Does Your Dog Deserve a ‘Bark Mitzvah’?
It is with mixed feelings that the Shmooze brings you this latest development in dubious religious trends: the rise of bar mitzvahs for dogs.
While not exactly mainstream, the ceremonies, known as “bark mitzvahs,” are apparently now a rite of passage for some Jewish dog owners and their pets, part of what the Associated Press describes as a “booming multimillion-dollar industry.”
The AP yesterday released footage of a ceremony honoring a New Jersey canine named Nicky, who celebrated reaching age 13 — in dog years — by donning a kippah for a ceremony attended by his owner and friends. “I really believe that the animals have a right to have a party and a religion,” said Lee Day, a talis-wearing woman described by the news service as a “bark mitzvah performer.”
Predictably, not everyone is thrilled with the trend. “It’s really part of a sacred tradition,” said Rabbi Daniel Satlow, referring to the human version of the ceremony. “To imagine that a dog could do anything like this is degrading.”
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO