Rosh Hashanah marks the new year for people and animals in the Hebrew calendar. So what better time for Jews to turn over a new leaf—one that will benefit themselves and animals, too? A kale leaf, perhaps, or arugula? Here's one "leif" that helps animals: Jewish comedian Carol Leifer hilariously explains why she went vegan:

Ready to help your Jewish friends resolve to turn over a new leaf for the New Year? Forward them the link to PETA's vegetarian/vegan starter kit. 

Happy New Year!

Last night, the Stand-Up for Animals PETA benefit show at the famous Comedy Store on L.A.'s Sunset Strip was funnier than a barrel of animatronic monkeys.

Bill Maher, Jane Lynch, Carol Leifer, Jeffrey Ross, Marc Maron, and host Fred Willard—in other words, some of the most talented comedians in the world—came together to raise money for PETA and kept the packed house laughing until the audience's sides hurt. 

Guests included Pink, Carey Hart, Olivia Munn, Cloris Leachman, Jorja Fox, Christian Serratos, Renee Olstead, Elisabetta Canalis, Emily Osment, and Moby, many of whom tried valiantly not to do spit takes with The Comedy Store's delicious vegan snacks while laughing at Jeffrey Ross' hysterical poem to his cat or Carol Leifer's explanation that she had to go vegan because being a Jewish lesbian wasn't enough.

Bill Maher quipped, "Before PETA was around, you know, you could f-ck with animals any way, anybody, anytime, anywhere, and now you can't. That's a pretty big change in the world. That's a big achievement. … Animals will not be ignored. They're the Glenn Close of species."

And with all the funds raised by the end of the night, PETA can make sure that animal abusers won't be laughing for long.

flickr / CC

Inspired by the recent release of Carol Leifer's vegetarian testimonials, here are the 10 most knee-slapping, gut-busting, laugh-til-you-cry PSAs that PETA has to offer:

10. Musician Kevin Eubanks—former World's Sexiest Vegetarian—is as sweet as strawberries.
9. The king of improv, Fred Willard, struggles to name our spay-and-neuter campaign.
8. Jewish, lesbian, or vegan? Comedic genius Carol Leifer is all three. Watch her gush about the pluses of a vegetarian diet.
7. Legendary tennis champ John McEnroe shows his awesome sense of humor—and the importance of spaying and neutering.
6. See "Brad Pitt" star in funnyman Kevin Nealon's veggie testimonial.
5. Our scorching veggie vixens have a fetish for broccoli in "Veggie Love." Are you laughing or just blushing?
4. A zucchini gets an "X" rating? It's hard to believe—until you see our "Sexy Sausage" ad.
3. Phew! See what really stinks in PETA's "Litterbox" ad.
2. Sex and the City's saucy Samantha Jones, played by Kim Catrall, seems like a meek kitten compared to the stars of "Sex and the Kitty."
1. Our "Milk Gone Wild" ad was nixed from the lineup of Super Bowl ads. I suspect network executives didn't want breast-fixated male viewers to stress about their own milk-induced "doobs" (that's short for "dude boobs").

I admit that the order of this list was subjective, so why don't you leave a comment to tell us which PETA PSA you think is the funniest?

Written by Karin Bennett

I'm willing to bet my last Goldenberg Peanut Chew that you love comedian/writer Carol Leifer just as much as I do. Even if her name doesn't sound familiar, millions of Seinfeld fans can thank her for penning countless "I-laughed-so-hard-vino-shot-out-of-my-nose!" moments.

Carol recently tossed all animal products from her fridge—no more milk stolen from calves, no more eggs from miserable hens, and no more bacon from pigs gone crazy from confinement—and she sat down with PETA to film the following vegetarian testimonial (Before you watch it, I suggest you put that wine down, lest you spray Chardonnay all over your keyboard):

One of my favorite lines: "I recently became vegan because I felt that as a Jewish lesbian, I wasn't part of a small enough minority. So now I'm a Jewish lesbian vegan."

If that video wasn't enough hilarity for you, you can check out here and here for other versions of the video. Plus, we've got 10 copies of Carol's book—When You Lie About Your Age, The Terrorists Win: Reflections on Looking in the Mirror—to give away too. Win yours by letting us know, in the comments section below, the funniest thing you tell people when they ask why you went vegetarian.

The contest ends on July 23, 2009, and we'll choose the 10 most hilarious comments as the winners on July 24, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Written by Karin Bennett