Bark mitzvah - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A Bark Mitzvah is a pseudo-traditional observance and celebration of a dog's coming of age

Coming of age

Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...

, as in the Jewish

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

traditional Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah. The term has been in use since at least as early as 1997, and Bark Mitzvahs are sometimes held as an adjunct to the festival of Purim

Purim

Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...

Ceremony

The Bark Mitzvah is a celebration not necessarily held in conjunction with a specific age but can occur when the dog turns 13 months or 13 years of age. This is equivalent to about 91 dog years. During some Bark Mitzvahs, dogs wear a tallit

Tallit

A tallit pl. tallitot is a Jewish prayer shawl. The tallit is worn over the outer clothes during the morning prayers on weekdays, Shabbat and holidays...

, a ritual prayer shawl worn during Jewish religious services and ceremonies. A male dog wears a specific yarmulke

Kippah

A kippah or kipa , also known as a yarmulke , kapele , is a hemispherical or platter-shaped head cover, usually made of cloth, often worn by Orthodox Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that their head be covered at all times, and sometimes worn by both men and, less frequently, women...

, a thin skullcap.

History

In 1997, the first widely recorded Bark Mitzvah was celebrated, receiving scrutiny and disapproval from several rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

s. One rabbi expressed his distaste for Bark Mitzvahs in a letter to the editor of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, describing the celebration as "nothing less than a desecration of a cherished Jewish tradition" and claiming that Bark Mitzvahs "degrade some of the central principles of Jewish life".

Although the idea of the Bark Mitzvah is frowned upon by some, the idea spread throughout the United States, and the celebrations have continued to occur. The ceremonies became increasingly popular on the East

East Coast of the United States

The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...

and West Coast

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

s in the early 2000s. As a result, specialty pet store

Pet store

A pet store or pet shop is a retail business which sells different kinds of animals. Pet stores also sell pet food, supplies, and accessories....

s and dog bakeries

Dog Bakery

A dog bakery is a business that produces fresh baked goods for dogs. The first dog bakery, Famous Fido, opened in 1979 on Chicago, Illinois's north side. Many dog bakeries carry specialty pastries and treats especially for dogs with allergies, dietary needs, or bad breath.-Reasons for...

now offer special Bark Mitzvah party packages, party favor

Party favor

A party favor or party favour is a small gift given to the guests at a party as a gesture of thanks for their attendance, a memento of the occasion, or simply as an aid to frivolity.- Occasions :...

s, and gifts.

Admiral Rufus K. Boom Nadler

Owner: Mark Nadler
Mark Nadler
Mark Nadler is a New York City-based cabaret performer, actor and comedic pianist. He has been described as "one of New York's most acclaimed singer/pianists" and a "virtuoso" of classical piano.Nadler was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa...
Place: Nadler Residence, New York City
Date: December 2004
Breed: Wheaten Terrier

Mark Nadler, a New York cabaret

Cabaret

Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...

singer, hired party planners and bartender

Bartender

A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...

s to ensure a special evening for Admiral Boom. The event was complete with a Bark Mitzvah cake

Cake

Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...

displaying Boom's photograph and his name written in English and Hebrew, satin yarmulkes with Boom's name and date printed inside, and a full buffet

Buffet

A buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners generally serve themselves. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels and many social events...

. Mark Nadler requested that as a Bark Mitzvah gift to Boom, guests make a donation to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing cruelty towards animals...

. Coverage of the celebration was featured in The New York Times.

Colombo Rudy

Owners: Edie and Ed Rudy
Place: A local café, Aventura, Florida
Aventura, Florida
Aventura is a planned, suburban city located in northeastern Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name is from the Spanish word for "adventure", and was named "Aventura" after one of the developers of the original group of condominiums in the area remarked to the others, "What an adventure this is...
Date: October 14, 2005
Breed: Poodle
Poodle
The Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...

Edie and Ed Rudy celebrated Columbo Rudy's coming of age at a local, outdoor Aventura café. Rabbi Rex Doberman signed a certificate from Congregation Beth Poodle congratulating the canine. Coverage of the event was featured on MSNBC

MSNBC

MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

Elvis Best

Owner: David Best
Place: Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse, New York City
Date: November 10, 2007
Breed: Parson Russell Terrier
Parson Russell Terrier
The Parson Russell Terrier is a breed of small white terrier that originates from the Fox Terriers of the 18th century. The breed is named after the person credited with the creation of this type of dog, the Reverend John "Jack" Russell...

David Best, CEO of MDea and The Doctor's Channel, hosted this celebration at Sammy's Roumanian, a famous Jewish steakhouse. The event featured live music, traditional Jewish cuisine

Jewish cuisine

Jewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...

, and various speeches given by Elvis Best himself. In attendance were representatives from various US pharmaceutical companies

Pharmaceutical company

The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to deal in generic and/or brand medications and medical devices...

. As a result, the celebration served as the event of the season in the pharmaceutical industry. Sex therapist Dr. Ruth

Ruth Westheimer

Ruth Westheimer is an American sex therapist, media personality, and author. Best known as Dr. Ruth, the New York Times described her as a "Sorbonne-trained psychologist who became a kind of cultural icon in the 1980s...

also helped Elvis celebrate his big day. Coverage of the event is available on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

, The Doctor's Channel, and AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...

.

Other uses of the term

The term is also used for a dog-assisted literacy

Literacy

Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...

education project, one of several "bark mitzva" projects designed by a Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Lawrenceville is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Lawrence Township in Mercer County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP population was 3,887...

conservative

Conservative Judaism

Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...

synagogue

Synagogue

A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...

's religious school to teach children about tzedaka, the Jewish practice of charity

Charity (practice)