Read the Villa Tiferet blog and find out what's happening in Tzfat.

Israel's Love Affair with Honey

9/26/2016

As Israelis prepare for the Jewish New Year, honey becomes a supreme ingredient. We bake with it and we drizzle it over our challah at the traditional meals.

Walk into any grocery store this time of year, and you will sees jars and bottles of honey piled up front and center. Israelis stock up on it and enjoy it over the festivals.

Israelis Love Honey
As we are nearing this sweet time of year, there is no better opportunity to reflect on where honey comes from and how important it is. So happily, Israel provides timely answers by offering its annual honey festival.

Israelis consume 4,000 tons of honey a year and 40% of honey (some 1,600 tons) is enjoyed from Rosh Hashana through Sukkot.

Honey…yummy
As we all have a sweet tooth, we should make time to take part in Israel’s annual honey festival. This year, the Traditional Honey Festival will be held from September 22 through October 29 at various bee farms across the country.

So gather the family and head to a local apiary. With 100,000 apiaries located across the country, there are many places to visit. Israel has 450 beekeepers (apiarists) who have placed some 60,000 apiaries in agricultural areas to help promote pollination.

Nature’s Prize Pollinators
Honey production has been practiced in Israel for thousands of years. It is a very important industry as bees help pollinate 80% of all crops including vegetables and fruits. Birds, bats and butterflies are the other pollinators.

Since bees are so important to our future crops, Israel has deemed it important to keep a check on their health. Israel is presently the only country in the world that insists beekeepers offer clean, water free of pesticides to their bees. The industry also monitors every hive.

Bees Love The Galil
Israel’s north is host to many bee farms. During the festival, many farms are open to the public. The apiarists will offer classes on the life of the honey bee, workshops on candle making from bees wax, honey cake baking and of course, honey tasting. Some will offer video presentations and information on the incredible healing benefits of honey including the products royal jelly and propolis.

Apiaries to visit in the Galil

Pirchei Hagalil, Moshav Monot
Kaveret HaBustan in Pekiin Druze Village
Dvash Machanaim
Ofir, Alon Hagalil
Yaarat HaDvash, allonai Abba
Galil Apiary on Kibbutz Shamir
Dvorat Ha Tavor, Lower Galilee

For more information on the festival, check out the Honey Council’s website

And here is information on apiaries across the country that you can visit.

It’s no mistake that when Israelis send each other new years’ greetings, the word sweet (matok) is a big part of the wish.

So wishing you all a Shana Tova v’metuka, a happy and sweet new year!

Israel is for Twitchers

9/1/2016

Hoopoe Bird Hula Valley

Photo by Itamar Grinberg for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism

We all know that Israel has long been considered the center of the world. Nestled between the three continents, Africa, Europe and Asia, great empires have marched through this small land bridge over millennia.

We also know that Israel is the seat of three major world religions. But did you know that Israel is set at an intercontinental junction, making it an important hub for birds?

Every autumn, 500 million birds fly across Israel, a bottleneck for migration routes that attracts some 540 species. To put this in perspective, the American Birding Association counts 976 species in the US -- yet Israel is just the size of New Jersey. With 540 species, there is much to see in one compact place!

Part of Israel’s secret is the country’s biodiversity. With Mount Hermon towering at 2200 meters in the north and the Dead Sea set at 440 meters below sea level (the lowest place on earth), there is an incredible diversity of birds, plants, wildlife and geology.

So if you love bird watching (and love it so much, you consider yourself a twitcher), consider a birding trip to Israel in the fall. The weather is superb – not too hot and not too cold. Skies are bright and deep blue, hosting an impressive array of birds.

Literally a terrestrial bridge, Israel offers birders a chance to view many species of shorebirds, owls, passerines, cranes, hawks, falcons, pelicans, herons, storks, allies, anseriformes and galliformes.

The best birding places are the Hula Valley, including Agamon Park and Hula Nature Reserve, Mt. Hermon, the Golan, Beit She’an valley and the Mediterranean coast.
In fact, all of these places are within a short drive of Tzfat! Just sitting on the roof of Villa Tiferet, you can see elegant storks and cranes circling, cresting upon warm thermal winds. Some 350,000 storks pass over Israel on their way to East Africa, their home for the winter. The fall skies are also filled with white pelicans and cranes. Here is a calendar of birding month by month.

