12 Monthly Challenges to Elevate Your Faith | February's Faith Challenge | 🌿 The "Zera" Challenge | Planting for the Future

Let’s kick things off with a challenge that focuses on the very first stage of growth: The Seed (Zera). This month is about clearing the "weeds" of our daily habits to make room for something holy to take root. Here is your monthly challenge.

🌿 The "Zera" Challenge: Planting for the Future

Focus: Purification, Preparation, and Perspective

1. The Physical: Clean the Vessel

To honor the body as a temple, this month’s wellness goal focuses on the Daniel Fast approach to veganism.

• The Action: For one week this month, eliminate all processed  food, sugars, and leavened breads.
• The Goal: Focus on "foods of the earth,” i.e. legumes, nuts, seeds, and leafy greens. Experience how your energy shifts when you eat closer to the garden.

🥗 The Physical: The Daniel Fast Concept

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the prophet Daniel and his companions refused the "king’s meat" and wine to keep themselves pure, choosing instead a diet of pulses (legumes, grains, and vegetables) and water.

• The Deep Dive: For us, this isn't just about weight loss; it's about spiritual clarity and clean eating. When you remove artificial ingredients, preservatives, heavy fats, and processed sugars, the "fog" lifts.
• The Recipe Concept: Think of a "Red Lentil Restoration Stew." Inspired by the lentils that were a staple in the ancient Near East, you can use red lentils, cumin, coriander, and hearty greens like kale.
• The Goal: You are proving to yourself that your body can be sustained and strengthened by what the Earth provides naturally, just as Daniel appeared "fairer and fatter in flesh" than those who ate the king’s dainties (Daniel 1:15).

2. The Mental: Know Your Lineage

You cannot know where you are going without knowing where you have been.

• The Action: Research the life of King Josiah (2 Kings 22-23).
• The Wisdom: Pay attention to what happened when the Book of the Law was rediscovered. Reflect on what "ancient treasures" you might have tucked away in your own life that need to be dusted off.
• The Josiah Reform (History 101)

King Josiah is one of the most remarkable figures in Hebrew history because he represents the "Ultimate Reset."

• The Context: At only 26 years old, while repairing the Temple, his priest found the "Book of the Law." Josiah realized his entire nation had forgotten their roots.
• The Action: He didn't just feel bad; he acted. He tore down the high places and removed the idols (2 Kings 23).
• Personal Application: This month, identify your "mental idols." What takes up space in your mind that doesn't belong to the Creator? Is it social media scrolling? Anxiety? Use this history lesson to inspire a "Mental Temple Cleaning."

3. The Spiritual: The "Mizmor" (Psalm) Practice

Prayer is the water that allows the seed to crack open.

• The Action: Commit to reciting Psalm 1 every morning before you look at a digital screen.
• The Prayer: “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season...” (Psalm 1:3).
• 🌿  The Spiritual: The "Mizmor" (Psalm) 1 Practice

Psalm 1 is the perfect "seed" scripture because it contrasts two types of people: the Tree and the Chaff.

• The Tree: Planted by rivers of water, bring forth fruit in season, leaf shall not wither.
• The Chaff: Driven away by the wind.
• The Practice: To truly "elevate your faith," you must meditate on the Law "day and night" (Psalm 1:2). This doesn't mean reading for 24 hours; it means carrying a single verse in your mind like a song on repeat. When you face a challenge this month, ask yourself: "Am I acting like a rooted tree or a piece of blowing chaff?"

4. The Relational: Cultivating the Soil

Whether you are single or married, your "soil" is the environment you create for others.

• The Action: Practice lashon hara (guarding the tongue). For 24 hours each week, consciously choose to say nothing negative about anyone - including yourself.
• The Tool: When you feel a complaint rising, replace it with a "Jewel of Wisdom" or a compliment.

💎 Lashon Hara & Relationship Advice

The term lashon hara (evil tongue) is a foundational concept in Hebrew ethics. It refers to speaking truthful but derogatory things about others.

• For Couples: Negative speech acts like salt on a seedling - it kills growth. If you have a grievance, address it with the intent to build, not to vent.
• For Singles: How you speak about your future spouse or your current self matters. If you say "I'll never find anyone," you are planting weeds.
• The Biblical Root: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21). This month, treat your words like "Jewels of Wisdom." If the word isn't a jewel, don't let it leave the treasury of your mouth.

