(Click HERE for photos) It is traditional to decorate  shuls and homes with plants, flowers, and leaves for Shvuos in remembrance of  ma’mad Har Sinai.  One Flatbush resident takes this minhag really seriously.  Eliezer Markowtiz, who davens in the Bostoner Beis Medrash, invests tremendous time, effort, and resources, into making this shul located at 2822 Avenue J, look really special. And he invites the community to come and enjoy its botanical beauty.  
 
It all started seven years ago, when the Rebbe’s son asked Mr. Markowitz to help him decorate the shul.  Since then, he has been doing it annually, each time adding more flora.  This year, the shul is blossoming with more greenery than ever before.  There are over two hundred  plants lining the ceiling  and cascading along the walls, as well as mountains of fern, babies breath, and luscious roses, displayed in lucite stands.  Close to one hundred pounds of cloves (besomim) are placed among the plants, giving off the intoxicating scent of Har Sinai.
   
For Markowtiz, who has been working on this project daily since Lag B’omer from four to six a.m., this is a labor of love.  Why does he do it?  “On Shvuos night,” he says, “there is a packed beis medrash filled with people sitting and learning.  There’s also a kollel here.  They all tell me it’s so nice to learn surrounded by all these flowers.” 
 
The floral display stays in place and can be viewed even after yom tov until Rosh Chodesh Tamuz.  When it is dismantled, Markowitz donates the plants.  He saves the besomim in containers until Yom Kippur, when he distributes it to local shuls.  As for the lucite stands, they are available for party planners to rent.  He can be reached at 718- 692-3533.

(YWN Desk)