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.

Genres: Judaism

340 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2025

Reviews

[Angela Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I appreciated most about Planting Seeds of the Divine is that it made me think about Torah in a more personal way. The book doesn’t treat spiritual teachings as something we simply read, understand, and move on from. Instead, Yiscah Smith encourages us to ask what those teachings might actually change within us.

The idea of seeing ourselves as spiritual gardeners really stayed with me. Using middot our character traits, emotional dispositions, and spiritual sensitivities as the “seeds” we cultivate is such a simple image, but it gives the book a lot of depth. It made me reflect on the qualities I am developing in my own life and the ones that may need more attention.

I also enjoyed how Smith brings together Torah verses, biblical context, classical commentaries, Hasidic and Neo Hasidic teachings, her own reflections, and practical exercises. That combination keeps the book from feeling like commentary for commentary’s sake. There is always an effort to bring the teaching back to lived experience.

The book’s emphasis on authenticity also resonated with me. The idea that becoming more connected to our own inner essence can help us recognize the Divine in our encounters with others gives the spiritual journey a very personal and relatable dimension.

What I kept coming back to was the garden metaphor. A garden doesn’t grow overnight, and neither does inner transformation. It requires attention, patience, and continued care. In that sense, this feels like a book worth returning to rather than simply reading once and putting away.

For readers looking for a thoughtful way to connect Torah study with personal growth, spiritual practice, and a deeper awareness of the Divine, Planting Seeds of the Divine offers plenty to sit with and reflect on.

[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.