PEOPLE

KELLY COLEMAN

If you were looking for a Rabbi, you would expect to find him in the temple where he teaches. You also might not be too surprised to find a Rabbi leading the youth in his congregation – engaging in social and educational activities with the youngest sector of a faith community. Logically, you would even look for him in the temple library or his study, where he researches and reads inspirational books on theology, liturgy and prayer. All seem like likely locations to find a leader and teacher of Jewish faith. But if you are looking for the only Rabbi in Vero Beach, Michael Birnholz, you might start by looking outside – in a place of beauty, solace and shared community – in the Biblical gardens on the campus of Temple Beth Shalom.

Rabbi Birnholz, by all definitions, is an avid gardener. Not only does he love the gardens he creates, but he loves the process of creating and all of the potential that the adventure of gardening has for bringing people of all creeds and ages together as a community to grow something. Having recently finished the Master Gardener program that the University of Florida runs with our local County Extension office, Michael can’t remember a time in life when gardening, or simply being out in the gardens, wasn’t a part of his daily activities. “I have always had a love of gardening. My Grandfather had big gardens in Dallas – I have always had an interest and excitement and remember planting gardens with my mom in Jackson and Tampa.” Living in Vero Beach has provided the Rabbi, his family and the congregation at Temple Beth Shalom plenty of opportunity in the past 13 years.

Graduating from rabbinical school in 2002, Michael and his wife, Jill easily chose Vero Beach as their new home. The opportunity to be the Rabbi of the only temple in Vero Beach was a natural choice, appealing to a young man who had grown up in the community of a small congregation. Having lived with his family in Tampa since 1986, Michael had also married a Cocoa Beach native, making the choice to live and work in smaller and, for the most part, unchanged Vero Beach logical. “Vero has changed in that there are more people and there are more stores and houses – at the same time it is still the same Vero. People still cross paths with each other and get to know one another and help each other out. People are really looking for that sense of small town.” It is that same search and sense of small town community that inspires Michael’s ideas for engaging the wider community in sharing knowledge and ideas in projects such as Biblical Gardens.

Biblical gardens are cultivated collections of plants that are named in the Bible. They are a type of theme garden grown all over the world. Some Biblical gardens are even designed or created to tell stories from the Bible including how people lived in Biblical times. These gardens are places where people can think, pray, and reflect. They can be used to teach sustainability and even provide a means of research in certain settings. People can use them for weddings, baptisms, and other special spiritual events. There are no hard or fast rules to follow to create one, simply interest, enthusiasm and a sense of adventure. The Biblical garden at Temple Beth Shalom is used as an educational tool – to teach Jewish values, and their Five Senses Garden is used to teach children and adults to be stewards of the earth. It was that sense of adventure and the great outdoors along with his love for people and the desire to get everyone working together that inspired Michael to start the temple gardens over eight years ago.

Living in the middle of a culture rich in its citrus heritage, Michael first embarked on a mission to grow etrog. This small fruit is cultivated primarily in Israel and is a member of the citron family. It is used by the Jewish community in their celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, or the week long holiday of Sukkot. After realizing he had a unique opportunity to grow this ritual item that is mostly rind, very seedy and used for smelling, he planted a tree. Subsequently, it wasn’t long before he planted olive trees in the interest of producing olive oil. Now, the gardens on Temple Beth Shalom’s 43^rd street campus host all seven varieties of plants listed in Deuteronomy 8: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, dates and olives. He later expanded the gardens when he worked with different groups to add the spiral shaped Five Senses garden and the flower shaped Pollinator Garden.

It is that strong sense of community and his desire to get everyone involved and working together in inner generational activities that drives Michael in his role as Rabbi. Working frequently on community based inner-faith activities with Vero Beach colleagues such as Holy Cross Catholic Church, The Unitarian Fellowship and St. Augustines, Michael was recently nominated and subsequently earned The Legion of Honor Medal.The Legion of Honor Award recognizes and honors outstanding members of society whose lives model the giving spirit and unconditional service to community, nation, and humanity without regard to race, religion, or creed exemplified so dramatically by the Four Chaplains.  The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation encourages goodwill and cooperation among people symbolizing the legacy of the Four Chaplains aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester in 1943. Rabbi Birnholz says, “If we are going to make the world a better place, it is going to take everybody working together.”

Recently, Michael became involved in a local effort to engage in and adopt the Charter for Compassion. The Charter for Compassion is a document that transcends religious, ideological and national differences. People in cities around the world are taking the values it stands on and using it for the basis of operation – living out values such as kindness, consideration and compassion. It is not a religious endeavor as defined because, as Michael states, “regardless of where you come from spiritually, it encourages everyone to think more of being kind and compassionate as a whole.” Vero Beach committee members who are rallying around the charter and discussing what is its nexus in this community are looking at what it could mean, how would it play out in a small town such as Vero Beach. How could it be implemented – how can Vero Beach embody the worldwide Golden Rule?

What drives Vero’s young Rabbi in his endeavors? An obvious calling and passion to build community, to soften the challenges of life and to teach and offer opportunities to find God’s light. With a twinkle in his eye, Michael says, “If we can all just do a little bit of caring, of helping, of supporting, and positive chutzpah (mischief), we can improve our lives.”