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“On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham and said, “To your descendants I give this land…” Genesis 15:18 Thousands of years later Dr. Amir Kitron, a descendant of Abraham has returned to Judea where he has established his life, and a unique business, Herbs of Kedem. The Herbs of Kedem factory is nestled high in the Hebron Hills on the Jewish settlement of Carmel, first mentioned in the bible and re-established in 1980. Carmel is now home to Jewish pioneers who are dedicated to living and raising their families in this holy place. Herbs of Kedem products...

It takes a great man of faith to trust in G-d and obey His Word even when others tell him not to. Boaz Ido, one of the producers in our Lev Haolam family, is just such a man. When Boaz faced the problem of how to grow a flourishing olive grove while all he had were a few weak and withered trees, he knew he had to put the Torah first in his business, and G-d would bring the increase. To understand the situation that Boaz found himself in, we need to look back to 1979 when 10 Jewish families...

Many of you have written in lately to say how much you liked the Masik natural toothpaste we included in a recent package. We’re glad you liked it! This toothpaste is actually very special. It is made by Masik, a family-run natural cosmetics company based in the Golan Heights. This is one of the territories that the BDS movement is seeking to boycott, so your support is very important to them. Masik’s toothpaste contains no fluoride and is handmade from only natural ingredients. What makes it different from other natural toothpastes is that it contains Israeli Dead Sea salt. The...

You probably noticed some special cosmetic products in our last package: an organic night cream and a citron serum made by the family-run business Arugot. Now we want to tell you a little about what makes these cosmetics so special, and about the incredible couple who make them… Itai and Esther Lachman live in Netivot, a town in the Negev region of Israel, close to the Gaza border. So close, in fact, that they have just 15 seconds to make it to a bomb shelter or safe room when the sirens warn that rockets are coming from the Hamas-led Gaza...

Tourists visit Kibbutz Rosh Tzurim for the traditional cherry picking festival. (Photo: Courtesy) Over 8,000 people flocked to Kibbutz Rosh Tzurim in the Gush Etzion region in Judea, just south of Jerusalem on Friday for the annual cherry picking festival, less than two weeks after a nearby cherry orchard was attacked and torched by Arab assailants. The assailants responsible for the pre-dawn attack, using burning tires, have so far not been identified. Nevertheless, the festival continued and hundreds of families and took the opportunity to enjoy a healthy, natural and fun day out. Visitors were told that it was an...

Winding up Route 458, just half an hour North of Jerusalem, Kochav Hashachar peeks out from the horizon on the top of one of the hills apart of a vast chain of rolling mountains. The high school, which is most prominent from the road, displays its vast campus and the residential community is not situated too far behind on the next hilltop. Kochav Hashachar overlooks the stunning mountain ranges it sits on, with the mountains stretching across the border into Jordan. On a clear day, you can also spot the Dead Sea. The sunrise must be breathtaking, especially since the...

Naama Isaac, with her husband and their three children, live in the community of Tekoa, Judea. Naama has produced some wonderful products that have gone out in Lev Haolam’s Surprise Monthly Packages. Naama was born in Ofra where she lived for twelve years, when her family decided to move to Kochav HaShachar. Her parents were one of the first families to reside in the community after it had been established. “When Kochav HaShachar was created, they were looking for [new] families to move there to help strengthen the [young] community. So, we moved there for one year to help strengthen...

Brandon and Stephanie Treger immigrated to Israel with their four daughters from South Africa just over a year ago. The Tregers currently live in Efrat, one of the largest communities in Judea. In the short amount of time that they have lived in Israel, the Tregers already opened a chic boutique coffee shop called Power Coffeeworks. We recently went to visit and interview Brandon (and of course to taste the fantastic freshly brewed coffee), who is one of the newst producers for Lev Haolam’s Surprise Monthly Package Project. We arrived at the shop on a cold and rainy morning and...

We recently drove out to the beautiful neighborhood of Nofei Prat- located in the community of Kfar Adumim – to interview Yael Rozmarin, one of the producers for Lev Haolam’s Surprise Monthly Package Project. Upon entering Yael’s studio it became apparent that we were meeting with a sweet, warm woman. Given her calm demeanor, you wouldn’t realize that Yael had three children and ran her own studio on meeting her for the first time. We learned over the course of the interview, the quiet and serene lifestyle that Kfar Adumim provides its residents was one of the most influential reasons...

On a warm Thursday morning, the Lev Haolam team drove through the mountains of Samaria to a small community called Kohav Hashahar. It was there that we had planned to meet and interview Eliezer Rosenfeld, a musician and producer for Lev Haolam’s Surprise Monthly Package Project. Unbeknownst to us, Eliezer had much more in store for us than a simple interview. After we began the interview, Eliezer drew us into his story, painting his memories with words. As he started to tell us about his life, we were no longer sitting on his couch in Kohav Hashahar, but instead were...

Batya and Baruch Erdstein, with their six children, live in Itamar, a community located amidst the Samarian hills. Batya is originally from San Diego, California. She has a very pleasant, easy-going and spiritual demeanor. Batya has produced some of the fine ceramic products that have been sent in Lev Haolam’s Surprise Monthly Packages. We went to Itamar to interview Batya and to hear about her journey to and in Israel. Batya told us that her and her husband had always been interested in living in Judea and Samaria. “When we first got married, we lived in Bat Ayin [Judea], but...

