Support a Jewish Herbalist

Hi, my name is Naomi Spector, and I am fundraising to complete my first Jewish herbalism book, The Jewish Book of Flowers. I have chosen to focus on flowers in writing this book because flowers bring people joy and healing. Flower traditions and flower-based medicines abound around the world, and certainly across Jewish tradition and history. Jews have long relied on flower remedies and found joy and relief in them. Jewish tradition teaches us to treat our herbs with reverence.

It is my hope in writing this book to inspire fellow Jews to relearn and reclaim the plant traditions of our ancestors as we attempt to heal our relationship with the Earth. In this time of devastating climate change, we must look inward to recognize and uproot the sick belief so many of us hold that the Earth can be endlessly exploited for our benefit. Many faith traditions teach that people are responsible for caring for the health of the land, ensuring the flowers and the pollinators can do their vital work and continue to feed us. We have a responsibility to tend to the land as shomrei adamah, or guardians of the land. Learning about our ancestors' plant traditions and how they healed with plants, the songs they sang about plants, and the stories they told about them, can ground us and deepen our connection to the Earth.

I am close to finishing my book, but I need support in completing it and publishing it so I can share this precious Jewish plant knowledge with the Jewish community! My passion for writing this book is boundless, but I had no idea when I started how expensive and draining the process would be. This type of knowledge has often not been valued or preserved by people in positions of power, and accessing sources for my research is very difficult. Contributions to this fundraiser will allow me to access vital books and primary sources for my research. As a working-class person living in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. with a full-time job unrelated to herbalism, I realize that I need support to complete this project and continue to do Jewish herbalism work sustainably in the future. If I can complete this work, it will only be with the support of my community.

Learn more about my work here.