By Emma Goldblatt
I cannot believe this year is coming to an end. It is no exaggeration that this year, as Jews, we have witnessed or endured suffering, heart ache, and a distressing rise in antisemitism. Amidst it all, I am so grateful to be part of an organization dedicated to spreading light, love, and compassion. It is more imperative than ever that we look towards the light during these times, and connect to our Judaism, no matter how that looks for us. Let us lift each other up. I am praying for all of your happiness, health, and safety for 2024! Happy New Year!
–Emma Goldblatt | Program Manager
Check out how our community is wrapping up the year, Vegan-style:
Synagogue Vegan Challenge December Event Spotlight:
A group of seventh graders helped make vegan cookies for our Chesed Committee’s Baby Baskets! The kids were surprised about baking without any dairy or eggs. After the cookies were baked we had a discussion about kashrut, how we treat animals, if we’re still “good people” if we aren’t vegan or keep kosher. The middle schoolers had very raw and curious questions about the topic and hopefully we’ll have the chance to explore this more with them!
-Sammi S.
Farmington Hills, Michigan
“We learned about the vegan revolution in Israel in the last decade and how that was driven by animal welfare concerns. We talked about how the IDF is the most vegan military in the world and the current efforts to support vegans in the IDF.“
-Nicole M.
Great Neck, New York
Campus Fellows December Event Spotlight:
“Hillel baked 100% vegan cookies, and we had vegan decorations (such as icing and plant-based sprinkles). We decorated the room with Hanukkah decorations and just decorated cookies and talked about Hanukkah. Some people who weren’t Jewish came, as did some people who weren’t vegan, so we got to discuss both what Hanukkah is and ways to make plant-based treats for the holidays.”
-Sophie R.
Ohio State University
Shamayim Podcast:
Shamayim Community Spotlight:
In an effort to spread positivity, we are going to start sharing heart-warming pet adoption stories from our wonderful Shamayim community! We believe this will be a great way to share beautiful stories, and also reaffirm the importance of adopting. 
Please submit your pet’s story and a photo of you and your pet to emma@shamayim.us for the chance to be featured on our blog, social media, and newsletter! 
Thank you to Justine Armentrout for submitting her recipe for a rainbow vegan challah loaf that she made special for Pride month! The recipe is a twist on the water challah recipe from [Domestic Gothess]), with her added steps to make it rainbow!
“My main alteration is that I use Just Egg and Next Milk for the glaze to make it a little more browned. The attached pictures are my Rosh Hashannah loaf and the rainbow loaf I made for Pride Month. I’m really proud of the rainbow loaf!”
Check out the recipe here!-Justine A, WA
Coming Up:
Introducing the Shamayim Try Vegan New Year Challenge, where we encourage you to kick off the year with a positive impact whether you’re looking to better your health, reduce animal suffering, or help the planet! This challenge is designed to inspire you to embrace a plant-based lifestyle for the month of January. Let’s do this! #TryVeganWithShamayim
Our next Vegan v Meat debate is coming up in January! We can’t wait for lively, respectful debate about Jewish food ethics with Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz and Rabbi Jon Spira-Savett!
To learn how to bring a vegan conversation to your community and a chance to win $5,000, apply at shamayim.us/debate
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