Honoring Our Animal Companions

Pets provide companionship and bring pleasure to our lives. For many of us, these are valuable relationships that add richness and texture to our days. These rituals recognize this special connection and instill holiness into the unique bond between us and our animal companions.

Latest Rituals

So close, ‘devarim,’ words and ‘devorim,’ bees

Only Torah, our tradition teaches, is sweeter than honey, // its aroma and taste more desirable than gold, // its devarim eternal

bees, community, honey, torah

Bees gather on a brown honeycomb structure, some cells empty, with blurred background.

Eagle and Vulture

Both birds of prey // Both live at my river // but only the vultures visit my home.

birds, change, return, sacred, spring, unknown

Painting of a brown bird with a blue beak against a blue sky with white clouds.

Returning to the Circle: Guided Reflection on the Return of a Congregant after Loss

This lovely ritual can be adapted for the loss of any animal companion

Animal companions, community, grief, loss, pets, rainbow bridge

Silhouette of a woman and a dog touching noses at sunset, sitting on grass.

A Prayer for Wolves

This is a prayer to say when you see a wolf, hear a wolf, or, simply, are thinking about wolves.

animals, awe, wolf, wolves, wonder

Three white wolves interact; one lying down playfully with mouth open, and two standing alert in a natural setting.

A Litany for a Beloved Non-human Family Member

A powerful ritual for when you have lost an animal companion

Animal companions, dogs, grief, mourning, non-human family

A corgi wearing a small bow tie

A Blessing for Transitioning a Beloved Pet Across the Rainbow Bridge

A beautiful prayer for when you say goodbye to a beloved animal companion.

Animal companions, grief, pets, prayer, rainbow bridge

A Ritual and Prayer Upon Adopting and Naming a Pet

“Help us strive to meet their needs with love”

animal, naming, pets

Woman with glasses and purple hair holds a tabby kitten on her shoulder outdoors, wearing a yellow jacket.

Mazel Tov

“Like all of us, he is / dying; like most of us, he doesn’t / know it.”

Silhouette of a woman and a dog touching noses at sunset, sitting on grass.

Prayer for the Cicadas

“Help us hear the pulsating song of the world”

Close-up of a cicada with red eyes, brown body, and transparent wings, perched on a tree branch.

Cicada Psalm (2004–2021)

“Each seventeen years, the Creator rejoices”

Silhouette of a cicada on a tree at sunset, with a blurred background of trees and sky.