N.J. family’s backyard harvest provides food for their Jewish holidays

What started as a tiny seed in Sarah Arnstein’s first-grade classroom has blossomed a decade later into a lush garden deeply rooted in both horticulture and Judaism.

The backyard of the three-quarter acre property in Voorhees, Camden County, teems with tomatoes, peaches, and also with fruits and vegetables used in Jewish rituals such as horseradish for Passover and etrog (or citron), a citrus fruit resembling a lemon for Sukkot.

Two beehives help with pollination, which speeds the growing process, and also provide honey for apples, a traditional dish for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Sarah’s father, Jesse, 51, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, plants two of everything because it helps aid pollination. “I tried to make it like Noah’s Ark,” he said.

And each year he plants a new varietal. “The land of Israel is renowned for grapes, olives, figs, wheat, barley, dates, and pomegranates,” he said. “I have six of these growing on my property.

“We celebrate the Sabbath with homemade grape juice from the grapes we grow and challah bread made in part from the wheat we grow.”

He even grows bamboo used to build the ritual booth (sukkah) for Sukkot, or the Feast of the Tabernacles, which commemorates the wandering in the desert during the Exodus. It will be celebrated Sept. 20-27 this year.

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Jesse grew up in a conservative Jewish family in South Orange, N.J. , the son of a jeweler and a mother who was in sales. No sign of a green thumb anywhere. He graduated from law school and had a 25-year service career that was as varied as his yard: law, counterterrorism, ROTC, logistics, and public affairs.

But when he retired two years ago, he said, “I wanted the antithesis of an Air Force career.”

The family — Jesse, Sarah, wife Jill and son Aaron — moved to Voorhees 10 years ago from McGuire Air Force Base. Jesse said they picked the property in the densely wooded area simply because “it was the right house in the right community.”

The garden was inspired by the etrog seeds Sarah’s teacher at a Jewish day school gave to her class. The teacher used them to illustrate a story about kids planting something for their grandchildren. Sarah is now 16 and a junior at Eastern Regional High School.

Jesse started the garden with two pear trees he bought at Lowe’s, and the etrog tree is now more than 8 feet tall. Sarah describes it as “definitely a lesson that you can relate to your own life … making a new friend, picking up a new hobby, anything can grow to a bigger thing.”

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In addition to planting, he immediately stepped up efforts to make the house sustainable by installing solar panels, digging a well, and collecting rainwater. He took a seminar from Rutgers University on waging successful combat operations against lantern flies.

“I learn from year to year,” he said. “I get closer to the Almighty by observing nature.”

He grows far more than he needs — “this year the tomatoes went ballistic … this is a community garden. Come and pick.”

He finds the bees particularly fascinating and has no qualms hanging around the hives without protection. “You can see them coming and going, like an airport,” he said.

As to the future: “Each fall during the past three years, I’ve told myself that I have enough challenges on my hands.

“But when spring rolls around, I’ve been inspired to plant more. Going forward, I’d like to focus on expanding the uses for what’s already on site such as using beeswax to make Hanukkah and Sabbath candles.

“I hope to breathe my last breath in this house.”