As Passover and Earth Day coincide, movement calls on Jews to go vegan

This Passover, an estimated 500,000 Jews in Israel and around the world will celebrate the holiday with a beet rather than a shank bone on their Seder plate.

The practice is part of a growing movement of Jews connecting Passover and other Jewish holiday traditions to their vegan lifestyles.

Raquela Karamson is the founder and CEO of Jewish Vegan Life (JVL), a nonprofit organization that aims to inspire people to embrace the synergy between the worlds of Jewish tradition, plant-based living, and the environment.

Celebrate Passover and Earth Day by going vegan?

And this Passover, the synergy couldn’t be more apparent. This year, Passover begins on Earth Day, April 22, an occurrence set to repeat only in another 30 years.

JVL has launched a major campaign called Passover Earth Day, asking people to take a pledge and go vegan. “Our actions in 2024 will resonate in 2054, shaping the destiny of life on Earth. Let’s come together to ensure a legacy of positive change for the planet we all hold dear,” Karamson said.

A vegan diet, like a vegetarian diet, is one in which no meat is consumed; however, veganism is a lifestyle that also excludes all other animal products such as dairy, eggs, and even honey. For Passover, many vegans replace the traditional egg on the Seder plate with an avocado or a potato.

Rabbi David Rosen, former chief rabbi of Ireland and member of the JVL Executive Council, said that veggie replacements for traditional foods go back many generations. He recalled the story of Rabbi Shmuel Isaac Hillman, the famed dayan (religious judge) of the London Beit Din (rabbinical court) and great-grandfather of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who once advised using mushrooms when meat was unavailable during World War I.

But what is the connection between eating vegan and protecting the environment, as celebrated on Earth Day?

Karamson sees veganism as a way to reduce the high amount of greenhouse gas emissions from the production of meat and dairy products, and as a way to show kindness to animals.

Michael Gribov, head of movement building for JVL, cited studies which have shown that a plant-based food system can benefit the environment. “A global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels [in] 30 years,” he said, citing a study pointing out that “This is the exact timespan until the next alignment of Passover and Earth Day.”

ONE BIG question many have raised is how to conduct a vegan Passover in line with Jewish tradition.

Rabbi Akiva Gersh, known online as “the Vegan Rabbi,” has been conducting classes and seminars on veganism.

He explained that the Torah states, “V’samachta b’chagecha” (Deuteronomy 14:14), that we should be happy during our holidays. Tosafot (Tractate Moed Katan 14b) states that in the days of the Holy Temple, we satisfied this obligation by eating sacrificial meat; but today, without the Temple, no Torah obligation to eat meat exists, he said.

Rabbi Rosen noted that the foods on the Seder plate are meant to represent the Exodus from Egypt, thus those who cannot or choose not to use meat can use foods that symbolically represent what is mentioned in the Haggadah. Beets are a good representation of blood because of their deep red color. The Talmud in Tractate Pesachim (Passover Festivals) discusses beets being served as a dish on Passover.

“Passover is a time of reflection, renewal; a celebration of redemption, freedom, and the power of collective action,” Karamson said. “This year, as we commemorate the Exodus from Egypt and the renewal of spring, we have a unique opportunity to extend the spirit of liberation to all beings and to our planet.”

Participants of the Earth Day Passover pledge will receive featured recipes and personal stories from community members. And on Sunday, April 14, they have the opportunity to attend a virtual event with Rabbi Gersh and learn about how celebrating Passover with a plant-based Seder can be just as meaningful as a regular one.The Jewish vegan community is very diverse and inclusive, made up of Jews from Sephardi, Ashkenazi, and Mizrahi traditions, and observance backgrounds from Orthodox to Reform and unaffiliated individuals, all sharing the desire to connect their Jewish values with their passion for the environment and animal welfare.■

For more information, visit jewishveganlife.org/