Planting Seeds of the Divine: Torah Commentaries to Cultivate Your Spiritual Practice

by Yiscah Smith

Planting Seeds of the Divine invites us to build an ongoing relationship with the Divine Presence within us by planting seeds corresponding to the weekly Torah portions to help cultivate a garden of the soul.

340 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2025

Reviews

[Neil White · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the practices that has enriched my faith has been learning from other faith traditions about their encounter with the divine. As a Christian reader, preacher, and interpreter of scripture I have frequently sought out Jewish perspectives on the scriptures that we share and to glean some of the riches of the Jewish interpretive tradition. I was given an advance copy of Planting Seeds of the Divine: Torah Commentaries to Cultivate Your Spiritual Practice written by Yiscah Smith to review and I appreciate the opportunity to share this spiritual practice with another seeker longing to encounter God through an encounter with scripture. As people of faith, we yearn to connect the entirety of our self with the God who we come to know through both the scriptures and our experiences.

Some of the reflections were very insightful. I particularly enjoyed her reflection on Sarah’s protest in Genesis 23: 1-2 and the gift of spiritual protest, something that resonates with my experience in psalms and the prophets. Other reflections I could value the way the rabbis referenced in the commentary utilized gematria (assigning numerical values to Hebrew letters) or highly spiritualized readings, but I found them more difficult to place alongside my own readings of the text. Yet, I resonate with the intent of Planting Seeds and really enjoyed Yiscah Smith’s methodology of approaching scripture in an open and patient manner to cultivate the relationship between the individual and the divine.

[Jaime Glasser DVM MS · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a non-religious Jew this book is fantastic. Yiscah Smith’s knowledge of all the past commentaries are used as sources to trace meaning in the Torah readings for modern times. She shows how living and breathing they still are today, bolstered by the commentaries by scholars throughout the ages words written down about 3400 years ago come alive, still, through her interpretation and teaching today’s relevance to current times we are challenged with. Each weekly Torah portion is interpreted, the scholar’s historical and modern perspectives and then a “deep dive” with Yiscah Smith’s brilliant, surprising and always thought-provoking commentary. This book has re-kindled my respect for the historical wisdom of Judaism and helped me see how to live a better life, be a better person and help heal the world through these perspectives. Thank you Yiscah.

[Jessica Singer-Freud · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magnificent breath of fresh air for anyone who is interested in the Torah readings, Jewish tradition and spirituality. The practical meditations on each reading help the reader internalize the lessons and message of each chapter. This is a must-have for every synagogue and Jewish library.