 2015
Biblical and Talmudic botany walk, Teaneck, NJ

April 6-11, 2015 Passover at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
Events include five lectures and a Biblical and Talmudic botany tour of the Isabella Freedman greenhouses and garden.

Feb. 16-19, 2015 Speaking Tour of Southeast Florida

  • Tues., Feb. 17, 8 PM
    Pomegranate trees, barbecue physics, and bread worship: Insights into Pesach and the Exodus from agriculture and food history
    Lecture at Young Israel of Hollywood-Ft. Lauderdale
  • Wed., Feb. 18, 2:30 PM
    Torah flora tour of Mounts Botanical Garden    , W. Palm Beach. Presented by the New Synagogue of Palm Beach, generously sponsored by the Morty and Gloria Wolosoff Foundation.
  • Thurs., Feb. 19, 7 PM
    “Noah’s wine vs. Pharaoh’s beer: The barroom brawl and culture war that shaped Jewish history”
    Lecture and related refreshments at Congregation Torah Ohr, Boca Raton

Tues., Feb. 3, 2015 7:30 PM
Seder Tu b’Shvat: The Science and Kabbalah of Tu b’Shvat
Valley Chabad, Woodcliff Lake, NJ

Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 4 PM
Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer: The Barroom Brawl and Culture War that Shaped Jewish History
Lecture and related refreshments at The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills, Flushing, NY. Highlights included:

  • Columbus’s gifts to the Jews: Ample feasts for the Persians, new beers for the Germans, easier Passovers and a halachic Thanksgiving problem for American Ashkenazim
  • The real maror: What’s wrong with horseradish and why it’s not supposed to blow your head off
  • How a Jewish exile showed Americans that tomatoes are not poisonous, paving the way for pizza and ketchup
  • Why it matters that Joseph’s Pharaoh drank wine, but Moses’s drank beer.
  • The critical importance of beer to the origin of civilization
  • Why Israel became a Roman gourmet destination

Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014 10:30 AM and 2 PM
Torah Flora walking tour of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Highlights included:

  • King David’s pomegranate and the “Divine right” of European kings.
  • The Jewish roots of Italian eggplant and Greek lemon sauce
  • The Jewish doctor who rescued tomatoes from witchcraft for pizza and ketchup
  • The “etrog problem”: How a conflict between science and Torah began and is coming to an end.
  • Why civilization may have begun as a search for beer.
  • How the apple tree became a symbol of religious faith.

Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014
Torah Flora walking tour of the New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY

Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014
Torah Flora walking tour of Teaneck, NJ

August 4-13, 2014
Speaking tour of Northern California and New Mexico

  • Monday, Aug. 4
    Biblical & Talmudic botany walking tour of ABQ BioPark Botanical Garden, Albuquerque, NM
  • Tuesday, Aug. 5
    Biblical & Talmudic botany walking tour of Santa Fe Botanical Garden, Santa Fe, NM
  • Saturday, Aug. 9
    Scholar-in-Residence (three lectures) at Congregation Beth Israel, Berkeley, CA.
    * Some Puzzles, Curiosities, and Solutions in Nature, Science, and Torah
    * Civil Wars, the Liberal Arts, and the Social Security System: Lessons from the Olive Tree
    * Parshat Ekev on Irrigation and Idol Worship
  • Sunday, Aug. 10
    Biblical Botany Brunch Lecture at Congregation Beth Israel Judea, San Francisco
  • Monday, Aug. 11 (Tu b’Av)
    Torah Flora walking tour of the Urban Adamah farm plots, Berkeley, CA
  • Tuesday, Aug. 12
    Biblical & Talmudic botany walking tour of the San Francisco Botanical Garden, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
  • Tuesday, Aug. 12
    Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer: The Barroom Brawl and Culture War that Shaped Jewish History. Lecture and related refreshments at Peninsula Sinai Congregation, Foster City, CA

July 7-12, 2014
Lecture Series at Senior Summer Camp, Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT

July 14, 2014
Apples, Milk, and Honey: Moses’s Blessing, Isaiah’s Curse, and the R-rated Story of the Bay Leaf and the Rhododendron
Illustrated lecture at Congregation Knesset Israel, Pittsfield, MA. Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires.

June 29, 2014, Biblical and Talmudic botany tour of the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morristown, NJ
This program was eligible for 2.0 Rutgers Master Gardener CEU’s.

