Thank you to this year’s Cohort of Shamayim Campus Fellows:

Judah Guggenheim | Princeton

Isaac Jacob Mendez | University of Central Florida

Davi Frank | Princeton

Cogie Cogan | Western University (Canada)

Our Fellows taught about animal welfare, our food choices, and how these topics connect to our Jewish faith. They also tied these issues to the climate and to personal health. 

I have seen our Fellows prove their leadership skills and knowledge of animal advocacy through this year’s program as well as grounding in their Jewish faith. Most of our Fellows are continuing their work as advocates for Animals, Planet, and people with various internships, Summer jobs, and continued engagement with their Jewish communities. I’m glad to be able to have helped direct them down this path of compassion.

Here is what a few of our Fellows had to say about their experience:

Project Highlights:

Vegan Seuda Shelishit

Our two Princeton fellows, Judah and Davi, hosted an all vegan Shabbat meal at an inter-collegiate Shabbaton retreat on their campus! They were able to engage with college students from across the country and spread their mission of commitment to halacha and inclusion, and all tied with animal welfare! This is what Judah had to say: “It went very well! The Shabbaton was a beautiful experience for people to connect across shared values of Halacha and inclusion. The vegan seuda shelishit was delicious, and people seemed excited about the mission of Shamayim as well. Many students took Shamayim flyers and educational material.”

Vegan Nosh: Isaac at UCF hosted a Vegan Nosh at his campus Hillel, where they enjoyed some vegan waffles and chatted about environmental reasons to eat Vegan!

Animal Advocacy Learning Event: A Shiur (Class) was taught by Davi to the orthodox community on Shabbat on a dispute in animal tort law in the Talmud and how it intersects with how we should channel our inner compassion for animals. This is what Davi had to say: “While we didn’t get to finish all of the sources, a lively atmosphere with questions and back and forth debate was enjoyed in conversation with the text, culminating in a message about seeing the inner soul and divine instinct which exists both within humans and within animals in similar fashions. (There were no pictures of the event because it was on Shabbat).”

Lunch and Learn with Rabbi: Cogie, our fellow at Western University in Canada, hosted a Lunch and Learn with their Campus Hillel Rabbi! They cooked vegan challah and other tasty offerings to share with students, and the Rabbi guided a text study with the students on animal welfare.

Environmental Shabbat: Davi and Princeton’s Hillel hosted an Environmental Shabbat weekend in honor of Earth Day. This included environmentally-themed Divrei Torah, a completely vegan reception and Friday night dinner, starring vegan challah. During dinner, all of the Sustainability groups on campus briefly presented about their groups and the work that they do. After dinner, they hosted 3 guest speakers on a panel to discuss Judaism and Environmentalism as it relates to their work in the field.

The next day, they participated in an Earth Day rally on campus, with student leaders from the group speaking to represent the Jewish community and their connection to Earth Day. Additionally, preceding afternoon Mincha services , they students attended a class on Animal Welfare and Judaism! Davi said, “That concluded the weekend and event! It was an enormous success for reaching a broader campus audience about the Jewish connection to environmentalism and animal welfare!“

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As Shamayim’s new Program Manager, It gives me great hope for the future to interact with young, compassionate animal advocates. I feel more prepared and excited as ever for this coming academic year, in which I’d love to have even more Fellows participate, as well as try to diversify our group. I’m also hoping to bring on more leaders and speakers who can help our Fellows grow even more.

Also: Applications for our next Cohort are open now! 

The deadline to apply is June 30th at 11:59pm ET. Interviews are conducted throughout June and July, and selections are announced by the end of July. This year’s Fellowship will run from August 2023 –> May 2024.

If you have any questions, or know someone who you’d think is a good fit, please email emma@shamayim.us

Apply here!

Sincerely,

Emma Goldblatt | Program Manager