“The exodus from Egypt occurs in every human being, in every era, in every year, and in every day.” Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. 

The big question that everyone should ask themselves is “what is my Egypt?”.  We are in the beginning days of Passover, and the story of Passover is relevant in all of our lives. Just like the quote above, we all have our Egypt, and it is our job to break free from those limitations.  Whether it is our own mind telling us we cannot do something or staying in a job because it’s comfortable. This was the big issue in the Passover story as the Jewish people were used to being slaves and at a certain point, accepted their fate. We also see this after leaving Egypt, some people wanted to go back into slavery rather than face the unknown. 

Just as it was thousands of years ago, the same is happening today. We get used to doing things a certain way and once we get a little uncomfortable doing something different, we creep back into our old habits. Change is hard, and our internal systems were created to avoid pain and discomfort.  While this is extremely important when you are trying to survive in a life and death situation, in our normal everyday lives, this holds us back from growing (as I always say, there is no growth in the comfort zone). 

This is where the power to choose comes in. We have the power to choose how we focus our energy, who we surround ourselves with, what passions we pursue and how we approach life on a daily basis. If something is not going as planned, change something. If you are unhappy, ask yourself the difficult questions and figure out what small steps you can take to get you out of that funk. If you are not doing work you are passionate about, figure out how you can get closer to work that is fulfilling. The point is simple, decide and act, as it all starts with your decision to choose greatness.

Now to the GCI and speaking of greatness, the application process for our first cohort is off to an amazing start. We are already in the interview process of applicants for our first cohort and as I mentioned before, we are only selecting about fifteen students in this inaugural cohort. These prospective students clearly understand the power to choose and are extremely passionate about pursuing their culinary careers. While it is not too late to apply for the first cohort (or second cohort which will be later in 2023), if this is something you’re interested in, or you wanted to share with a family member or friend, now is the time to get moving. 

We are also very excited to update everyone that we received our last permit for the main building, so the construction process is underway. We hosted a lot of JNF USA guests over the last month and had an amazing Shabbat Dinner with the JNF Makor group.  We also had a few surprise visitors and Dovi, our first GCI employee, shared a very touching moment about the GCI coming together, so I figured I’d share this letter as it gives a  glimpse of everything coming together (see below). 

Other updates are that we are looking to hire a few team members, creating some great relationships with individuals and companies, and working on our product strategy for tourism. While we are taking a break this week with the holiday, we have a lot of work to do to get us ready for opening our doors. Looking forward to the challenge and celebrations that are coming soon. 

Sending blessings to everyone and their families of health, success, and love in all areas of life.  

L’chaim (To life)

Nathan 

Dovi’s Letter:

I want to share an experience with you that was a milestone moment for me and very satisfying.

This past Shabbat I 'happened' to be in Tsfat and by 'coincidence' so were a group of donors from JNF so the Hoffmans hosted a huge meal which is nothing out of the ordinary (Yehudis, Nathan's wife working her magic with such elegance and grace as usual) except that there was the group from JNF. 

As we made our way from synagogue towards the Friday night meal, I learned that we had 2 more surprise guests, non-other than Dominique aka Domi who is a prospective student from Chile in the application process and her husband. They were on holiday, left their two boys aged 2 and 4 at home and came up to check out Israels North.

As we sat together at the meal, I looked around the table and had the most surreal feeling overcome me. About 3 years ago, in 2019 when Nathan first told me about The GCI what got me most excited was the goal to bring new young families to the north of Israel. 

Since then, a lot has happened and been accomplished but uniting at the same table around delicious food bringing together the loving, friendly and idealistic donors, Nathan who has worked tirelessly to put all the pieces together and a young couple exploring the option of making the brave move was for me a highlight so far and a moment I will never forget. Realizing that our work has the potential to change lives and generations.

Huge shout out to Bazy, for recognizing this opportunity and the personal touch that brought this about and goes without saying to Celia and her team who's marketing efforts lead to Domi hearing about us in the first place!

I ended up having some quality conversations with the couple from Chile and they expressed to me that the experience was like nothing they've ever experienced before.

I feel so energized and excited to continue doing this amazing work with you guys to make the dream a reality and we are getting closer every day 🙂

Wishing you all a happy passover!

Dovi