Jewish and Christian Blessing of the Animals Articles

I've noted previously that in October, I attended two Christian blessing of the animals ceremonies and wrote an article about them that was under consideration for publication. The article has now been published by The Revealer. It discusses one woman's confusion as to why she takes her dogs to get blessed, one man's hope that G-d would help a dog who is suffering from kidney failure, and that dog's relentless barking at a police horse.

On Saturday I attended a Jewish blessing of the animals at Temple Emanu-El of West Essex in Livingston, N.J., and an article about this event and the larger trend has also been published by The Revealer. Here's an excerpt:

“We celebrate the wonderful variety of animals in our lives,” said Rabbi Mark Kaiserman during the service, interspersing standard havdalah prayers with thanksgiving for animals. “The wonderful dogs and all their joy and energy, the amazing cats who rule us and are our masters, our gerbils and hamsters and bunny rabbits and fish, the birds that flap in the cages wishing they were free but loving to be with us, and from the ant farms and the earthworms to all of the animals that make our lives joyous, we celebrate them. … We celebrate each of them and all the joy they bring to us and thank G-d for the blessing that they provide our lives.”

In December, I noted that at least 21 synagogues or other Jewish organizations had held blessing of the animals ceremonies. The tally is now up to 23. In a phone interview last month, Rabbi Micah Caplan told me that both Bet Shira Congregation in Miami, Fla., (his current shul) and Congregation Shaarei Torah in Arcadia, Calif., (his former shul) had hosted blessing of the animals events.

The following is an index of my writing about Jewish and Christian blessing of the animals ceremonies:

• The Barking Blessed (The Revealer, May 2010)
• Dogs Go to Church (The Revealer, May 2010)
• Blessing of the Animals: A Personal History (heebnvegan, February 2010)
• Jews Adopt Blessing of the Animals Ceremonies and Make Them Their Own (heebnvegan, December 2009)
• On How Large a Scale Are These Ceremonies Taking Place? (heebnvegan, December 2009)
• Interview With a Vegetarian Who Attended a Jewish Blessing of the Animals Ceremony (heebnvegan, December 2009)
  
• heebnvegan Goes to Church! (heebnvegan, October 2006)