📓 5. The Tool: The Zera Journal

A goal not recorded is just a wish.

• The Layout: Divide your daily entry into three small sections:
1. Sustenance: What did I feed my body today? (Did I choose the Garden or the King's Meat?)
2. The Scroll: One historical fact or scripture that stood out.
3. The Sprout: One moment where I chose "Life" or "Blessing" in my speech or actions.

📝 Your "Kol Tzion" Growth Tool

To help you track this, I recommend keeping a "Zera Journal." Every evening, write down one thing you learned about your history and one "green shoot" (a small victory) from your day.

This is where the transformation begins. Let's take those "Zera" (Seed) seeds and give them the rich soil they need to sprout.

Here is your one-week Daniel Fast meal plan, crafted specifically for the Kol Tzion community. This plan focuses on "pulse" (legumes, grains, and vegetables) and water, inspired by the sustenance provided in the Tanakh.

6. 🥗 The "Pulse & Prayer" One-Week Meal Plan 

👨‍🍳 Featured Recipe: Jacob’s Red Lentil Pottage

This is the ultimate comfort food for a fast. It is hearty, protein-rich, and deeply grounding.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Red Lentils (rinsed)
• 1 Large Onion (diced)
• 4 cloves Garlic (minced)
• 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Cumin & 1 tsp Coriander
• 6 cups Vegetable broth or water
• Garnish: Fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lemon.

Instructions:

1. Sauté: Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onions and garlic, sautéing until soft and fragrant.
2. Spice: Stir in the cumin and coriander for 30 seconds to release the oils.
3. Simmer: Add the lentils and liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20–25 minutes until the lentils are soft and creamy.
4. Bless: Serve warm. As you eat, reflect on the "birthright" of your health and spiritual inheritance.

The Daily Foundation

This menu is designed to be simple, grounding, and spiritually symbolic.

• Drink: Water and herbal teas (no sweeteners).
• Snack: Raw almonds, walnuts, and "Jewel" fruits (fresh figs, dates, or pomegranate seeds).

🥗 Seven-Day Daniel Fast Meal Plan

• Day 1: Jacob’s Red Lentil Pottage
• The Dish: A hearty stew made with red lentils, onions, garlic, and cumin.
• Biblical Inspiration: “Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils...” (Genesis 25:34).
• Day 2: Roasted Gourd & Barley Bowl
• The Dish: Savory baked squash served over hulled barley and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.
• Biblical Inspiration: “And YAH Prepared a gourd...” (Jonah 4:6).
• Day 3: Fava Bean Mash (Ful)
• The Dish: Smashed fava beans seasoned with fresh lemon, garlic, and parsley.
• Biblical Inspiration: “...beans, and lentils, parched corn, and parched pulse” (2 Samuel 17:28).
• Day 4: The Exodus Salad
• The Dish: A crisp, refreshing mix of cucumbers, leeks, onions, and garlic with a lemon-oil dressing.
• Biblical Inspiration: “...the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic” (Numbers 11:5).
• Day 5: Ezekiel Grain Pilaf
• The Dish: Ancient grains (millet and spelt) mixed with chickpeas and seasoned with dried hyssop.
• Biblical Inspiration: “Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and fitches...” (Ezekiel 4:9).
• Day 6: Vineyard Greens
• The Dish: Braised kale or chard topped with toasted pine nuts and a splash of red wine vinegar.
• Biblical Inspiration: “...and let them give us pulse to eat...” (Daniel 1:12).
• Day 7: Seven Species Harvest Bowl
• The Dish: A nutrient-dense bowl of barley, pomegranate seeds, and sliced figs over fresh greens with olive oil.
• Biblical Inspiration: “A land of wheat, and barley, and vines... and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey” (Deuteronomy 8:8).

💎 Jewel of Wisdom: The "Bitters"

When you eat simple, earthy foods, your palate resets. You may find that a simple date tastes like the finest candy, or a piece of barley bread (unleavened) feels incredibly filling. This physical reset is a mirror for your spiritual life: when we remove the "excess" of the world, we can finally taste the sweetness of the Truth.

GOD still loves you, Israel. The call remains the same: Choose Life, Choose Blessing, Choose Undivided Devotion. Repent, Return, and be free from the shadows of gross darkness.

I hope this blog post has been helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below. Shalom qodesh qadasheem - the “set apart ones.”