How do we create surprise boxes that tell a story?

We start with the Bible and let the holy words guide and inspire us. When we have our theme in mind, we find Israel's most talented artisans and artists to bring the story to life!

Living in the Holy Land gives us a unique opportunity to bring the Bible to life through our magical surprise boxes. Everyone on our creative team grew up and fell in love with this beautiful Land, surrounded by our history, ancient and modern.

Over the past decade, we've welcomed our members to travel to Jerusalem with us, delving through layers of history to the heart of the mystical Old City. We have explored the length and breadth of the Land through our Seven Species of the Land of Israel surprise box. Our community could touch, taste, smell, and see the Land and its harvest! We even stepped back in time and experienced the wonder of Noah's Ark!

Our imagination never stops, our curiosity is never-ending, and as long as there are stories of the Bible and the Land to tell, we will continue to weave them into our surprise boxes.

How do we turn ideas and inspiration into a thrilling surprise box?

Step 1: Developing the theme of the surprise box

Every surprise box begins with a gathering of the creative team. We sit with tea and coffee and explore the box's theme together. We share feelings, insights, and ideas to capture the essence of the story to be told.

We want to share the Samaria town of Beit El with our members, as this is a significant Biblical location and now, once again, a flourishing Jewish village. After much discussion, we knew Jacob's Dream was the perfect way to do that!

Step 2: A picture is worth a thousand words

Over two or three months, the team works closely with our artists and graphic designers to create the packaging and artwork for the surprise boxes. Our artists and graphic designers bring their insight and experience to the project, and together, with lots of conversation, sketches, color palettes, and back and forth, they bring our vision to life!

For the Jacob's Dream box, we sat with Menachem Halberstadt, whom we have worked with on previous projects. We talked about the dream and how to convey its deep spiritual significance. From the first pencil sketch, we could see that Menachem understood our vision. Once the painting was complete, we calculated how to fold it so that when our members opened their surprise boxes, they would open the painting, like a ladder itself, and capture the feeling of ascending it to heaven!

Step 3: Curated treasures that delight our members and support our producers

As we plan to fill our boxes with the best Israeli artisanal products, we keep our members in mind, choosing items that capture the spirit of the land and help small family businesses. We seek artisans who infuse their work with love and care. For many of our producers, a Lev Haolam order is the largest they have ever had, so we partner with them, working side by side, encouraging, problem-solving, and packaging their creations for the surprise boxes!

Hadas Koka created the stunning necklace that was the gift at the heart of the Jacob's Dream surprise box. She is a jeweler we love working with because her designs share her connection with the Torah and Israel. We were stunned by the exquisite necklace and wanted to create packaging that reflected its beauty and the box's theme. It took weeks to develop the perfect packaging, and when we saw the final box, we were thrilled with our collective efforts!

Step 4: Making connections, introducing our producers to our community

The Lev Haolam magazine is a member-favorite in our boxes. The magazine is our way of sharing updates from Israel that keep our community deeply connected in a meaningful way with what's happening in Israel. We gas up our cars and hit the road to meet, interview, and photograph our producers for in-depth articles so you can get to know them. Over the years, we have fostered a vibrant global Lev Haolam community with friendships that began with our surprise box magazines.

Our producer partners are emotional about the messages they receive from members worldwide. Many members have even visited producers they connected with through the surprise boxes! It is a dream come true to know each surprise box connects all of us in Israel with our new extended family worldwide!

Step 5: Putting it all together, pack and ship!

Once all the products have been made and the packaging is complete, we build the unboxing experience! When our community receives their treasures from Israel, it's a special event in their homes. They tell us how they gather families to open each box, and we ensure the experience takes them on a journey.

We are adamant that we rise to the occasion and agonize over how each product will fit in the box and be padded and packed to journey thousands of miles from our warehouse in Israel to their front doors! We leave nothing to chance. For Jacob's Dream, we included directions that explained to our members how to open the artwork to experience the effect of the ladder from Jacob's Dream unfolding toward heaven! We are only complete once we know that every unboxing will be a portal to Israel and the land we love.

A wise person once said, do what you love, and you'll never work a day! We can tell you that's true. Each of our boxes takes enormous effort and hundreds of hours to create, and it is worth every minute!

Each of our surprise boxes is like a child! We could never choose a favorite because they all have a unique spirit and soul. What they share is love. Our love for Israel, our love for each of our producer partners and artists, and our never-ending love for our Lev Haolam community!

Our surprise boxes are 100% made in Israel!

We're honored to connect our community with artisans who handmake the beautiful products we share. Because we are right here in Israel, we know the products we send to you are worth so much more than mass-produced souvenirs. Holding something made in Israel and infused with love is an incredible way for you to connect with the Holy Land!

The items we send from Israel are unique! When we told the story of Jacob's Dream, we traveled to Beit El, the place where he laid his head on the rock that became his pillow. We found an artist and jeweler who grew up in Beit El, and they worked with us step by step to transport us to Biblical times with their art!

While the boxes we create tell stories that span the length and breadth of the land, they all begin their journey to you from our warehouse just 30 km south of Jerusalem!

We can't give away any secrets, but with every Lev Haolam box, we can promise that you'll receive authentic creations from biblical regions handcrafted by the pioneers of Israel.

What a wonderful way to strengthen your connection to Israel and its people!