JERUSALEM, ISRAEL | Jewish Vegan Life says thousands of Jews across North America and Israel took part this month in a coordinated effort to revive Rosh Hashanah LaBehemah, the ancient Jewish New Year for Animals, through community meals, seders, educational programs and a global livestream.
The campaign, organized by Jewish Vegan Life, or JVL, included in-person events in Jerusalem, Montreal, Washington, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, as well as an international online gathering on August 9. JVL described the initiative as an effort to transform a largely forgotten date on the Jewish calendar into a contemporary observance focused on compassion, stewardship and Jewish teachings concerning animal welfare.
Rosh Hashanah LaBehemah is mentioned in the Mishnah as one of several Jewish new years and falls on the first day of Elul. Historically, the date was associated with calculating tithes on domesticated animals. JVL is seeking to reinterpret the observance around the Jewish principle of tza’ar ba’alei chayim, the prohibition against causing unnecessary suffering to animals.
Michael Gribov, JVL’s head of movement building, said the response demonstrated that the holiday could take on a meaningful place in contemporary Jewish communal life.
“We set out to prove that the New Year for Animals could hold real weight in Jewish life as a way to honor our fellow creatures, and this Elul, thousands of people across five cities and a global livestream showed us it can,” Gribov said.
“From a potluck in Jerusalem to a picnic in Mount Royal Park to a full Haggadah seder in Pittsburgh, every gathering found its own way into the same idea, that compassion for animals is something we can practice at a table with people we love.”
A Holiday Modeled on the Evolution of Tu B’Shvat
JVL says its approach draws inspiration from the evolution of Tu B’Shvat.
That holiday began as a calendar date connected with the tithing of fruit trees and later developed into a broader celebration of trees, nature and environmental responsibility, including the now-familiar Tu B’Shvat seder.
JVL is attempting a similar reinterpretation of Rosh Hashanah LaBehemah.
The organization has developed ritual and educational resources, including a New Year for Animals Haggadah, and is encouraging synagogues, Hillels, Jewish community centers and individual families to adopt the observance in future years.
Raquela Karamson, CEO of Jewish Vegan Life, called the initiative a sign that a broader movement is developing around the holiday.
“The New Year for Animals is one of Judaism’s hidden treasures, and this Elul, thousands of people helped us bring it into the light,” Karamson said.
“Seeing communities in Los Angeles, Washington, Montreal, Pittsburgh, and Jerusalem each make this holiday their own tells me this is truly a movement.”
Global Livestream Opens Campaign
The campaign’s international programming began August 9 with a livestream titled Healing the World Through Compassion: A New Year for Animals.
The event brought together Rabbi David Rosen, former chief rabbi of Ireland; Adit Romano, co-founder of Freedom Farm in Israel; Bruce Friedrich, founder and president of The Good Food Institute; and Arash Yomtobian, president and CEO of Mercy For Animals.
Karamson moderated the discussion.
The speakers examined Jewish teachings about animals, food systems, moral responsibility and the relationship between compassion for animals and wider social ethics.
Rosen, who serves on JVL’s spiritual leadership, said Jewish law has long contained obligations concerning the treatment of animals.
“There is special value in identifying a day in the year for particular attention to our obligations towards animal life,” Rosen said.
“Thousands of years before societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals were even thought of, the Torah introduced legislation in this regard, emphasizing our responsibilities to be caring and compassionate towards all sentient beings.”
Events From Montreal to Jerusalem
Also on August 9, JVL’s Washington community held a dinner in partnership with the Veg Society of DC and DC Voters for Animals.
In Montreal, the JVL Tikkun Circle held a picnic in Mount Royal Park, with Rabbi Boris Dolin of Congregation Dorshei Emet participating. JVL’s events calendar confirms the Montreal observance took place on August 9.
Four days later, celebrations continued in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Jerusalem.
In Los Angeles, Rabbi Jonathan Bernhard led a New Year for Animals seder featuring a multi-course vegan meal.
In Pittsburgh, JVL partnered with Humane Action Pennsylvania and Beit Kulanu for what organizers described as a full New Year for Animals seder using JVL’s new Haggadah. The event included Jewish texts, discussion and a plant-based dinner.
In Jerusalem, JVL partnered with Animals Now and Ginger for a community vegan potluck.
From Ancient Tithing to Modern Animal Ethics
Jewish scholars and animal-welfare advocates have promoted efforts to revive Rosh Hashanah LaBehemah for years.
Dr. Richard H. Schwartz, a Jewish scholar and educator who has long supported renewed observance of the holiday, said the campaign represented an important development.
“For many years, I have advocated that the Jewish New Year for Animals should be revived and transformed as an expression of Judaism’s profound stewardship of creation, to align our choices with the Torah’s commandment of Tsa’ar Ba’alei Chaim,” Schwartz said.
“In an era of factory farming and ecological crisis, reviving and transforming this holiday is a necessity to heal our world.”
JVL presents the observance as one expression of a broader attempt to connect Jewish religious tradition with plant-based living and animal welfare.
The organization’s stated mission is to connect Jewish tradition with plant-based living and to build communities around Jewish values including compassion, tikkun olam and bal tashchit, the prohibition against needless destruction or waste.
Freedom Farm Brings Israeli Perspective
Adit Romano, co-founder of Freedom Farm, connected the holiday to her work with rescued animals in Israel.
“Every animal who arrives at Freedom Farm has a story,” Romano said.
“As Jews, we know what it means to long for safety, dignity, and the chance to simply live without fear.”
Freedom Farm is an Israeli sanctuary and educational center focused on rescuing animals and encouraging public engagement with animal welfare.
Its participation gave the campaign a distinctly Israeli component alongside the broader North American events.
JVL Wants Synagogues and Hillels to Adopt the Holiday
JVL says the next stage is to expand the observance beyond vegan communities.
Gribov said the diversity of this year’s events showed that the holiday does not require a single format.
“What we built this year proved that a synagogue, a Hillel, a JCC, or even a handful of friends can hold this holiday and hold it well,” he said.
“Now the invitation goes out to the rest of the Jewish world. Next Elul, this can be your holiday too.”
The organization is encouraging communities to adapt the holiday to local needs, whether through a home meal, educational event, picnic, synagogue program or structured seder.
JVL’s own event listings now include New Year for Animals celebrations as part of its recurring community programming in several cities.
A New Place on the Jewish Calendar
Whether Rosh Hashanah LaBehemah will achieve the same communal recognition that Tu B’Shvat eventually gained remains uncertain.
For most Jews, the date remains unfamiliar.
But Jewish Vegan Life says this year’s events demonstrated that the ancient observance can be given contemporary meaning without abandoning its roots in Jewish tradition.
The organization’s strategy is evolutionary rather than institutional. It is attempting to build familiarity through ritual, food, education and local community participation, much as modern Tu B’Shvat practices developed gradually over time.
For Karamson and Gribov, the goal is not simply to create another Jewish event.
It is to establish a recurring point in the calendar when Jewish communities deliberately consider their obligations toward animals and the wider living world.
After this year’s gatherings across three countries and five cities, JVL says the project has moved beyond theory.
The next test will come next Elul, when the organization hopes more synagogues, Jewish schools, Hillels, community centers and families will decide to make the New Year for Animals their own.
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