Educational Offerings
At the Institute of Soil & Soul, education is more than information — it’s formation. Our curriculum is designed to cultivate wholeness by weaving Jewish wisdom together with regenerative agriculture. Through this integrated approach, learners of all ages reconnect to themselves, their traditions, their community, and the earth.
Whether you're a preschool teacher introducing children to the wonder of seeds, or a synagogue educator exploring the mitzvot the land, or an adult learner exploring your relationship to food justice and farming, our curriculum meets you where you are.
Our educational framework is guided by our three pillars
Cultural Identity (CI) - Reconnecting learners to Jewish values, ethics, and agricultural wisdom
Environmental Stewardship (ES) - Teaching how to care for the earth through Jewish, regenerative practices
Social Justice (SJ) - Grounding learning in equity, access, and shared responsibility.
These pillars shape all of our offerings-from curriculum packages to daylong field programs-ensuring that every experience is meaningful, rooted in tradition, and oriented towards action.
Branches of Learning
Branches of Learning is a transformative, sequenced educational experience designed to immerse participants in agricultural wisdom and lived practice over the course of a season. Rooted in Jewish tradition and regenerative agriculture, these programs move beyond standalone lessons. Learning deepens through repeated engagement, careful observation, and hands-on work aligned with the rhythms of the land.
All Branches of Learning offerings follow a deliberate progression, guiding participants through interconnected concepts and practices as they unfold seasonally. Each series builds upon the last, cultivating not only knowledge, but relationship to soil, to community, and to time.
Cultivating the Calendar Series
This series guides participants through a full cycle of the Hebrew calendar, helping them experience Jewish time as it unfolds through the seasons and the land. Learning follows the agricultural year, moving sequentially through Tu BiShvat, Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot.
Through text study, planting, harvesting, and shared ritual, participants discover how Jewish tradition, ecological rhythms, and embodied practice are woven together across a living agricultural season.
Foundations of Jewish Agriculture
This series explores food systems, soil health, and ecological responsibility through a Jewish lens. Participants move through a structured sequence examining Jewish earth stewardship, soil as a living community, Shmita and restraint, equity in food systems, and mindful consumption. Each session integrates real agricultural work with Jewish texts that embed ethics directly into living systems, connecting enduring wisdom to contemporary environmental and social challenges.
Regenerative Agriculture
The Regenerative Agriculture Series is designed for secular or interfaith audiences seeking a practical foundation in regenerative farming principles. Participants progress through the history of agriculture, foundations of soil health, integrated pest and ecosystem management, holistic orchard systems, and ecological design thinking. Grounded in real farm work, the series builds practical skill alongside systems-level understanding of food production, resilience, and long-term sustainability.
Field Days at Soil and soul
Field Days at Soil & Soul are single-session experiences drawn from any of the Branches of Learning lesson plans. While Branches of Learning is designed as a sequenced, immersive journey, Field Days offer a powerful entry point — allowing participants to engage deeply with one theme or practice within a single visit to the farm.
Ready to dig in?
Contact us to schedule a visit or bring Branches of Learning to your community.