When there's a makolet on every block, foraging means more than edible plants

Photos: Abi Kantov

With so many superstores in every neighborhood, foraging for food seems a thing of the past. But it’s not just about scrounging for supper. In the ancient pathways around Eretz Yisrael, foraging is a way of healing, living with eternity, and discovering secrets that extend way beyond edible plants

Take a right off of the highway, drive down a barely there dirt road, and pull up to…. Well, nowhere really. No parking lot or paved road, just land stretching for miles, the sun baking down in the bluest sky, and the surrounding mountains casting purple shadows in the distance.

There, in the Elah Valley south of Ramat Beit Shemesh, is where we met Rabbi Shmuel Chaim Naiman, a self-proclaimed “wandering soul,” who, in his own words, “struggles with anxiety, obsessive thinking, social awkwardness, addictive behaviors, and probably has undiagnosed ADHD.” On the physical side, he suffers from irritable bowel syndrome, and for many years, spent half the winter feeling unwell. He possesses a deep love for Torah and ruchniyus, and is smart and talented, but suffered his way through school and yeshivah, always finding it difficult to connect with learning or friends, and often sick, miserable, and distracted.

Then he discovered that hiking and running out in in the nature of Eretz Yisrael, eating real food and foraging, and taking time to just be — through breathing and stretching — had the power to completely transform his life, and are a big part of how today he is usually a functioning, happy, and productive Torah student, rebbi, health teacher, writer, and foraging guide.

The foraging walks he now leads, besides a fascinating and meaningful activity for all ages, are a hands-on way of helping people jumpstart their individual paths to deeper level healing. Today Reb Shmuel Chaim will show us how Eretz Yisrael — the land itself — can nurture our bodies and even our souls, with the natural bounty that grows wild just outside Ramat Beit Shemesh.