Flowers to make Rituals and Holidays Extra 

A program developed by Rabbi Shari Shamah, Jewish Life Specialist 

May ‘25 

OVERVIEW: 

The idea of Hiddur Mitzvah is going above and beyond to make a holiday or a ritual special.  It’s putting in extra effort to have beauty.  Things like flowers on the table, pretty placemats or tablecloths, beautiful challah covers are all a part of this.   This program is intended to allow your community to learn to arrange flowers and make pretty vases to adorn your holiday table. 

MATERIALS:  

• Bouquets of flowers (Trader Joe’s are cheap and work well) 

• Goodwill glass vases 

• Vase decorating supplies – stones, ribbon, washi tape 

• 2 prs Flower cutting shears 

• Text sheet 

PROGRAM OUTLINE: 1.5 hrs 

Beginning – Text Study – 30 mins 

Look at text sheet on Hiddur Mitzvah and encourage discussion on why we make our tables special.  You can use some or all of the texts and use the questions as a guide. 
 

Middle – Vase Decorating- 30 mins 

• You can get cheap vases from Goodwill that everyone can make festive.  You can go as simple or as elaborate as you want.   

End – Flower Arranging – 30 mins 
 

Have various bouquets of flowers spread on table.  Participants get to pick assorted flowers to make their own bouquet.  Use shears to cut various lengths to fit in the vases.