April 17-22, 2014 Passover at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
Events included two lectures, a narrated Torah Flora dinner, a Biblical and Talmudic botany tour of the Isabella Freedman greenhouses, and a new event: A narrated Shabbat lunch based on Shir HaShirim (Solomon’s Song of Songs), which was read in the synagogue that morning.

February 2014
Speaking Tour of Southeast Florida

  • February 18 “Noah’s Wine versus Pharaoh’s Beer: The Barroom Brawl and Culture War that shaped Jewish History” Lecture with food and drinks at Young Israel of Hollywood-Ft. Lauderdale.
  • February 19 Guided Biblical and Talmudic botany tour of Mounts Botanical Garden, West Palm Beach.
  • February 19 “Eggplant & pizza, Modigliani & limoncello. Italian? No, Jewish!”
    Lecture on the history of the Jews of Italy, followed by tasting of kosher Italian wines, beers, and liqueurs at Boca Raton Synagogue, Boca Raton.
  • February 20 “Achashverosh: Bumbling king or agricultural pest insect?”
    Lecture at Temple Beit HaYam, Stuart.
  • February 22 ‘Land of milk and honey,’ a blessing for Moses and a curse for the later prophets” Lecture at Congregation Kol Ami, Boca Raton.

December 22-25, 2013
Speaking tour of the San Francisco Bay area

Podcast of radio interview broadcast Dec. 19, 2013 on KZCT 89.5 FM, Vallejo, CA
Article in the J Weekly, the San Francisco Bay area Jewish newspaper, Dec. 19, 2013

Sunday, Dec. 22
Exploring Torah and Jewish History through food and drink
Narrated dinner with beer and wine pairings at Jewish Community Center of Silicon Valley, Los Gatos CA.

Wednesday, Dec. 25
Biblical and Talmudic botany tour of the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park

Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013
Lecture at Yeshiva Ketana of Queens, New York

Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013 (Chol HaMoed Sukkot)
Two Biblical walking tours of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Wednesday, July 30 Lecture at the OU Israel Center, 22 Rechov Keren HaYesod, Jerusalem.
Friends and Enemies: Some Puzzles and Solutions in Torah and Science

Monday, July 22 “Passover and Peter Rabbit, Olive trees and Social Security:
How insights from nature, science, and agriculture can help us understand and appreciate the Torah”
Congregation Knesset Israel, 16 Colt Road, Pittsfield, MA. Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires. Lunch followed by lecture

Monday, July 15-Saturday, July 20 Lecture Series at Senior Summer Camp at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT

  • Botany is Theology: Jeremiah and the Mystery of the Arar
  • Biblical and Talmudic botany tour of the Berkshire Botanical Garden
  • Narrated Shabbat Dinner: A tour of Torah and Jewish history through food and drink
  • Biblical and Talmudic botany tour of the Isabella Freedman vegetable garden and greenhouses

July 14, 2013
Torah Flora walk through the Freilinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown, NJ

March 28-April 2, 2013
Passover at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
Five lectures and a narrated dinner tour of Torah and Jewish history.

March 16, 2013
Insights into Pesach from Barbecue Physics and Peter Rabbit
Lecture at Congregation B’nai Jacob of Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY

February 18-23, 2013
Speaking Tour of Southeast Florida

  • Monday, Feb. 18, Boca Raton “Noah’s Wine vs. Pharaoh’s Beer: The Barroom Brawl and Culture War that Shaped Jewish History” Tasting and lecture on beer and wine in Torah at Boca Raton Synagogue
  • Tuesday, Feb. 19, Miami Beach “Passover Insights from Barbecue Physics and Botany” Lecture at Miami Beach Senior Adult Vacations, Days Inn
  • Tuesday, Feb. 19, Stuart “Lessons from the Olive Tree for Families, Jewish Unity, and the Social Security System” Lecture at Temple Beit HaYam
  • Wednesday, Feb. 20, Boca Raton “Botany, Prophecy, and Theology: Jeremiah and the Mystery of the Arar” Lunch and Learn at Boca Raton Synagogue
  • Wednesday, Feb. 20, Ft. Lauderdale “Lessons from the Olive Tree for Families, Jewish Unity, and the Social Security System” Lecture at Young Israel of Hollywood-Ft.Lauderdale
  • Saturday, Feb. 23, Boca Raton “Achashverosh: Bumbling King or Manipulative Tyrant? The Story of an Insect Named for an Ancient Persian King” Lecture at Boca Raton Synagogue

Friday, February 1, 2013
Shabbat Dinner: A Guided Tour of Torah and Jewish History Through Food and Drink
Congregation Shearith Israel (The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue)
70th St. at Central Park West, New York City

Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012
Guided tour of the New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY
Highlights included:

  • The real maror: What’s wrong with horseradish and why it’s not supposed to blow your head off
  • The meaning of a common spice plant that looks like a menorah
  • How a Jewish exile showed Americans that tomatoes are not poisonous, paving the way for pizza and ketchup
  • The critical importance of beer to the origin of civilization

Sunday, July 22, 2012
Guided tour of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Attended by 70 adults and children.

