I have written a lot about the Beit Prachim Garden project over the last few years. This is not due to a lack of other topics, but because I feel strongly that the little things actually make a huge impact on our current situation.

We spend a lot of time at Ateret Cohanim attempting the impossible and frankly we are really good at making that happen. More families, more buildings, more Jewish life – these are the most important things to many of us interested in restoring Jewish life to Jerusalem.

However, we have to ensure that we don’t lose sight of what makes us different. Jerusalem is more than a series of building or residential units. Rather, it’s something extraordinary and raising up the quality of life as we return to our ancestral capital lifts all of us higher.

The garden at Beit Prachim is a project that has taken a while. Before Shemitta we added a large layer of mulch that over the course of the year regenerated the ground below. This year we have added a pomegranate tree and lemon tree. Along with that, we already added lavender, rosemary, and sage. Soon we will be adding a new grape vine.

From the beginning, the project has been about restoring life to the earth and bringing about a real sprouting of change within the complex. Just like our national return to Jerusalem – the sprouting and growth at Beit Prachim gives us hope of the continued growth of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem’s Old City and beyond.