David Ha'ivri speaking about the Jewish Shepherd's Tent

The Jewish Shepherd's Tent

Avraham Herzlich came to Israel many years ago, as a young man in search of his Jewish identity. After a long boat ride from America, he took off his shoes and walked the width and length of the Holy Land, barefoot. On his trek, he discovered Torah Judaism in the Yemenite community's traditions. He found his calling in herding small cattle, like the fathers of the nation of Israel - Avraham, Itzhak and Yaakov. He realized that a shepherd in the field, whose livelihood is truly reliant on the rains and seasons, can develop a sense of direct connection between himself - a simple Jew - and G-d and His blessings.

Avraham has been shepherding his flock of goats and sheep in the hills of Israel for over 40 years now - first in the Galil, and later in Shomron. He and his wife Aviva brought up their eleven children to value being close to the land and nature, and learning the ways of HaShem. Thirteen years ago, major tragedy struck Avraham's family when his daughter Talya and her husband Binyamin were killed in a roadside ambush by terrorists. Their six children were left orphans, to be raised by their extended family. And as if that were not enough, four years ago, his entire herd of 400 goats was stolen and transported into the Palestinian Authority, and lost forever.

With the small herd he has succeeded in gathering since, Avraham spends many hours every day out in the grazing lands near the town of Kfar Tapuach in Shomron. He walks many kilometers each day, moving his flock to fresh pastures, assisted by his faithful shepherd dogs and his grandchildren, who learn Torah and read Psalms with him, while enjoying the wonders of nature and the beautiful scenery of the hills of Samaria.

In short, Avraham has a unique life, and a story to tell.

The idea:

Avraham is not as young as he once was; his work is not getting any easier, and he has been through a lot. His daughter and son-in-law, Mollie and David Ha'ivri, came up with an idea that would help Avraham transform his life’s work into something that could be shared with people who wish to learn more about his ideals.

They have built a visitor's tent in the middle of his grazing land at Kfar Tapuach, and launched a Facebook page for the Jewish Shepherd. They have begun coordinating tour group visits with Avraham the Shepherd. The first season of this program was a big success. Tour groups included farmers from America, motorcycle clubs from Israel, new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Chabad Hasidim from New York, and journalists from both BBC and Arabic-language Alhura TV.

In some very unusual weather this past winter, Israel experienced two heavy blizzards. The first one was preceded by very strong winds, which caused major damage to the Shepherd's visitors’ tent. Now that the winter is behind us, we need to rebuild and expand the site to facilitate the expected flow of visitors this coming spring, summer and fall.

We need your help to make this happen. We plan to rebuild and expand the visitors’ tent, build restrooms for guests, build a cooking area and a pita bread oven, clear an area for car and bus parking, set up a shooting range for bow and arrow archery activities, build a holding pen for the goats, near the tent, and fence in grazing lands nearby.

The overall budget to do all of these things is about $75,000. But as we are known for doing the best we can with what we can get, we are looking to raise at least $5000, to start. Feel free to contact us directly, if you are interested in sponsoring major parts of this project. Donations can be recognized for your taxes. (Just ask, if you need documentation for that.)

Please take advantage of our perks program for this crowdfunding campaign. We ask for your help now, not only through your own donation, but that you also share with your friends and urge them to support this project as well.

Thank you for your help, and thank you for your friendship.

Please do come to visit.

The Jewish Shepherd's Tent Team