And don’t miss out on an opportunity to bird in the desert. Israel is such a small place, you can fit many diverse habitats (and many birds) into one trip. Be sure to head to the Dead Sea, the Western Negev and Nizzana.

November 20 to 27, 2016 Hula Valley Birds Festival

If you want to be part of the sixth annual bird festival, consider the Hula Valley Birds Festival

Developed by the Israel Ornithological Center, this week-long festival attracts birdwatchers from all over the world and captures the essence of the fall migration. Led by professional birding guides, the festival includes a mobile hide, ringing demonstrations, lectures and a chance to visit the best birding spots in the country.

If you are a birder and have not yet been to Israel to view the bird migrants, add this country to your twitching calendar…you may just add a lifer to your year list!

Israeli Birding Resources
http://www.tatzpit.com/site/en/pages/homePage.asp
http://www.birds.org.il/en/index.aspx
http://israbirding.com/
http://www.natureisrael.org/birding
http://www.natureisrael.org/Explore-Natural-Israel/Hula-Valley-Bird-Fesitval

Tefen Music Festival - August 25 to 28, 2016

8/25/2016

The Galilee offers more than beautiful landscapes and a refuge from Israel’s intense summer humidity- The Galilee is fast becoming a cultural destination, especially for music lovers. Safed’s Klezmer Festival draws thousands to its three-night music extravaganza. And now, Tefen offers a brand new music festival at its Open Museum, high up in the hills just east of Haifa. It is a scenic 35-minute drive from Tsfat.

Over these three days, Tefen will feature two Israelis Orchestras, the Sinfonietta Beer Sheva and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Come listen to chamber concerts and symphonies in this beautiful outdoor setting.

Similar to Tzfat’s master classes, which are still ongoing, this festival also features classes for young musicians and a chance for them to perform in symphonic programs. Jewish, Arab and Armenian musicians will learn and perform together in the festival.

And while you are there, enjoy all that Tefen has to offer….

Vintage Car Museum
Be sure to check out the vintage car museum with a special collection of forty cars dating from the early 20th century. This rare collection is owned by industrialist Eitan Wertheimer and is a one-of-a-kind in Israel and one of the largest in the world. All of these cars were once driven in Israel and were picked up from scrap yards and painstakingly restored.

German Jewry Heritage Museum
In addition to the car museum, Tefen also offers a Heritage Museum that tells the story of German-speaking Jewry until World War II. It also features displays on the contribution of German Jews who made aliyah to Israel. In total, the museum showcases artifacts on architecture, art, industry, law and medicine in interactive presentations and photography as well as some 5,000 German books.

Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden
Tefen’s Art Gallery features a comprehensive collection by sculptor Ofra Zimbalista. Both indoor and outdoor, view her collection of haunting figures climbing walls, strolling and huddling. Stroll through the gardens and inside the gallery to view her striking collection of sculptural characters. In these large Mediterranean sculpture gardens a hundred sculptures have been thoughtfully placed, turning it into an outdoor gallery.

Information
Admission to the festival is free. Admission to concerts in 30 NIS.
Check out the Tefen festival page on Facebook
To reserve a place at a concert, call (04) 910-9613; (04) 910-9611
Click here for museum opening hours

Tzfat Klezmer Festival 2016

8/9/2016

Klezmer 2016 – It’s about Klezmer and much more!

As Tsfat gears up for the Klezmer Festival by building outdoor stages, painting, cleaning the streets and installing sophisticated sound and lighting, there is a great buzz in this usually sleepy mountain town.

This year, there will be 35 musicians and bands playing in 70 concerts on five outdoor stages across town. All in three nights! But did you know that aside from these three exciting nights of free concerts on five outdoor stages, there are other fun, free activities to do in Tsfat?

