Ex-local breeds ancient sheep for return to Israel
'Lift your eyes and see those coming from the North. Where is the flock that was given you, the sheep of your glory?' (Jeremiah 13:20)
A FORMER Zululander is making international headlines, after breeding the ancient Jacob’s sheep race successfully in Canada for export to Israel, where they have been extinct for almost 2000 years.
Jenna Lewinsky and husband Gil, stumbled upon the fascinating breed, ‘completely by chance’ when they wanted to re-home a baby bunny.
They however believe their chance encounter was divinely inspired and that it is their calling to ensure that Jacob’s sheep are returned to the Holy Land, in fulfillment of ancient Biblical prophesy.
The couple have fallen in love with the unique animals, which they say should be the national animal of Israel as they are likely to have been bred by the Jewish patriarch Jacob.
The Zululand Observer was tipped off about the interesting story by Jenna’s friend, veterinary nurse Sarie Killian and managed to track down Jenna (formerly Reinbach).
Jenna lived in Zululand until 2012 and as a teenager attended St Catherine’s School, where she matriculated in 2002. Her mom, Ria is a school teacher at Empangeni Preparatory.
Elated to share her story with her hometown, she says, ‘Zululand holds a special place in my heart’.
‘I met my husband in Israel in 2012 when I spend a year working for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem and he was working as a journalist for the Jerusalem Post.
‘We relocated to Canada in 2013, to Abbotsford, British Columbia province.’
The couple fortuitously came into contact with a lady from a heritage park that had Jacob sheep and Jenna took in 10 of them that needed urgent re-homing, initially against the will of her husband.
‘But he soon fell in love with them and became a bigger advocate than me for returning them to Israel.
‘We started to gather the flock since two years ago.
‘Jacob sheep have a larger brain mass than ordinary sheep. They are very curious and highly intelligent.
‘They are mentioned in Genesis 30 and 31 when Jacob earned them as wages from Laban.
‘They have a goat-like appearance and both ewes and rams have multiple horns and spotted patterns, with speckles which can be only observed once the sheep are sheared.
Red tape
‘The Israeli Agricultural Ministry was initially against the importing of live animals or sheep from Canada because there is no protocol between the countries.
‘Since late last year, they have however agreed to facilitate the return of the Jacob sheep subject to medical testing.
We have seen the health certificate for our export flock and some points are currently being re-negotiated.
‘We believe our flock will be leaving end of July, but it is in God’s hands.
‘We are raising funds for the medical testing of the flock and in future will need to erect a barn and fencing.
They produce 5 to 6 pounds of wool per sheep per year, which can be woven into religious clothing such as tzizit (prayer fringes), shirts and prayer shawls.
Their horns can be crafted into shofars, a Biblical instrument still used in Jewish ritual today.
The flock will be settled in a heritage park at the Golan Heights.
For more information, visit the Friends Of Jacob Sheep Facebookpage.
