ECC Students Harvest Food to Donate to a Local Food Bank

ECC students discussed the importance of tzedaka, especially in connection with Parshiyot Behar-Bechukotai. The students discussed the parshiyot’s inclusion of shmita—the seven-year cycle of agricultural rest and debt forgiveness—and what that means for a farmer in Israel. Everyone then decided that they could also give tzedaka from the class’s “farm” and harvested chives to give to a local food bank! They finished by planting seedlings, including peppers, fennel, and lemon balm, keeping in mind that some of the harvests from these plants will also go to tzedaka.