About

I’m Rabbi Boris Dolin, a Reconstructionist rabbi serving Congregation Dorshei Emet in Montreal. I’ve also spent years thinking, teaching, and living at the intersection of two things that, to me, have never felt separate: Judaism and veganism.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been vegan and committed to animal rights — not as a project layered on top of my Jewish life, but as an expression of it. Our tradition is full of teachings about compassion for all living beings: the prohibition on causing suffering to animals, the Shabbat rest extended even to livestock, the vision of Eden as a place where no creature harms another. The more closely I’ve studied these texts, the more I’ve come to believe that a life of Jewish ethics points toward, rather than away from, a vegan life.

This site is where I bring that thinking together: essays and divrei torah connecting Torah, holidays, and Jewish thought to questions of animal ethics and plant-based living; videos exploring these ideas out loud; and resources — for holidays, for study, for everyday practice.

I also lead the Montreal Jewish Vegan Life group, and run Animal Chaplain, offering pet memorials and spiritual support around our relationships with animals. I’m available to teach classes on these topics for congregations, schools, and community groups.

Whether you’re a longtime vegan looking for Jewish grounding, a Jewishly engaged person curious about veganism, or just exploring — I’m glad you’re here.

— Rabbi Boris Dolin