William Levin

At Alliance Community Reboot (ACRe) we adhere to all four propositions in Rabbi Schwarz’s essay—Wisdom/Chochma, Social Justice/Tzedek, Community/Kehillah and Sacred Purpose/Kedusha.

As an agricultural initiative with roots in Jewish history, there is a natural inclination to promote social justice through sustainable farming practices. Our first biggest challenge is transitioning 50 acres of land from conventional to organic practice after 30 years of monocrop cultivation using synthetic substances.

While the Alliance Colony was an insular Jewish agricultural community in the early 1900s, with Alliance Community Reboot we are attempting to become a community hub serving many Jewish communities in surrounding areas including Philadelphia, Cherry Hill and Atlantic City.

It is no coincidence that our farmhouse and fields adjoin the Jewish cemetery and old shul built in 1884 at the crossroads. The hard labor and toiling in the fields of the original settlers of the Alliance Colony was suffused with spirituality and observance of Jewish tradition. Today we are striving to renew this literal intersection of home, farm, worship and lifecycle, hosting Shabbatons and holiday events for learning both Jewish texts and agriculture.

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William Levin is the co-founder of Alliance Community Reboot (ACRe) which is planning to re-settle 60 acres of historic farmland near where he was born and raised in Vineland, NJ. Much like his great-great grandfather, Moses Bayuk, founder of the original Alliance Colony in the late 19th century, Levin is now returning to his roots by creating ACRe.