Nachal Novea Mekor Chochma was founded nearly fifty years ago to resuscitate and rebuild a shattered Tsfat. Its founders took upon themselves the task with a deep awareness of the city's dormant holiness and global significance of a rebuilt Tsfat. They toiled to resurrect the magnificence of her true character, beginning on the very site in the Old City where the Arizal and his students lived half a millenium earlier. Ironically, it was also the epicenter of destruction wrought by catastrophic earthquakes in the 18th and 19th centuries. The disaster was so overwhelming that everyone despaired of rebuiling the city again and abandoned her. Against all odds, Nachal Novea systematically established centers of Judaism in Tsfat to restore spiritual excellence to the world. These centers are now educating the Jewish people from the inside out.
Today, Tsfat is pulsating with Jewish life on every level, attracting continuous waves of new residents and groups to settle in the city. It ranks as the third most popular tourist destination in Israel and according to municipal estimates, 1.2 million people visit Tsfat each year, 25% in direct contact with Nachal Novea's hosting and outreach programs.
After generations of dormancy, the hidden radiance of Tsfat's spiritual treasures is being unleashed as the vision of Nachal Novea Mekor Chochma continues to unfold. Tsfat is our spiritual inheritance, but there is still much to do to ensure that her sublime light will continue to grow and endure for generations to come.