Beth Torah blessing

We've posted about a few of the animal blessings being offered by area churches over the past several weeks.

Apparently Congregation Beth Torah in Torrance has been conducting the blessings for many years now, synchronized with the litrugical year to coincide with the readings about Noah and the flood.

I received an email today from Cowboy & Tess' dog trainer, Barbara Millman, who took her Shetland sheepdogs to the weekend service. Sounds like they had quite the mix of animals there -- and I like the idea of the Hebrew names.

Barbara said the temple offers the ceremony each year to honor God's creation and the special role animals can play in our lives. From her email:  

I took Perry and Gidget to Congregation Beth Torah on Sunday. There
were about 30 animals ( and their humans) including chinchillas,
lizards and many dogs. Rabbi Spero conducted a service and then gave
the animals a Hebrew name along with a blessing. Perry's Hebrew name
is Chaver which means friend. Gidget's Hebrew name is Simcha which
means happy. Everyone seemed to have a good time. The dogs were on
their best behavior.

Ah, but were the lizards well-behaved?