The Baal Shem Tov, or Besht —  the founder of Chasidism — 
met the soul of the Messiah during an ascent to heaven. 
The Besht asked him, "When will the Master come?" 
The Messiah answered, "When your wellsprings break forth to the outside!" 
(from a letter written by the Besht to his brother-in-law about one of his soul ascents) 

Project Wadi Attir—a new JNF?

From JNF's website:

Project Wadi Attir: A Model Sustainable Desert Community

As a part of its Blueprint Negev program and its work with Bedouin communities in Israel's southern region, JNF announces a new partnership with a uniquely innovative initiative — Project Wadi Attir.

Located near the Bedouin town of Hura, Project Wadi Attir seeks to develop and demonstrate a model for sustainable, community-based agricultural enterprise, adapted to a desert environment. It is designed to combine Bedouin aspirations, values and experience with sustainability principles, modern day science and cutting edge technologies. The project was initiated in order to showcase a breakthrough approach to environmentally-sound sustainable development. It will make a real difference locally and will serve as a model for arid regions in other parts of the world.

[Read more...]

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At savethenegev.org, we haven't heard any independent evaluations of this project, but we're glad to see JNF moving in a better direction with this project. There's still much they need to change. Most importantly, the JNF needs to commit to not planting forests on top of any Bedouin village that has been destroyed by Israel's government. But we think that Project Wadi Attir is a sign tat JNF has heard some of our criticisms.

Design in progress © Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg 2006