Summer 2006

One Man's Spiritual Landscape

Some may call it gardening, but he thinks of it as a calling.

By Dina Greenberg

Brad Baker teaches a group of 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds at The Mary Bert Gutman Early Learning Center in Melrose Park how to grow their own food.

The one spiritual constant in Brad Baker's life has been an appreciation for the awesome, natural wonders of the landscape." Baker, a Pennsylvania-certified horticulturist and talented landscape designer, explains that an autumn hillside splashed with wonderful colors or a surprise glimpse of bright, red berries against an otherwise stark, winter scene, speaks to him on a profoundly spiritual level. With understated eloquence, Baker says, "I believe that God put me on this earth to help others experience and appreciate this kind of beauty.”

Baker sees his recent conversion to Judaism as an extension of this belief and as a natural progression in his growth as an individual, a husband, a father, and as a member of the synagogue community that has become the focal point of his family's life. Merging his passion for the natural world with a blossoming understanding of Judaism, Baker feels he is doing exactly what God intended him to do.

Now an active member of Beth Sholom Congregation, a Conservative synagogue in Elkins Park, Baker, at first glance, might seem to have traveled an immeasurable distance from his hometown of St. Louis, Mo., where he and his family worshiped regularly at the United Church of Christ. Baker fondly recalls helping his father tend the church grounds and gather the fruits and vegetables grown on his grandparents' farm that they would sell at church fundraisers. "Even though I wasn't practicing Judaism then," says Baker, "the values that my parents and grandparents instilled in me – a deep sense of the importance of family and community service – I now see are very much in keeping with the core values of Judaism."

Baker notes that 21 years ago, when he married his wife Dina and moved to the East Coast, he was comfortable with the religion he'd grown up with. Baker adds, "My wife grew up in a Jewish household but she was not particularly observant." The topic of conversion was not yet on the horizon, though with the births of Audrey, now 18, and Isaac, 14, the couple did agree to lay a religious foundation of Judaism for their children. Baker describes himself during those early years as "an observer" rather than a participant in his children's religious upbringing. When the family was preparing for Audrey's Bat Mitzvah, he recalls feeling increasingly "like an outsider looking in."

Brad Baker's landscape designs outside Beth Sholom Congregation (left, photo courtesy Kim Sokoloff Photography); and Linwood, NJ.

 

Most important, Baker says, "Your children need to know that you're involved in this important dimension of their lives. Our children were growing up in a Jewish household, but I didn't feel connected to the [synagogue] community. There are things that you want to do as a parent, and in order to do them you have to be a participant in the community." Baker explains that the ultimate decision to convert emerged steadily over a two-year period of soul-searching, though he credits his wife with "seeing even before I did that I was ready."

When Isaac's Bar Mitzvah was approaching, Baker felt an even greater sense of urgency to make a formal commitment to Judaism. "I wanted to be a role model for my son. I was tired of being on the outside. I couldn't read the Torah. My wife couldn't be on the synagogue board. I grew up doing things and I wanted to be [involved]," says Baker.

But even before he began weekly conversion classes, he had already begun to contribute to the synagogue community in his own particular way: Baker was working with some of the Hebrew school classes, helping the students plant a flower and vegetable garden and sell their harvest for tzedakah. He has since created additional "Mitzvah Gardens" that engage the entire Beth Sholom community – from pre-school children to senior residents at housing run by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

A "barrel garden" now provides versatile space for the elderly to grow many seasonal flowers and vegetables. "This raised-bed system makes it easier for [older people] to participate in our gardening projects. And we have smaller pots for the children that can be moved inside for the winter."

And with the purchase and refurbishing of an old greenhouse facility on the grounds of Gratz College, the congregation is able to make additional contributions of fresh produce to the Jewish Federation's Mitzvah Food Pantry program. "It just seemed natural for me to be involved in these projects," says Baker, who had already begun to find spiritual meaning in this connection.

"In retrospect," says Baker, "I think that I always felt very accepted by the Beth Sholom community. This is a wonderful thing, but now that I'm even more involved, that acceptance is even greater." His initial concern when he first contemplated conversion – that his family and community would see this choice as "being hypocritical" – was soon laid to rest. "I came to realize," says Baker, "that the core values that I had believing in God, placing my family and community at the center of my life were of the utmost importance. This didn't dictate an either/or decision."

Baker reflects on several aspects of Judaism that are particularly resonant to his worldview. When one of the congregation members succumbed to ovarian cancer, Baker took part in his first experience of the Jewish custom of sitting shiva. "The first day everyone was really sad," says Baker, "but then by the last day I realized that we had all shared in something that was so deeply personal and spiritual that it had become a positive experience."

In contrast, Baker explains, "when I was growing up in the Protestant tradition (of which the United Church of Christ is a liberal branch), the day of a funeral, that was it; that was the only time you had to really process the grief you were feeling."

Baker also finds that Jewish traditions, such as "allowing the earth to lie fallow for seven years before planting," to be "a wonderful practice." For Baker, "caring for the earth" is indeed a spiritual experience.

In his professional life, this same philosophy prevails. In his Wyncote landscaping firm, Baker Creative, Inc., Baker emphasizes "both beauty and utility" when working with his clients. "It's my job [when conceiving a landscape project] to help people understand what's important in their lifestyle. For instance, if the backyard is a place where children will be playing, I need to be certain that there are good sight lines from the house so the children are safe. This is a priority."

Recently, Baker created a Japanese inspired garden for an Elkins Park family that would become the focal point of their son's Bar Mitzvah weekend and a peaceful place of contemplation in the months following.

On a philosophical level, Baker uses the metaphor of "life as a garden" to describe his outlook, both personal and professional: "I feel my work compels me to help people realize that beauty is all around them. Rather than just passing through, my hope is that they will notice it, feel it, and be uplifted by it.

"For me," says Baker, "this is a very personal way of feeling God's presence."

Dina Greenberg is a freelance writer based in New Jersey.

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