Eyal Hirshfeld (an Israeli) and Avigail (South African) met in the Sinai in 1996, where they were working as scuba diving instructors. They continued their travels around the world, and spent a year living in a teepee in the mountains of Southern Mexico. On a cold winter’s night their first child was born next to a fire in this teepee. “This period was a time of going back to the roots both physically and spiritually. Living so close to nature without distractions, helped open our eyes to the tremendous love of the Holy One of Israel.”
 

We returned to Israel in 1999, and have since expanded… now having 6 children. We are following in the footsteps of our forefathers as modern pioneers in the Negev desert, Israel. We have made our home in a little village called Ezuz, close to the border with Egypt (Sinai), in the Biblical area of Kadesh Barnea. According to mainstream rabbinical interpretation, this is where the children of Israel paused from their wanderings for 19 years. It is a place where God prepared them spiritually for their future conquest of the Promised Land.
 

We enjoy doing as much as possible from HOME… We have dairy goats and make our own yoghurt, cheese and bread. We birth at home, school at home and operate a family-business from home (Exodia and the Zimmerbuses – unique guestrooms built into retired buses). (Click here to see how the Zimmerbuses were built)
 

“EXODIA is derived from a combination of Hebrew and Greek. 'Exodus' meaning 'exit' in Greek, and 'Yah', one of the many Hebrew names of our God. Our main focus is to provide you with a special opportunity to exit the world's rat race with its constant pressure of time, and enter into the eternal time frame of Yah. Here, in the Biblical desert of Pharan, this is possible. We offer you what is priceless in today's world: time, space and peace… a setting where you can pause, in the midst of one of the world's most special deserts.
 

The open spaces, nature and incredible history of this area, all add to a once in a lifetime experience. Your stay here will give you a taste of all aspects of life in the desert: From the wisdom of the Torah, (which was given here to Israel), through the amazing history and archeology of the children of Israel and of the Nabatians (nomadic people who lived here during the second temple era); to insight into the struggles and victories of Israel’s modern pioneers.