Flavors and stories of special people, their dreams, passion and faith.
Yonay Olive Farm
The late Ehud Yonay and Shoshi Yonay's story, is deeply rooted in history and tradition. Ehud's great uncle was Rebbe Ezekiel Taub from Yablona in Poland, who led a group of poor Hasidic Jews to settle a farming village in the swamps of the Zebulun Valley in 1924. Later to be called ‘Kfar Hasidim’.
Before marrying Shoshi and establishing the Olive Farm, Ehud Yonay spent a couple of years in California as a journalist. The movie “Top Gun” was inspired by an article he wrote, and was published in a California magazine in May 1983. The article followed F-14 pilot and RIO, as they went through the Navy Fighter Weapons School training program. Ehud Yonay passed away in 2012, leaving his farm and legacy to his wife Shoshi and his son Yuval.
Watch the video where Shoshi is telling the amazing story of the village and her farm -
Bethlehem of Galilee Herbs Farm
On the northern edge of the Jezre’el Valley, about ten miles west of Nazareth, lies the picturesque village of Bethlehem of Galilee. The name ‘Beit-Lehem’ in Hebrew means the house of bread, probably because of the many wheat fields in the area. Some historians and especially one Israeli archeologist, Aviram Oshri, claim that the real Bethlehem mentioned in the New Testament, was this village close to Nazareth and not the one in Judea near Jerusalem. This is maybe why, in the 19th century, a group of protestant Christians from Bavaria in Germany settled the place as a farming colony. They were known by the name ‘Templers’. After the establishment of the State of Israel, in 1948, the village was inhabited by Jewish immigrants, among which was the Tsitershpiler family.
The Tsitreshpiler family has been growing spice for more than 50 years. Avi Tsitershpiler, the owner of the farm today, has absorbed the values of agriculture, landscape, nature and man since childhood, growing up and growing spice with his father Zvi, one of the pioneers of the spice industry in Israel. After his military service in the Faculty of Agriculture and later in Naturopathy, Avi Tsitershpiler has been continuously growing, processing, producing and marketing spices and herbs in Israel and around the world . In 2003 he decided to realize his dream and spread the vision of spice to every home in Israel. This is how the Spice Road Farm was born, a unique tourist concept of a visitor center for the world of spices and medicinal plants.
Kibbutz Kinneret Dates Farm
Kibbutz Kinneret was established on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret in Hebrew), in 1913. The location on the southern end of the lake, just near the place where the Jordan river is making its way south to the Dead Sea, was arid with almost no trees. Because of the warm climate in the valley, the first pioneers decided to grow date trees there. Operation Date Palm was launched to smuggle offshoots from the area of Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq through hostile Arab countries, all the way back to the Land of the Bible.
Open Sesame – 'Halva Kingdom'
Halva and Tahini from Machne Yehuda Market in Jerusalem.
Eli Mamman who runs the ‘Kingdom of Halva’, knows all the family secrets. Rooted in his Moroccan family, his recipes create this well-known Jerusalem-based sweet sesame treat. The halva sold at Halva Kingdom is only available at Machne Yehuda market, and the brand makes over a 100 different flavors and types.
The first Halva Kingdom store opened in 1947 in the Old City. After the Jews were deported from the Old City, the family opened the store at the Machne Yehuda market. The process of making the Halva includes imported organic sesame from Ethiopia, millstone grinding of the seeds, and mixing the blend with sugar until it is as sweet as it gets.
Besides Halva the grinding of the sesame seeds makes a delicious paste of raw Tahini which is also made in many different flavors. Both the Halva and the Tahini are rich with iron and calcium.
God has made a way for me to be in Jerusalem 5 times. and I have throughly enjoyed every time. Rafi Razones has become a close friend of my husband and I.