Up on the farm

Tal Ellis and his family, originally from south Texas, have found a way to share their goat-cheese enterprise with visitors to Moshav Tzipori, a small community nestled in the hills overlooking the Tzipori National Park in the Upper Galilee region.

The setting is fabulous, as Moshav Tzipori is built near the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Sepphoris, which sat on a hill overlooking the Beit Netufa Valley and served as the ancient provincial capital of Galilee, before Tiberias was built. Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi compiled the Mishna (an essential part of the Talmud) here, and the Sanhedrin (Judaism's 'Supreme Court') sat here for about 17 years. Tzipori is mentioned over 150 times in the Talmud - more than any other place in Israel except Jerusalem. The population was approximately 40,000 at that time - a major city which had two market places and minted its own coins. It also had a Roman amphitheater and approximately 17 synagogues.

Tzipori also has significance in Christian tradition. It was the city where Joachim and Anna, the parents of Jesus’s mother Miriam (Mary) lived. Nazareth is just a few miles up the hillside, and many scholars believe that Jesus’s father Joseph may have worked as a stone cutter in the bustling town, while Jesus could have also spent time there, perhaps studying in one of its synagogues.

Tal and his wife, Adi, immigrated to Israel in 1978, responding to ’a Zionist pull to come and raise our family here,’ Tal recently told The Christian Edition.

In 1985, the Ellis family relocated to Moshav Tzipori and started raising goats for the production of cheese and other products.

They called their cheese farm Tzon-El Dairy, meaning ’Flock of God’ — an appropriate name, given the venture ahead of them. Tal notes that there are many places in the Bible where God compares His love for Israel to a shepherd’s love for his flock.

In 1 Samuel 17:5, for example, it says that ’David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.’ In Ezekiel 34:15, God says, ’I will feed My sheep and I will cause them to lie down.’ And in John 21, Jesus admonishes his disciples to ’feed my sheep,’ referring to the spiritual feeding of His followers.

’We had some friends who had a few goats in Texas, and we were both interested in raising goats on a dairy farm,’ said Tal. ’For about 20 years, we also raised ’milk sheep’ — a special breed that produces milk instead of wool. My work was mostly in the milking parlor, where we would milk the sheep and goats twice a day. I also needed to feed the animals and take care of them.’

The work day for Tal and Adi generally started at 5 a.m. and only finished at about 9 p.m., seven days a week. Also rearing three young children, the couple began taking Christian and Jewish volunteers from abroad to help with chores around the farm. Some came during the busy birthing season in early spring, when sheep were giving birth at all hours of the day and night.

With a lot of hard work over the past 30 years, the Tzon-El dairy farm has become a thriving part of the community. Tal started to learn cheese-making in 1986, and in 1997 was able to build a cheese-making facility on the premises.

’I have made about 53 types of cheese from sheep or goat milk. It has turned into my passion in life,’ said Tal.

’Growing up in Virginia, Israel wasn’t a big part of my life,’ recalls Jacob, a former volunteer at Tzon-El. ’After high school I wanted to take a vacation overseas, and a friend suggested I see Israel. Through a contact in my synagogue, I found out about Tzon-El. It looked like fun, so I came for three months. It was a life-changing experience.

’I fell in love with the beauty of Galilee. It put a real desire in me to come back and raise my family here. A few years later, that’s exactly what I did,’ Jacob said.

Whether volunteers come for a short visit or an entire summer, Tal thinks there’s no better way to take in Galilee.

’Today if someone comes to our farm, they will see the flocks, sample our delicious cheeses and yogurts, and children can pet the animals. We love to have visitors, and it’s a good time for everybody.’

The village offers other attractions to visitors, including the Tzipori Village hostel, which features beautiful cabins for short or long-term stays, horseback riding, donkey rentals, the aqua-plant farm and a parrot farm. There is a grocery nearby, as well as a gift shop, a boutique for natural cosmetics and a mosaic workshop. Massages and beauty treatments are available at the Tzipori Country Spa.

During a stay in the community, visitors can also enjoy Tzipori National Park, the so-called ’Mona Lisa of Galilee.’ There are ruins in the surrounding hills that point to 2,000 years of continuous habitation, including several ancient synagogues. There are also hiking trails which lead to numerous ancient caves and picnic areas.

The natural wonders of the park include the waters of Tzipori springs, oak and pine forests, fields of wildflowers and a view that stretches from the Carmel all the way to Mount Hermon.

’This truly is God’s country,’ said one resident of the moshav. ’I’m almost sorry I live here, because I can’t think of a better place to take my family on vacation.’