Finding God in the Garden: Backyard Reflections on Life, Love, and Compost

by Balfour Brickner

Overview

Grieving after the death of a beloved daughter, Rabbi Balfour Brickner struggled with his faith while preparing a flowerbed. One day the rabbi found himself writing down the thoughts that came to him as he turned the soil, and observing nature's abundant examples of order and renewal, miracles and beauty, Rabbi Brickner found his faith returning like a garden in spring.

Using the garden as a sanctuary and springboard, Rabbi Brickner considers the lessons to be learned from the tasks of caring for the land, the wonder of a garden in full bloom, and the connections between Biblical teachings and botanical life. Finding God In The Garden is a passionate, witty, and provocative celebration of mature religious faith derived through nature, reason, and the joys of everyday work.

Explores rational spirituality, reconciling faith with enlightened thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316738668
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	04/01/2003
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	220,549
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

Editorial Reviews

"Brickner contemplates the lessons learned in the garden--birth, death, reproduction, sexuality, patience, hope--and assigns each its spiritual counterpart as he examines the complexities of religious faith. Whether exploring the nature of miracles or the mystery of creation, Brickner, as both rabbi and gardener, provides counsel that is scholarly, eloquent, and eminently down-to-earth."

"Brickner has sharp things to say about patience, memory and loss, the role of miracles in an orderly universe, and about the interplay of moral, ethical, and factual truths in the pseudodebate of science versus religion.... Good, sweaty work: All this turning of the spirit's and mind's soil yields a nourishing outlook on life."

"This absorbing volume starts in a garden but wanders deliciously--as gardeners' thoughts often do--to politics, culture, sex, and death, and always with insights that make the spade work of reading it well worthwhile."

From the Publisher

...absorbing...always with insights that make the spade work of reading it well worthwhile...

Harvey Cox

...Rabbi Brickner does [it] with sensitivity, imagination, and grace...

Harold Kushner

A wise and socially committed rabbi...

Roald Hoffman

Drawing spiritual parallels to the garden is nothing new, but Brickner takes it a step further, using his garden as a platform to expound fairly heavy-handedly on theology and contemporary issues. Brickner, who has been a Reform rabbi for more than 45 years and gardens in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, self-admittedly came late to the passion of this particular hobby. The more I gardened, the more I began to learn about life, about what religion tries to teach and what faith tries to deepen, he writes. Here, he attempts to mesh his pleasure in gardening with his conviction that the laws of nature reflect the role of reason as a way to find and strengthen faith. Many of the gardening parallels deal with grief, loss and healing not surprising, as he shares that he is twice-divorced and lost his teenage daughter in a tragic accident. Brickner is at his best when extracting gentle parallels between gardening and the spiritual life; however, general-interest readers may find themselves bogged down when he expounds on weighty topics free will, premarital sex, homosexuality, Christianity, prayer, physician-assisted death and miracles rather than talking compost and peonies. The use of references imbedded in parentheses occasionally keeps the text from flowing smoothly. Those who love the natural world and enjoy digging deeper into Jewish theology in a logical, reasoned way will find much to ponder here; readers looking for a more intuitive book that blends gardening and faith may be a bit overwhelmed. (Aug. 29) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

The rabbi of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue relates his gardening experiences, which helped him overcome the death of his daughter. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Brickner, a Reform rabbi for 45 years, uses the garden as a viewing lens for such big religious and philosophical issues as our ethical comportment, our approach to death, God's character, and the nature of sex and love. Working away in the garden, it has often occurred to Brickner that "if I looked up, I would better understand what was going on when I looked down, and vice versa." He takes plenty of cues from the garden, but they serve mostly as jumping-off points for an extended ramble through his religious rationalism. For those with a mind to it, God is in the garden as in the cosmos, the lawful orderly universe. Brickner has little to say on the matters of chaos and improbability, not because he doesn't recognize them-he knows luck and weeds and the random workings of fate as well as anyone-but because he believes in cultivating a body of understanding that helps address such issues when they burst forth. We can absorb and learn. Free will gives us the ability and responsibility to act; hopefully, our deeds reflect the positive ethical values we associate with the divine. Balance can give perspective and harmony; "we find answers to our prayers by concentrating on the best we can think, feel, and then decide to do." Brickner has sharp things to say about patience, memory, and loss, the role of miracles in an orderly universe, and about the interplay of moral, ethical, and factual truths in the pseudo-debate of science versus religion-they complement one another, as everyone from Brickner to Stephen Jay Gould has written. Not least, he has wise things to say about the necessity of a Sabbath day each week for rest, serenity, and reflection. Good, sweaty work: all this turning of thespirit's and mind's soil yields a nourishing outlook on life.

Kirkus Reviews