Start the Year Right with a Sustainable Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashana greeting from sustainable Israeli artist, Merav Feiglin

With the Jewish new year coming up in next week, some of us are thinking about green new year’s resolutions and lifestyle changes that we’d like to make.  Whether it’s recycling more items or starting a compost heap, there’s no such thing as a small difference.

But what about greening your celebration of Rosh Hashanah?  How can you make your celebratory meal or family gathering more sustainable? What about Rosh Hashana’s symbolic foods?

Gefilte Fish Without Harming a Single Fish:

“Gefilte Fish Without Harming a Single Fish” is the adorable name of a Rosh Hashanah cooking workshop being offered at City Tree (Tel Aviv’s oasis for all things green).  Just like the title promises, the workshop teaches participants how to make a vegan version of the classic Rosh Hashanah dish and avoid all of the carbon emissions involved with eating meat or fish. 

(And let’s be honest – a vegan version of Gefilte Fish is probably a lot more edible than the traditional kind.)  Other items on their sustainable holiday menu include raw dried fruit kugel and fruit juice wine.  Yum.  The four hour workshop will be held this Friday (September 26) at 9am (contact Alon at [email protected] to sign up).

Sustainable Gifts For Your Loved Ones: Many families exchange small gifts during big holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and Passover, and what better way to spread the sustainability bug than giving away a local, sustainably designed gift? 

Whether its a wastepaper basket made from wasted paper or a purse made out of reused tires, your sustainable gifts will surely be the talk of the table.

Get There Sustainably:  In addition to eating sustainably and gifting sustainably, try to make your journey to your holiday feast as green as possible.  If public transportation is not an option, try greener private car options such as carbon neutral car rentals (courtesy of Avis) or Car2Go, a carsharing service in central Israel.

Please share your ideas for celebrating a sustainable Rosh Hashanah with us in the comments section below!

Read more about how we’ve celebrated other Jewish holidays in green, eco friendly ways:

Heschel Center’s Online Environmental Shavuot Webinar

Green Shavuot Activities (Because You’re Gonna Need a Break From All That Cheese) 

A Happy, Sustainable Passover to All

Don’t Pass Up on Eco Camp This Passover

A Healthy, Sustainable Purim

Feed Your Soul on Tu B-Shvat

Karen Chernick
Karen Chernickhttps://www.greenprophet.com/
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
11 COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

TRENDING

Astro uses AI to help procure land for renewable energy

For oil-rich, environmentally vigilant Gulf states, Astro isn’t just another startup story. It is a blueprint for accelerating an energy transition that is now existential, not optional.

What is the Jewish Climate Trust?

Jewish Climate Trust has quickly attracted the attention and support of some of the most influential voices in Jewish philanthropy, drawing backing from prominent family foundations and business leaders connected to the Bronfman and Schusterman philanthropic networks, alongside climate-focused investors and community builders aligned with founding leader Nigel Savage. Together, these donors have committed many millions of dollars to build a serious, long-term climate platform for the Jewish world — not as a symbolic gesture, but as a strategic intervention in one of the defining challenges of this generation.

Kabbalah sages once lived on carob and now the superfruit returns as a modern prebiotic

From Rabbi Shimon’s cave to a global marketplace hungry for sustainable nutrition, carob’s revival reminds us that sometimes the future of food grows from the oldest roots of all.

Blackdot’s painless AI-based tattoos will make inked skin less taboo?

Blackdot’s AI-powered tattoo machine promises precision and less pain, but sparks debate over health risks, artistry, and spirituality. From religious prohibitions to smart tattoos, the future of ink is being rewritten by technology.

Head-to-toe sustainable beach style

Add a sunhat—preferably made from raffia, wheat straw, or seagrass—and a pair of upcycled shades, and you’re golden! Just like the sun intended.

Qatar’s climate hypocrisy rides the London Underground

Qatar remains a master of doublethink—burning gas by the megaton while selling “sustainability” to a world desperate for clean air. Wake up from your slumber people.

How Quality of Hire Shapes Modern Recruitment

A 2024 survey by Deloitte found that 76% of talent leaders now consider long-term retention and workforce contribution among their most important hiring success metrics—far surpassing time-to-fill or cost-per-hire. As the expectations for new hires deepen, companies must also confront the inherent challenges in redefining and accurately measuring hiring quality.

8 Team-Building Exercises to Start the Week Off 

Team building to change the world! The best renewable energy companies are ones that function.

Thank you, LinkedIn — and what your Jobs on the Rise report means for sustainable careers

While “green jobs” aren’t always labeled as such, many of the fastest-growing roles are directly enabling the energy transition, climate resilience, and lower-carbon systems: Number one on their list is Artificial Intelligence engineers. But what does that mean? Vibe coding Claude? 

Somali pirates steal oil tankers

The pirates often stage their heists out of Somalia, a lawless country, with a weak central government that is grappling with a violent Islamist insurgency. Using speedboats that swarm the targets, the machine-gun-toting pirates take control of merchant ships and then hold the vessels, crew and cargo for ransom.

Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López Turned Ocean Plastic Into Profitable Sunglasses

Few fashion accessories carry the environmental burden of sunglasses. Most frames are constructed from petroleum-based plastics and acrylic polymers that linger in landfills for centuries, shedding microplastics into soil and waterways long after they've been discarded. Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López, president of the Spanish eyewear brand Hawkers, saw this problem differently than most industry executives.

Why Dr. Tony Jacob Sees Texas Business Egos as Warning Signs

Everything's bigger in Texas. Except business egos.  Dr. Tony Jacob figured...

Israel and America Sign Renewable Energy Cooperation Deal

Other announcements made at the conference include the Timna Renewable Energy Park, which will be a center for R&D, and the AORA Solar Thermal Module at Kibbutz Samar, the world's first commercial hybrid solar gas-turbine power plant that is already nearing completion. Solel Solar Systems announced it was beginning construction of a 50 MW solar field in Lebrija, Spain, and Brightsource Energy made a pre-conference announcement that it had inked the world's largest solar deal to date with Southern California Edison (SCE).

Related Articles

Popular Categories