By Mike Cohen

Jewish Vegan Life (JVL) will host the Montreal Tikkun Circle Potluck on Monday, July 13 at 6:30 PM in Westmount, marking the community’s entrance into the Hebrew month of Av. The evening will feature Rabbi Boris Dolin from Congregation Dorshei Emet and spiritual leader of JVL Montreal. He will offer reflections drawing on the themes of the month.

The gathering is part of JVL’s Tikkun Circle model, a network of community potlucks that bring people together around shared vegan meals, Jewish learning, and conversation grounded in compassion. Tikkun Circles currently meet in Los Angeles, Montreal, and Tel Aviv, with the Montreal circle continuing to grow its presence in the community.

Av holds a distinct place in the Jewish calendar as a month of memory and mourning, commemorating the destruction of the Temple. Yet the month also carries within it the seeds of comfort and renewal, moving from communal grief toward Shabbat Nachamu and the day of love known as Tu BAv. The Montreal Tikkun Circle Potluck will invite attendees to sit with that full arc together, over a shared meal.

“Our Tikkun Circles exist to give people a place to bring their whole selves, their questions, their grief, and their hope, and to do it around a table with good food and good company,” said Michael Gribov, Head of Movement Building at Jewish Vegan Life. “Entering Av is one of the most meaningful moments in the Jewish year to do that work together, and we are grateful to have Rabbi Boris Dolin joining us to guide that reflection.”

Rabbi Dolin has served at Congregation Dorshei Emet since 2016. He holds an M.A. in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he focused on informal and community education. He previously helped rebuild Jewish life in Poland as Rabbi of Beit Polska in Warsaw and has served communities in the United States and Europe.

The potluck is open to the public and free to attend, with donations encouraged to help sustain JVL’s ongoing programming. Attendees are asked to bring a vegan dish to share, and registration is required to receive the exact address in Westmount. Those interested in hosting future potlucks or helping plan upcoming Tikkun Circle events in Montreal are invited to indicate their interest during registration, which is available here: https://jewishveganlife.org/events/montreal-tikkun-circle-potluck-av

Jewish Vegan Life is a non-profit movement dedicated to connecting the worlds of Jewish tradition and plant based living. Positioned as the Jewish voice of the vegan movement, JVL draws on Torah and Talmud to build its work around four pillars: compassion, health, environment, and spirituality. JVL brings together thought leaders, activists, and Jewish communities across the United States, Canada, and Israel to advance a vision of a vegan world enriched by Jewish wisdom, leading to a kinder, healthier, and more sustainable planet.