Friday, July 6-Thursday, July 12
Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
Three talks and guided tours of the Center’s Adamah fruit and vegetable plots and the Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, MA. The topics of my talks were:

  • The Hazards of Natural Religion: The First Fruits, the Seven Species,
    Irrigation, and Idol Worship
  • Milk and Honey, Apples and Wormwood: Lessons for the Three Weeks from
    Biblical Plant Metaphors
  • Puzzles, Curiosities, and Solutions in Torah, Nature, and Science:
    Noah’s Gopher Wood, the Etrog Problem, and Lessons from Mushrooms and Olive Trees

Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Guided tour of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Sponsored by the YM-YWHA of Union County, NJ.
Highlights included:

  • The vegetables that kept Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden
  • How Columbus made Passover food easier
  • Why Israel became a Roman gourmet destination
  • The Biblical fruit that crowned European kings

April 9-14, 2012
Passover at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
As part of the Center’s Passover program, I presented four talks:

  • Passover insights from beer, botany, and barbecue physics
  • Avoiding the hazards of natural religion: The seven species and the sefirah period
  • Botany, prophecy, and theology: Jeremiah and the mystery of the arar
  • Changing times, changing Torah? The cases of milk and honey, mushrooms, and astronomy

Sunday, March 18, 2012
Brunch-Lecture at the YM-YWHA of Union County, NJ
Matzah, maror, and lamb: Passover insights from science and food history
Highlights included:

  • Bread and beer: Pride of the slave drivers
  • The Talmud’s warning: Slavery grows like wild lettuce
  • The God who hates superstition mocks sheep and onion worship

Friday, March 16, 2012
Torah and Jewish history through food and beer:
Narrated Shabbat dinner and beer tasting at Congregation Shearith Israel (The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue), New York City

Monday, March 12, 2012
Insights into Passover from botany, food history, and barbecue physics
Illustrated lecture with light refreshments
East Midwood Jewish Center, Brooklyn, New York
Highlights included:

  • Peter Rabbit and what’s wrong with horseradish
  • Pomegranate anatomy explains the Paschal lamb sacrifice
  • Did civilization begin as a way to get a beer? Saying no to yeast worship

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012
Mushrooms and Blessings in Science and Torah
Beth Emet Elementary School, Cooper City, FL
Lecture-Discussion and food-preparation activity

Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012
Insights on the meaning of Passover from botany, pharmacology, and barbecue
physics
Temple Beit HaYam, Stuart, FL
Lecture and tasting of the original wild maror

Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012
Lessons From the Olive Tree for families, Jewish Unity, and the Social Security system
Miami Beach Senior Vacations at Days Inn, Miami Beach, FL
Lecture

Friday, February 24, 2012
Science and Torah: Friends and Enemies
Kol Ami Reconstructionist Synagogue, Boca Raton, FL
Lecture highlights included:

  • Barbecue physics, Peter Rabbit, and the meaning of Passover
  • What was the tree of knowledge?
  • Noah and Pharaoh: Was civilization just a way to get a beer?
  • Talmudic mushroom physiology, 1800 years ahead of academic biology

February 18, 2012
Botany, Prophecy, and Theology
Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Bronx, NY
Lecture

Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012
Brunch-Lecture at the YM-YWHA of Union County, NJ
Lessons from the olive Tree for families, Jewish unity,and the Social Security system
Highlights included:

  • The Chanukah story they DIDN’T tell you as a child
  • Why a nineteenth-century rabbi used botany to make sense of the Friday night prayers
  • The hidden tree and advice to adult children and parents in Psalm 92

December 8, 2011
Lunch & Learn at Congregation Shearith Israel (the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue) in New York
Lecture on “Lessons from the Olive Tree for Chanukah, Jewish Unity, and
the Social Security System”

August 17-18, 2011
Four Talks at the Chabad National Jewish Retreat

August 11-16, 2011
A Healthier Planet, A Healthier You: Two six-part program series at Block and Hexter Vacation Center in Poyntelle, Pennsylvania:

  • Series 1: Nutrition for a Healthy Retirement
  • Series 2: Environmentalism: Part of a full Jewish life?