Olga is the mother of 6 children. She lives in Tekoa (pronounced T’koa) a beautiful community in the Judean Hills, just south of Jerusalem. Tekoa is part of the area of Judea known as Gush Etzion (Etzion Block). Tekoa like all the communities in Gush Etzion, is located near the historical road called Derech Avot (Path of the Patriarchs) – a road traveled by all of the Jewish patriarchs. We traveled to Tekoa to meet with Olga, to hear her story and – although we did know it beforehand – to stand in awe by her masterpieces. Olga crafts stunning...

David Daniel has been a Lev Haolam supplier for a number of years. Among the many products from our Surprise Monthly Package Project, David has produced honey and therapeutic beeswax ointment for Lev Haolam, both of which come from the bee hives David owns and maintains in Hebron. His products are infused with his passion for the land of Israel. David was born and raised in the city of Hebron and currently lives there with his wife and 4 children. While it is true that David grew up in Hebron, his passion for the Hebron and for Israel goes beyond...

In light of all of the historical and present treasures that Israel has to offer, traveling through the area of Judea known as Gush Etzion (Eztion Block in English) is nothing short of mesmerizing. The Gush Etzion region, snugly nested within the Judean hills, is an area that starts approximately 20 kilometers south of Jerusalem and extends to just north of Kiryat Arba and Hebron. All of the communities of Gush Etzion are located adjacent and connected to a road called Derech Avot (road of the fathers). This road, which still exists, gets its name from the fact that it...

It has been approximately 15 years since my last trip out to the Shiloh region of Samaria. I fondly remember that first trip, visiting a beautiful family living on the hilltop community of Shvut Rachel, for Shabbat. However, this time I was with my colleague from Lev Haolam to meet with one of our suppliers, Boaz Netanel, who is the owner and manager of Aley Tamar Jewelry. While driving through the winding roads of Samaria, I was taken by the beautiful views, the vast hills and valleys. Upon entering Eli, the community where Boaz lives, a beautiful panorama brimming with...

Recently, we had the privilege of meeting a wonderful family living in the small community of Negohot (Judea). Negohot is just a few kilometers from the holy city of Hebron and is located on a remote hilltop in the Judean mountains. My collegues at Lev Haolam and I went to Negohot to meet Shimrit and Baruch Foychtvanger, the founders of Negohot honey. We got to hear the story of how the Foychtvanger’s made it to the community of Negohot and about how Negohot Honey was started. Negohot Honey was one of the products in the September package from Lev Haolam....

For those of you who haven’t heard about our Surprise Monthly Package Project, let me take a minute to explain a bit more about the “story” behind the monthly packages before getting into what’s inside of the packages. The Surprise Monthly Package Project Story About 4 years ago, Nati Rom, who lives in a small Jewish village near Shiloh decided to take upon himself the fight against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. “We saw that there were no efforts using the story of Judea and Samaria to combat the boycott movement working so hard against us,” Nati said. Nati’s...

On our way to meet this month’s producer, we drive along a winding road between olive trees and vinyards and climb up a steep mountain where a gem of the Judean Desert is revealed: Pnei Kedem. This hilltop is the home to 50 idealistic families who built their houses, planted their trees and paved the roads of their village with their own hands. We meet Tamar Rund in front of her house, as she greets us with a smile and a hot beverage. Even on a warm spring day, the winds of Pnei Kedem are cooling. She invites us inside...

Office Manager turned Confectioner in Response to her Husband’s illness As we enter this large space inside one of the buildings in the in the capital city of Gush Etzion, we smell the delicious aromas of fresh pastries, cinnamon, cocoa and chocolate. This is the new home of “Rachel’s Cookies”, a family business. Several employees roll the dough, grind nuts, mix them with dates and spices, prepare the fillings and cut the ready cookies into pieces. While packing is done by a machine, almost everything else is done manually. “And you can feel free to taste them” says Uriel Mekhaber,...

Have you ever wondered what inspires one to open a winery? For Avraham Moro and Michel Metzger, two French Jews who immigrated to Israel over than 30 years ago, the answer was quite fascinating. The two friends, who had been partners in construction business before, opened a winery when they wanted a business that would bring them not just money, but happiness. At the Amos Winery, you can feel it. Upon entering Amos winery, you first arrive at the visitor’s center, a welcoming place where wine or coffee is served all day, music performances are held every Saturday evening, and...

Founder of the “Holy Cacao” chocolate factory near Hebron Jo Zander is one of just a few dozen producers of bean-to-bar chocolate in the world. He sees his work as realization of a major commandment in Judaism: Improving the world. What is your connection to chocolate, how did you come to founding a chocolate factory? My connection to chocolate is both old and new. My grandfather was a baker, and I worked for him as a kid. I did not like chocolate at that time, I didn’t even like sweets at all, but there I learned to do things from...

In just ten years, Nicole Yehezkel has changed her life in all ways possible. She moved from Florida to Israel, from school to the IDF, became religious, moved to a community in Judea and Samaria, and started her own business. She sells natural cosmetics and medicinal products from Israeli-grown materials – herbs, oils and flowers. As we exit the car in the community of Halamish, or Neveh Tzuf, located in the hills of southwestern Samaria, just 26 km from Jerusalem, a stunning view with green hills all around opens up. I ask Nicole Yehezkel what she likes about living in...