Concert Schedule

Informative Lectures – “Tsfat Before the Festival”
Every afternoon before Klezmer, head to the Tsfat Academic College to hear experts talk about history and archeology. A choice of lectures take place every afternoon just before the Klezmer festival music begins. Hear researchers, professors, historians and archeologists from the college present their findings.
See the schedule here:

Free City Tours
During the month of August, there are free walking tours led by professional guides. The informative tour takes visitors through the cobbled lanes of the Old City and into the ancient synagogues. The tour is in Hebrew but if you need help with translation, the guides will be happy to help you out. To sign up for a tour, click here

‘Far and Near Tour’ led by the director of Tsfat Academic College
Listen to Shmuel Har Noi as he takes you through the streets of Tsfat and uncovers interesting stories about two old hospitals that once stood in Tsfat: Beit Boussel and the Hadassah Rothschild Hospitals.
The tour starts at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, August 16
For more information, call 04-6974403

International Master Classes
August 21-25, 2016

Here is a special opportunity to see masters at work teaching young musicians. Held the week after the Klezmer Festival is the International Master Classes. Led by Eyal Shiloach, this exciting project enables young musicians to learn from international musical masters.

There are classes in classical music, chamber music, Klezmer style, Arab music and vocal.
Guests are welcome to sit in on classes at the Academic College in these two locations. Wahl House, 7 Jerusalem Street (in Boussel House); and Kich House, 10 Jerusalem Street. Every night, there is a free concert open to the public.

Here is the schedule of events and a link for more information
http://www.intlmasterclasses.com/en/108

Live Theater - August 15, 16, 17
Aside from music, Tsfat is proud to introduce theater to their 2016 klezmer festival. The Tsfat Community Theater Group presents a restaging of “The High School,” a play by Arnold Perl that is based on a story by Shalom Aleichem.
The play will be performed at the Khan of the White Donkey on August 15, 16 and 17.
The performance starts at 5pm and tickets are 50nis. To order tickets, contact Laurie at laurierappeport@gmail.com

Magical Tsfat

7/27/2016

Sites and sounds of Israel

7/19/2016

Glass Class

7/18/2016

Tsfat has always been a creative town. With galleries lining the streets and painters bent at easels in cobbled alleys, the creative element is thriving here. Aside from strolling through the galleries, visitors should also try their hand at creating art. When in Tsfat, do as the Tsfatis do!

We did this last week at the fused glass gallery of Kathleen Wasserman. An olah from Riverside, California, Kathleen has brought fused glass art to Tsfat and is one of just a few glass artists living in Israel.

Fused glass is created when layers of glass are heated and melted in a kiln, fusing together into beautiful pieces of art. Some pieces can be raised and textured, while others are flat. This beautiful craft is also a great activity for both adults and kids.

Kathleen’s studio/workshop is set in the heart of Tsfat, atop the Kikar HaMeginim. Follow the stairs up to a sun-filled room with sweeping views over the mountains. Kathleen warmly welcomes you and seats you at a table. She then hands out safety glasses and shows you how to cut glass and then stack it. She has drawers filled with glass in all shapes and colors and if you have a certain glass piece in mind that is not available, she is quick to prepare for you.

After the explanation, we then chose our project, as well as the shape and size of the piece we wanted to work on. Then, we started to design, letting our imaginations run free. There is nothing more fun and relaxing than creating with one’s hands.
As we made our glass pieces, the sun was setting behind the

mountains, casting a warm orange glow. “Next time you come, bring a bottle of wine to really let your muse come out,”Kathleen suggested. And what a great idea that would be!
Kathleen’s workshop is set up to take groups of children and families and she enjoys passing on her love of fused glass to all. If you would rather buy a beautiful piece directly from this talented artist, Kathleen also offers a lovely selection of plates, dishes and mezuzah covers for sale. Please contact Kathleen to make an appointment or drop by the studio to check out her art.
Kathleen 058 480 8501 quiltedartglass@gmail.com

How does Israel inspire you?

7/12/2016

Mediterranean Courtyard Garden

6/19/2016

A picture is worth a thousand words. Welcome to our oasis. Picture yourself here. Now.

Why I Love Living in Israel: Reason #247

4/15/2016

On Friday, as I rode along the boardwalk overlooking the Mediterranean in the glorious midday sunshine I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for being able to live here. Stopping along the way for a cold beer and some live music I soaked in the sights and sounds that surrounded me. People are happy and relaxed, enjoying life with friends and family. Riding through a park I watched Jewish and Arab children playing together, running and laughing through a fountain. I wish so much that people outside of Israel could have seen Tel-Aviv through my eyes that day.