Dearest Fligls,
For the first time, our entire team is living far from the land that was, until recently, Linke Fligl. The creek is once again flowing after months of drought, the marsh is glistening with the glow of snowfall on the phragmites as the days are getting shorter and colder. The cedar posts of our octagonal sukkah and minimalist shul have come down, and the land is quiet and awaiting new projects from our friends at WILDSEED who now tend this land.
We write to you with tender hearts as this is our final mailer to this beloved community. Linke Fligl began as a seed of an idea for building vibrant, queer Jewish community on land. Over the past seven years, we’ve gotten to live into and beyond that dream. Together, we’ve davened hallel joyously on the bridge, water rushing under our feet, swallows flying overhead; we’ve shlepped water, chicken poop, humanure, crates, coolers, veggies & more; we’ve imagined a Judaism beyond borders and binaries; we’ve ached with deep belly laughs during Sukkot Night Live; we’ve cared for each other through sharing herbs, songs, and prayers during dark times; we’ve escorted the Torah under her chuppah through a field of goldenrod; we’ve grieved and chanted Eicha under the stars; we’ve made protective golems out of clay from our local quarry; we’ve marked many new moons with prayer, land work and learning; we’ve prayed three times a day in a shul whose walls are made of wind, sky and song; we’ve collectively moved tens of thousands of dollars to BIPOC-led land projects; we’ve gathered virtually across the diaspora during Lev from the Land. And perhaps most importantly, we’ve found one another and unlocked a deep and ancient longing to be together on land.
While this project is coming to an end, we know that this longing is still alive within us. During the last 7 years, we’ve been in a living exploration of what it can mean to be queer Jews striving for right and sacred relationship with land. We’ve learned so much and also barely scratched the surface of understanding in our bones how to heal our severed relationship to land and tradition. We see this project as one link in a long lineage that both precedes us and will continue to evolve for generations to come. As we sunset, we’re wondering: what dormant longings has this project awoken in you? What dreams are you releasing into this new shmita cycle? We can’t wait to see what comes of the seeds we’ve planted together.
Thank you to each and everyone of you for being with us on this journey. From our local friends who have been in it with us day in and day out through the years to our far flung community who may have never touched the land in Millerton and everyone in between - this project wouldn’t exist without you.
Sending our deep love,
Margot, Chana & Ollie
