Reply To: Bark Mitzvah

It’s not a traditional thing. Not orthodox or anything.

Just a thing that some people do that isn’t tied to Judaism, per se. Just want to include their dog.

Thus far I know of one person, indirectly, whose dog had a Bark Mitzvah. A doggie tallis and everything (just a piece of fabric with a Magen David, for show).

Btw, learned two things today:

1) The dogs did not bark when the Jewish nation (Israelites at the time before matan Torah (“giving of the Torah”) but one people) left Egypt. Because they restrained their voice, which was very hard for them, we give them treif meat when there is an uncertain shaila (question) on whether the meat is kosher or not, and in cases where the slaughter wasn’t kosher for sure.

We don’t give meat to the frogs, because while they jumped into burning ovens, that was not as difficult for them as a dog holding back his/her bark.

Learned this from today’s Torah Anytime shiur on animals and the parsha Bo.

2) From a Chabad rabbi today, I learned that the meaning of the dogs not barking is that the Jewish people left Egypt in peace. That was the miracle of the departure. It was daytime and the dogs did not bark for they let the Jewish people leave in peace and tranquility.

Yepp yepp.