I always wanted to live on a farm. When I was a kid growing up in Australia I had an imaginary goat in my backyard named “Mazal Tov.” I dug up a corner of my parents’ manicured lawn to plant carrots. I bought my first gardening book when I was no more than 9 (It was the Burke’s Backyard compendium - for the Aussies here).

In adulthood, I moved to Israel became a hi-tech entrepreneur and the author of the Torah novel Yedidya, as well as a wife and mother. I never left the big city for the farm acreage of my dreams. That never stopped me from growing and making, but I wondered if I was neglecting my dream.

A cozy cuppa tea in my yard in the early spring

Until one day I realized that my dream is happening. Though I live in a regular Beit Shemesh apartment, there are so many budding opportunities for me to farm. I farm on my kitchen windowsill, in my storage room, on my porch, in the yard I’m blessed to have, in my neighbor's yard, in the open spaces that surround my neighborhood. I don’t need rolling green acres.

I use the old-world definition of a farmer as someone who grows and makes their own food and household goods. I don’t have to sell my produce or earn a living from it - in the old days, farming folk rarely did.

There are so many benefits to being a farmer, so many unique flavors, and so many enriching experiences that are exclusive to us.

So if you want to be a farmer too - there is absolutely nothing stopping you becoming one today!

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May Hashem bless you with fruitfulness,

Naomi “Bloomah” Elbinger

PS. Though everyone calls me Naomi, Bloomah is my Jewish name. Good job, Mum and Dad!