Animal blessing highlights pets' spiritual role in our lives

As a new rabbi on Hilton Head Island, I promised myself that if my congregation would accept my way of doing things then it would be incumbent upon me to extend the same courtesy to them. And so several weeks ago when I was standing outside our temple facing 35 or so families with their pet dogs waiting for a blessing from me upon their beloved canine family members, I knew that it was my turn to stretch myself in ways I had not done before.

In Judaism we have no traditional ceremony for blessing pets. I asked some of my temple leaders, "Why have we been doing this ceremony for the last four years?" They answered, "Well, the Catholics do this ritual and it is really nice. Why can't we make this work for us in a Jewish context?"

I am reluctant to copy other religions' traditions. Those rituals belong to the original religious systems from which they developed. I feel uncomfortable when I hear stories of people re-creating my religious traditions and using them in ceremonies that have nothing to do with Judaism. With the advent of a Jewish ceremony for blessing pets, I asked, am I violating my own standards?

ALL GOD'S CREATURES

The blessing in the Catholic tradition is "Blessed are you, Lord God, maker of all living creatures. You called forth fish in the sea, birds in the air and animals on the land. You inspired St. Francis to call all of them his brothers and his sisters. We ask you to bless this pet. By the power of your love, enable it to live according to your plan. May we always praise you for all your beauty in creation. Blessed are you, Lord our God, in all your creatures. Amen."

Our congregation chose the weekly Scriptural reading of the biblical story of Noah, which usually occurs in October. By redefining this ritual for blessing the animals with the flood story, we highlighted the theme of human stewardship for all God's creation.

Sarah Oberdier, an official of the Hilton Head Humane Society, spoke and appealed to us to consider adopting the pets that she and her volunteers brought with them. We offered anyone a prayer for their ill pets and invited everyone to place their hands upon their pets and recite a blessing of thanksgiving for the gift of the pets in our lives.

The rituals and prayers in this ceremony revealed a wonderful moment in the spiritual lives of our families. I could see in their eyes not only the love for their pets but a connection for how that love fills a deeper void. Our pets enable us to nurture again and to love in a way that reminds us of what it was like to be a young parent again to our children.

Many of our members are retired, and their children are off to college or have children of their own. Pets connect us to those nurturing skills in our past that we now reserve for our grandchildren when they visit.

It is a beautiful tradition in Catholicism that St. Francis blessed the animals. In Judaism we can bless our pets and remember that God gave us the responsibility to care for animal life and respect the existence of animals and protect them for future generations.

Our love of our pets reflects an ethical as well as a spiritual need. I have seen the joy in the eyes of residents in assisted-living and nursing home facilities when someone brings a dog for a visit. One woman in my congregation, for example, trains her dog to perform tricks that bring comfort to senior citizen groups.

Our animals remind us of how we need to hold and hug whether it is pets or people. The spirituality of our aging, once again, calls us to pay attention to the child and the young parent inside us. That spirit has never left us.

Rabbi Brad L. Bloom is the rabbi at Congregation Beth Yam on Hilton Head Island. He can be reached at 843-689-2178.