The poet T.S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month, a quote often taken out of context.

But I think that in the cycle of the year, September may be the cruelest month. Although it is a month of beginnings for those who never seem to shake the shackles of a school schedule, often coincides with Tishrei which marks the start of our religious year,  and is beautiful with full greening of the trees and bursts of color from the dahlias, marigolds and mums, the month is also the last gasp before the slow decline to winter.

I stand on my small balcony and admire the dahlia plant which started very small and now overflows its pot. The tomato has grown, escaped its cage  and is covered with flowers in a final bust of life before the frost. The basil is fragrant  but is trying desperately to flower and seed to give itself life for another generation. However, a few brown leaves appear here and there to reinforce the reality of its short life. Only the hearty oregano and rosemary act as if they might live forever.

Like the garden, the spiritual year cycles and if one is introspective enough, one can seize the opportunity to fend off those browning leaves and be like the hearty rosemary that finds a way to survive winter’s frost.

But introspection can be cruel as we look back on our failed attempts to reach emotional and spiritual goals.

Like the tomato which flowers and fruits until the end of its life and the basil which remains fragrant even as the leaves brown, we never stop trying to reach our emotional and spiritual goals.

For a selection of books for this time of the Jewish year and Jewish gardening, check out the display in the Jacobs Library including Alan Lew’s This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: the Days of Awe As a Journey of Transformation, an indispensable guide to introspection.

NOTE: The library catalog is always available for browsing on this website.

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