#73: Vegan Rabbi on Being a Jewish Vegan
Rabbi Dr. Shmuly is one of the most influential Rabbis in the United States, and he is on the show to talk about his plant-based journey and the intersection between vegan living and Jewish values. He also shares his tips for veganizing traditional Jewish meals.
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Hi plant-powered family!
How often do you evaluate your core values? Do you know what they are, and are you living according to them? Do your daily choices and practices reflect your existing values?
What we eat can often fall off our ethical radar as human beings. But if your food choices are not aligned with your existing values, it's worth taking notice.
In this episode, we are talking with Rabbi Shmuly, an author, activist, academic, and one of the top 50 most influential rabbis in the USA. He shares all about his journey into Judaism and a plant-based lifestyle, and how well they complement each other.
We discuss Jewish culture from both a native and non-native perspective, and how Jewish values are embraced by choosing to eat vegan food. We also talk about the challenges (and joys!) of being the only vegan at a traditional Jewish meal, and how to navigate conversations around food accommodations.
Building community is so important no matter what our beliefs and values are, and we talk about how hosting vegan versions of traditional holidays can help create and maintain a sense of community!
Rabbi Shmuly also shares some insightful wisdom that will leave you feeling inspired to create positive change in your life and our world.
Enjoy!
♡ Michelle & Toni
SHOW NOTES
- How Rabbi Shmuly went from no interest in veganism at all to living the plant-based lifestyle
- Raising plant-based children
- How Rabbi Shmuly embraces transformation and compassion
- Why a plant-based lifestyle complements Jewish values
- The difficulty of being in jewish spaces that don’t understand/embrace vegan sensibilities
- How religion can challenge us to not accept the world as it is, but instead to help us envision and work towards what it should be
- How religion can help people to support each other and build community
- How the current food system & factory farming conflicts with Jewish morals
- Why a Kosher label doesn’t always mean the food was produced ethically
- How people are becoming more aware of the suffering of other beings, creating new pathways for change
- Jewish ethos & rejecting dogma
- How the systems of oppression and technologies of destruction towards people compare to the mass slaughter of animals
- Being an advocate for those who aren’t seen or heard
- Tips for using kosher labels to figure out what’s vegan
- How to politely navigate Jewish holidays and traditions as the only vegan in the room
- Feel empowered as a vegan at a traditional meal by hosting the event
- Tips for creating your own vegan traditions
- Vegan ingredient replacements for traditional Jewish dishes
- Vegan Jewish recipe suggestions
- The importance of deepening our inner world in order to create change in the outer world
- Thank you to our sponsors Maxine’s Heavenly & Natreve
RESOURCES
JEWISH VEGAN RECIPES
- Vegan noodle kugel recipe
- Carrot lox recipe
- Vegan latke recipe
- Matzo ball soup recipe
- Another matzo ball soup recipe
- Charoset
- Sweet Potato Latkes
- Pressure Cooker Tzimmes
- Find our vegan challah recipe in The Friendly Vegan Cookbook :)
About Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz is the President & Dean of the Valley Beit Midrash (a national Jewish pluralistic adult learning & leadership center), the Founder & President of Uri L’Tzedek (a Jewish Social Justice organization), the Founder and President of Shamayim (a Jewish animal advocacy movement), the Founder and President of YATOM, (the Jewish foster and adoption network), and the author of 22 books on Jewish ethics. Newsweek named Rav Shmuly one of the top 50 rabbis in America and the Forward named him one of the 50 most influential Jews.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
We are so grateful to have the support of some of our favorite vegan-friendly brands this season. Many thanks to the sponsors of this episode, Maxine's Heavenly and Natreve.
Maxine's Heavenly homemade-style cookies are a fantastic healthier way to enjoy store-bought cookies! They are sweetened with unrefined coconut sugar and dates. They have soft-baked cookies that you can find in many natural food stores plus they recently launched crispy cookies available on their site. You can get 25% off at mazinesheavenly.com with our special code PLANTS25 at checkout!
Natreve makes the whey of the future! They bring you MOOLESS animal-free whey protein powder. It offers the nutrition, taste, and texture of traditional whey protein powder — but without the hormones, antibiotics, lactose, or animal cruelty, and with much less environmental impact. Find all four delicious MOOLESS flavors (like Cookies & Cream!) at Natreve.com or on Amazon!
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