AKIVA GERSH EDUCATOR - SPEAKER - WRITER - MUSICIAN
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Join me for a FREE webinar about WHY and HOW to make your Pesach VEGAN!
This Thursday March 30th, 2PM EST.
Click HERE to register.
DONATE TO
VEGAN RABBI
TAKE THE VEGAN RABBI MASTERCLASS:
"JUDAISM, ANIMAL WELFARE AND VEGANISM"
CONTENT OF THE COURSE
You will study a wide range of ancient and modern Jewish sources, from the Torah and the Talmud to halacha (Jewish law), Jewish philosophy and Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah), that emphasize the value and the requirement of compassion towards animals in the Jewish tradition.
In addition, you will learn numerous Jewish laws and values related to human health and environmental stewardship that, together, strongly support going vegan in our world today.
You will leave this course with a strong understanding of Judaism's support for animal welfare and the importance of making responsibile food choices and be able to articulate why eating animals no longer makes sense according to Jewish teachings.
MASTERCLASS DETAILS
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Includes 6 video classes with extensive source sheets provided for each class.
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Appropriate for all levels of experience with Jewish learning. No previous knowledge required.
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COST: $89
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Email akivagersh@yahoo.com with any questions you may have.
TO ORDER CLICK ON THE BUTTON BELOW
My webinar in which I share tools rooted in the Jewish tradition that can help vegan activists maintain spiritual and emotional strength and balance while doing the important work of caring for the animals and the world.
My webinar about Judaism and veganism in honor of World Vegan Day 2021.
Interview with Yoel Israel from the Israel Unfiltered YouTube channel about Judaism and veganism.
An important workshop with Animal Activism Mentorship, entitled "Effective Activism During Kaporos".
An interview with Israeli vegan activist Adi Rosenshine highlighting Jewish teachings that support a vegan diet today.
ARTICLES
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ABOUT AKIVA GERSH- THE "VEGAN RABBI"
Shalom everyone! Thank you for visiting the "Vegan Rabbi" website.
A little bit about how Vegan Rabbi came to be.
I grew up in the U.S. with a very weak connection with Judaism. By time I was in high school I felt that Judaism was archaic, irrelevant to the world (and my life) and, most tragically, uninspiring.
During my first year in college I had many realizations about the negative impact we modern-day humans are having on the world through our seemingly innocent everyday actions. By the end of that year I decided to major in Environmental Studies and became vegetarian (after a childhood of eating lots of meat and no veggies).
The following year I became vegan at the age of 19 and continued my studies as well as my activist work trying to inspire positive change.
Around that same time I began to discover teachings in the Jewish tradition that related to environmental ethics and animal welfare. I was absolutely in shock. I never kneW that Judaism focused on these issues and, yet, I saw that it has for thousands of years.
This inspired me to look deeper into my Jewish roots which turned into a journey that lasted a few years.
Eventually that journey led me to studying Torah in a yeshiva in Tzfat, Israel and it is there that I fell in love with and deeply connected to the Jewish path of life.
After about six months in Tzfat I returned to the U.S., continued my yeshiva studies and began my work in the field of Jewish Education, a field I continue to work in today over 20 years later.
Over the years, in addition to other subjects and topics, I have taught about the connection between Judaism and the environment, animal welfare and veganism to thousands of students through classes, courses and workshops.
(Along the way, in 2003, I got married and in 2004 my wife Tamar and I moved to Israel where we continue to live with our four kids.)
In 2020 I began sharing about Judaism and veganism on social media through my "Vegan Rabbi" Facebook and Instagram accounts.
And the rest is history! Or, really, the future!
(My formal studies include: a BA in Religious Studies from Brown University, an MA in Jewish Education from Yeshiva University and rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Sulam Yaakov in Jerusalem.)