July 31, 2011
Guided tour of The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, NY.
Highlights included:

  • Samples of the original maror
  • The “Etrog Problem”– How a conflict between science and Torah was created and solved
  • Why wine is important in Judaism but beer helped create civilization
  • Botany is Theology: Our understanding of Jeremiah’s theology depends on what plant we think he used as a metaphor for faith

Sunday, July 24, 2011
Biblical botany tour of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with sign language interpretation for the deaf and hearing-impaired and their families

Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Biblical botany tour of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for women and children

Torah Flora Weekend in the Berkshires, July 15-17, 2011
Three Events:

July 15, 2011
Slide Lecture and Lunch at Hevreh of the Southern Berkshires, sponsored by Jewish Federation of the Berkshires
Great Barrington, MA
Passover and Peter Rabbit, Olive trees and Social Security:
How Insights from Nature, Science, and Agriculture can Help us Understand and Appreciate the Torah

July 15-16, 2011
Shabbat at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT
(Part of the Center’s summer Senior Adult Program)

  • Friday night lecture on Nature and Torah
  • Shabbat afternoon Torah tour of the Retreat Center’s vegetable gardens

July 17, 2011
Biblical botany tour of The Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, MA.

  • How the Exile helped Jews teach Americans that tomatoes are edible.
  • Why wine is important in Judaism but beer is just something we don’t drink on Passover
  • How the onion family traces Jewish history from the Philistines and Romans through Dutch New Amsterdam to bagels and lox.

June 7-9, 2011 Shavuot
Lecture-demonstrations, all-night Shavuot learning, and Torah nature walk at Kutsher’s Country Club resort, Monticello, NY
The theme for the learning during Shavuot this year at Kutsher’s was “Halachic issues related to the state of Israel.” I spoke along with Rabbi Rafael Grossman (former president of the Rabbinical Council of America), Rabbi Yale Butler, and Meir Weingarten (Middle East affairs commentator and Israel tour operator). My speaking topics were:

  • When most Jews are Israeli: Halachot that are about to change
  • Beer and wine, pistachios and idol worship: The fruits of Eretz Israel in halachah and symbolism

The guided Torah nature walk by the lake was beautiful and as always, a very successful favorite of singles: After enjoying the tour, nearly all of them wandered off to talk in pairs!

April 21-26, 2011
Beer, Peter Rabbit, and Barbecue Physics: Insights into Pesach from nature and agriculture
A series of six daily presentations during Passover in the Poconos at Block and Hexter Vacation Center in Poyntelle, Pennsylvania.

September 28, 2010
Biblical botany tour of The Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Two tours of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Conservatory greenhouses, one intended primarily for families and children, and one for Jewish singles.
Highlights of the tour included:

  • A poisonous relative of tomatoes and potatoes, and the story of how a Jewish exile helped Thomas Jefferson overcome his fear of tomatoes
  • The tree that Noah probably used to build his ark (There is no such thing as a “gopher tree.”)
  • The forest fire and the history lesson hidden in the lulav and etrog
  • The secret of the olive tree that connects Chanukah and Tu B’Av
  • See for yourself why the rabbis decided that a banana is more like an onion than an apple

August 20-22, 2010
Lecture-demonstrations and nature walk at Kutsher’s Country Club resort, Monticello, NY
The Shabbat afternoon Torah nature walk was full of surprises and a strong favorite of singles. The topics of my lecture-demonstrations were:

  • The Seven Species and the Choice Products: Taste the Difference
  • Apples & Honey: Symbols of Prosperity and Chaos

The presentations were enhanced by tastings, botanical art, and fragrant myrrh and frankincense (Hebrew Mor and Levonah)

August 15, 2010
Biblical botany tour of The Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Highlights of the tour included:

  • Five Passover plants that got fired (They used to be on the seder plate)
  • Vegetables that kept Adam and Eve from slipping back into the Garden of Eden
  • The critical role of beer in the Exodus and the origin of civilization

July 26, 2010
Biblical botany tour of The Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, MA. Highlights of the tour included:

  • Lilies you have eaten that trace Jewish history from the Philistines and Romans to Dutch New Amsterdam, bagels, and lox
  • A flowering plant that created a choice between defrauding the Jewish people and Roman execution
  • A plant that looks like a menorah, was the namesake of the Temple Mount, and is now eaten on Thanksgiving

