On the chilly evening of October 9, a crowd gathered at the Mandel JCC (the hub of Jewish life in one of America’s oldest Jewish communities) for a Sukkot unlike any other in Cleveland: Plant-Based Harvest, the city’s first official vegan Sukkot celebration. Co-created by Jewish Vegan Life and Cleveland partners — including Moishe House Cleveland West Pod, B’nai Jeshurun Congregation, and the Mandel JCC — the event blended Jewish learning, spiritual ritual, and a festive kosher plant-based meal. It represented the beginning of a new, compassionate expression of Jewish life taking root in Northeast Ohio.

The evening began with remarks from local leaders and community members, followed by a thoughtful presentation that drew links between Jewish texts and the modern case for plant-based living: health, climate stewardship, and a renewed vision of tikkun olam. A short sizzle reel is viewable above. After learning together, attendees moved to the sukkah for blessings and a delicious vegan Sukkot dinner prepared to honor tradition while promoting personal and planetary healing.

“Tonight wasn’t about asking everyone to change overnight,” said Michael Gribov, Head of Movement Building with Jewish Vegan Life. “It was about opening a conversation, about how our Jewish values of compassion and care for creation can guide our food choices, and how we can celebrate those values together as a community.”

Because we partner directly with the broader Jewish community, most attendees weren’t vegan. Yet after the presentation, as we shared a meal in the sukkah, participants didn’t want to leave — even as temperatures dipped into the 40s. People were moved and some told us the evening inspired them to go vegan.

We estimate thousands of Jews in the Cleveland area already identify as vegan or vegetarian, with many more curious about plant-forward lifestyles. The event—designed to be accessible, multigenerational, and non-judgmental—was intentionally co-branded and co-promoted so synagogues, student groups, and community organizations could all feel welcome and represented.

Attendees described a warm, surprising evening. “I came for the sukkah and stayed for the conversation,” said one guest. “The meal was delicious, and the learning made me think differently about what it means to honor Jewish tradition today.” Another added that the sense of possibility — that Jewish ritual can pair with environmental and ethical commitments — was the evening’s biggest gift.

The event framed Sukkot — a festival of shelter, gratitude, and harvest — as an opportunity to reflect on abundance and responsibility. The presentation also recounted the story of Sukkot, when the Israelite people dwelt in booths and God sustained them by vegan manna from heaven for a whole generation, a window into an alternative way of living connected to the original instruction in the Torah to eat a plant-based diet. Yet we framed the evening inclusively: whether guests keep kosher, are omnivorous, vegetarian, or vegan, the invitation was to learn together and build community.

From Cleveland we traveled to Pittsburgh, where we spoke during Shabbat services. Though the crowd was modest in size, organizers shared that attendance was stronger than usual that weekend — in part because of JVL’s presentation — and feedback was enthusiastic. Moments like these show that JVL’s programming resonates across diverse communities and settings.

Building a New Framework for Jewish Spiritual Life

These gatherings are part of a broader strategy to build a new framework for spiritual engagement — one that speaks to a generation seeking a deeper, practical connection to the Divine through compassionate, authentically Jewish, plant-based living. By partnering with synagogues, JCCs, student groups, and organizations like Moishe House, JVL meets people where they already are and invites them into a broader conversation about ethics, health, and the future of Jewish communal life.

Why this matters for our movement: Plant-based holiday events are effective entry points for community members who might never otherwise engage with Jewish educational programming. They create low-barrier opportunities for learning, relationship-building, and sustained involvement — from workshops and Shabbat dinners to longer learning series and leadership training.

There is already strong interest in continuing programming in Cleveland and beyond. We welcome community input to help us set priorities — whether education, advocacy, youth engagement, or social programming — and invite people to join us and help shape the next phase of this work together.