Nathan’s July 2021 Newsletter
There is always a silver lining.
This month I am going to start with the business updates and then get into what I am thinking about on the Jewish calendar’s saddest day of the year.
We are getting ready and I am very excited that we will be launching our pre-application on August 1st for our flagship program. We have done so much work to get to this point and it feels great to see the hard work coming together. We always want to hear what you have to say about our program and approach to culinary education, so all emails are welcome here.
There is also a lot of work being done for the JNF National Conference, coming up October 10th through 14th. We cannot wait to announce what we will doing and who will be participating in our GCI experience. Participants will not be disappointed.
Lastly, demolition is beginning and the building plans, as well as architectural renderings, are being finalized. We are also close to having the farmland selected and have added plans for an orchard, herb farm, amphitheater, greenhouse and flour mill. So much to do and I am looking forward to sharing more in the coming months.
Today on the Jewish calendar, it is Tisha B’av, known as the saddest day of the year. We have committed to sending our newsletter out on the 18th of the month (besides holidays and Shabbat), so today is no different. In fact, the reason for selecting the 18th is because 18 is the Gematria (numerical value of letters) of Chai - ‘חי’ (ח = 8 and י = 10, totaling 18) which means life. On this date in Jewish History, both of the holy temples in Jerusalem were destroyed (423 BEC and 70 CE) along with many other tragedies. A few more recent ones include the expulsion of England’s Jew’s in 1290 and the banishment of all Jews from Spain in 1492. So let us just say, not a great day in our history.
For those that know me, I am very optimistic and like to see the underlying positive that comes out of this day. It is usually from great tragedy that comes the greatest accomplishments. We need to remember those tough times to appreciate the successes, as you cannot know success without first having some temporary failures. I say temporary failures because this is how I see all failure, just a little bump on the road that leads to greatness.
The Sages say that this day will eventually turn into a holiday. One day we will all be able to look back on all our struggles to realize it was just to make us that much stronger. Those hard days allow you to appreciate the great ones.
It is up to us to choose life over death. Doing our part for the world, finding our greater purpose, and making the world a better place. So here is to pushing forward, knowing that brighter days are ahead of us, coming out of a pandemic to days of much joy, health, and happiness.
L’chaim (To life)
Nathan