My name is Menachem Goldberg. I was born in Israel in 1961, and, as an Israeli, served in the Israel Defense Forces. Following my army service I studied to be a licensed tour guide, and then went off to travel around the world. When I came back to Israel and married, we searched for a place to raise our family (we had one child at the time, today, thank God, we have six). We chose to settle in Hoshaya, a young settlement on the beautiful hills of the lower Galilee, in sight of Sepphoris – the site of the compilation of the Mishnah. Hoshaya was composed, at that time, of thirty-eight families, wonderful people, who had come together to build a new community in the land of Israel.
My dream, even before we moved to Hoshaya, was to create a site where visitors could relive the way of life of our ancestors in the Galilee. Here, in sight of the seat of the Sanhedrin, its sages, and its leader, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, redactor of the Mishnah, the dream became ever more compelling. We began to recreate the daily lifestyle of our ancient sages – how they lived by working the land – and, of course, we included the wisdom of those sages in our program, weaving the people, the Torah and the Land into an integrated whole.
This dream has come to fruition with the help of many good people, including assistance from the Jewish National Fund, the Jewish Agency, and even government agencies. The Hujirat family from Bir-el-Makhsur, devoted and committed workers, have built the village with us hand in hand.
Today, twenty years since we planted the first saplings that today provide abundant shade, we still give thanks to God for the strength, the wonderful people we live amongst, and the wonderful people we have the opportunity to host at Kfar Kedem.
Kfar Kedem hosts people of all ages, from Israel and abroad, Jews, Christians and Muslims. We are grateful for the privilege of sharing with them our approach to the Galilee, our faith and our hopes.
We pray that Kfar Kedem will continue to draw many visitors, and that the unique, hands-on activities they enjoy here will inspire them to be ambassadors of good will for our people and our country.