July 25, 2010
What is Maror?
Lecture and sampling at the annual convention of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists at the Heritage Hotel in Southbury, CT

July 14-21, 2010
In the Fields and Footsteps of Our Ancestors–A Journey through Nature to the Heart of the Torah
A series of six lectures with food samples and a meditation on Torah and nature at Block and Hexter Vacation Center in Poyntelle, Pennsylvania

July 11, 2010
Biblical Botany Tour of the New York Botanical Garden.
This event was enthusiastically reviewed on the Jew and the Carrot blog: JCarrot Review. Highlights included:

  • The meaning of a common spice plant that looks like a menorah
  • How the exile of the Jewish people led Americans to see that tomatoes are not poisonous, paving the way for pizza sauce and ketchup
  • The critical importance of beer to the origin of civilization

May 18-20, 2010
Shavuot at Kutsher’s Country Club Resort in Monticello, New York. Four sessions:

Fruits of Idolatry, Fruits of the One God: The Meaning of the Bikkurim
Lessons of the Olive Tree: Jewish Unity, Jewish Families, and the Social Security System
Botany Determines Theology: Jeremiah’s Puzzling Simile of the Faithless Man and the Desert Tree
Understanding the Korban Pesach Barbecue with a Little Help from Botany and Food Science

Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Interview on Land Minds, a Web radio program devoted to Israeli and Biblical history and geography. The interview has been archived and can be heard at http://www.foundationstone.org/page49/page49.html or at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/radio/.

Saturday, January 30, 2010
Two talks at Congregation Ahawas Achim B’nai Jacob and David in West Orange, NJ: The Origin, History, and Meaning of Tu B’Shvat and Shivat HaMinim and Zimrat HaAretz: The Hazards of Natural Religion

Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Insights from Ethnobotany and Culinary History that Help us to Appreciate the Mitzvot of Pesach: Address to Professor Karen Shawn’s graduate course, Resources for Jewish Educators, at Azrieli Graduate School of Education, Yeshiva University

Friday and Saturday, May 29-30, 2009 (Shavuot) Two classes at Block & Hexter Vacation Center: Insights into the Mitzvot of Pesach From Thermal Physics, Ethnobotany, and Beer; Tales of the White Squill and Decoding the Secret of the Hidden Tree: Jewish Unity, Piety, and the Social Security System

Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008, 7:30 PM at the Jewish Community Center of Paramus, E-304 Midland Ave., Paramus, NJ 07652
Spices Around the World, in History, and in Judaism
This dinner and lecture/demonstration was sponsored by Hadassah for their members and prospective members.

Sample Speaking Topics

    • What is maror? Species, symbolism, why it’s not bitter, and what it has to do with the Civil War, Peter Rabbit, and Renee Zellwegger
    • Botany and theology—How plant identification affects our understanding of prophetic metaphor
    • Tu b’Shvat–History and symbolism (Why are we trying to plant trees in February?)
    • The importance of beer and wine in Jewish history and the origin of civilization
    • Why the menorah? Chanukah, Jewish unity, and the symbolism of the olive tree
    • Shavuot and the first fruits–Why these seven species?
    • Egypt, Israel, and Sukkot–Why the sukkah? Why these four species? Why does the Torah connect idol worship with irrigation?
    • Mizmor Shir l’Yom haShabbat: Why the date palm? Why the cedar? Is there a hidden third tree in this psalm?
    • How did Betzalel get the huge logs he needed to build the mishkan?
    • Astronomy and theology of the calendar in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
    • Pesach: What does “Chag ha’Aviv” mean? (Not ”springtime festival”)
    • What is the “gopher wood” that Noah used? (There is no “gopher tree”)
    • Mushroom physiology—How the kabbalah anticipated biology
    • Lessons for families and Social Security from the olive tree (Psalm 128)
    • Tales of the white squill (Tu b’Av, unity of the Jewish people and the land of Israel, and Li’l Abner)
    • Sefirat HaOmer, the mystical significance of wheat and barley, and the modern problems of the mitzvah of yashan
    • Why was the expression “land of milk and honey” a blessing for Moses, but an expression of disaster for the later prophets?
    • Spices: Sacraments, medicines, symbols, preservatives, and flavorings
    • Your enemy’s olive tree: Halachah and vandalism of Arab orchards
    • When most Jews are Israeli: Halachot that are about to change
    • Michshol lifnei ha’ever: The halachic question of Israeli arms exports