You don't need to move to the country to live like it, even for a weekend. We gather in small groups on borrowed land — tents, campfires, Shabbos meals, and Torah under the open sky — to build the community that rural Jewish homesteaders have always been missing.
Chabad built a worldwide sense of community even though its families live an ocean apart — through shared values, a few real meetups a year, and a religious devotion to showing up for each other. Jewish homesteaders have the values. What's been missing is the gathering.
Weekend Homesteading is that gathering. No land purchase, no huge budget, no waiting for the "perfect" group of families to align. Just a borrowed piece of land, a few tents, and a community that grows every time we meet.
Long before "sustainability" was a word, it was a value baked into how we were meant to live — close to the land, close to each other, close to God.
Rural Jewish life can be beautiful and lonely at once. We exist so no homesteading family has to choose between the land and their community.
Natural remedies over chemicals, raw and unprocessed food, sourdough over store-bought — small daily choices that honor God's design.
No membership fee, no minimum acreage, no need for a fancy venue. Five families and a few tents is a full gathering.
Someone with a few acres — no minimum, no house access required — gives us permission for a weekend. That's the whole ask.
Local families within a comfortable drive (we aim for under 2.5 hours) sign up to join, and choose a way to pitch in — food, setup, or cleanup.
From Thursday evening through Sunday, or Friday through Motzei Shabbos — tents go up, meals are shared, and community is built around a fire.
Everyone helps break down and clean up. The land goes back to its owner exactly as it was — plus a heartfelt thank-you.
Our first gathering is forming in upstate New York — a handful of families, a few tents, one fire. Come as you are, wherever you are in your homesteading journey.