Farming, Ritual, and Place with Marlo Stein

In this episode, we speak with Marlo Stein, a queer Jewish farmer based in Hardwick, Massachusetts, where she runs Round Table Farm—a cut flower and small dairy operation on a historic fifth-generation farm near the Quabbin Reservoir.

Marlo shares her journey from growing up in suburban Newton to building a life in agriculture, reflecting on how years of farming across the country shaped both her relationship to the land and her connection to Jewish tradition. Together we explore how Jewish holidays, rituals, and agricultural cycles come alive when practiced on a farm—from building a sukkah in the fields to rethinking Passover ingredients through the lens of local growing seasons.

We also talk about the power of rural community, the challenges and possibilities of taking over historic farmland, and how farming can offer a place-based way of engaging with Jewish identity, spirituality, and tradition.