Behind the Celebration

Most Bark Mitzvahs are simply a fun reason for a party. However, there are those who recognize a spiritual component to them. And, on the other side, there are those who find them offensive.

A Spiritual Component

Some people do see a spiritual component to the Bark Mitzvah ceremony.

They claim that the Bark Mitzvah is a celebration of the spiritual connection they feel for their dogs. And they want to express this spiritual connection in a Jewish, communal way.

Others claim the ceremonies express the divine spark in animals. What is dog spelled backward? In this way, the Bark Mitzvah can be seen as the Jewish equivalent to the Catholic ritual of blessing animals in the church.

Still others simply want to celebrate a rite of passage for their dog. Some celebrate it after the dog has lived 13 human years, while others wait for 13 dog years.

An Offensive Component

Some people find Bark Mitzvah celebrations as offensive. They feel that dressing a dog in a yarmulke and tallit dishonors Judaism. Others say that Bark Mitzvahs marginalize Jewish identification to the point where stereotypes are perpetuated.

A Humorous Component

The great majority of those celebrating Bark Mitzvahs today simply do it for fun.

And the jokes abound: Feeding the dog biscuits shaped as Stars of David. Reading Arf-Tara instead of Haftara. Barking in honor of the dog.

They say that so many of the bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies of humans these days have lost the religious coming-of-age meaning and have turned into showy social affairs, so why not a Bark Mitzvah?

What’s Next?

Meow Mitzvahs? Ruf-Ruf Rabbis? Or even worse, Ruf-Ruf Rabbis performing Meow Mitzvahs?!

One dog-less couple supposedly held a Car Mitzvah to honor their Rolls Royce for giving them 13 years of high quality service.

I wonder whether we should be laughing or crying. Who can help but laugh at the creativity and absurdity of giving a dog a Bark Mitzvah? On the hand, if you think about how Jews throughout history experienced persecutation, exile, torture and death just for the right to wear a tallit, isn't putting a tallit on a dog an act of abasement? Should we just lighten up, have a little fun and laugh, or do we need to be more protective and honorable of our traditions?