their friends, many of whom aren’t Jewish.

In reality, the Bark Mitzvah didn’t resemble
much of a B’nai Mitzvah at all. Th ere was no
service and no rabbi. It was really just a party.

“My wife and I are pretty involved in the
Jewish community here,” Matthew Fingerman
said. “We wanted to do something fun and
lighthearted and also that would just give back
and also incorporate [Sade] in the middle of our
Jewish community.”
Th e couple had recently adopted the
dog. (Th ey named her aft er the singer —
pronounced Sha-day — whose music they
danced to at their wedding.) Th e vet told
them she was about 2 years old, which the
couple fi gured put her right around Bark
Mitzvah age in dog years.

“We had a little bit of a creative license in
all of that,” Matt Fingerman joked.

For the celebration, the Fingermans sent out elegant invitations they
had created through Vistaprint, and Matt Fingerman set up a Spotify
playlist fi lled with B’nai Mitzvah favorites, including Israeli pop music
and Fiddler on the Roof. Th ey also created a quiz where people could
test how well they knew Sade, with questions about her fears (the dark),
her favorite toy (a stuff ed turkey) and where she is from (Texas).

Th en, at the end of it all, their guests could take home a party
favor — a small bag fi lled with dog-themed cookies.

Th eir guests loved it, Matt Fingerman said.

“It’s hilarious,” he said. “We’re in a house fi lled with Judaica
from my family and [Mindy’s] family, and they know how much
we take Judaism seriously in our home and how important it is.”
See Bark, Page 8
Photo Credit (Clockwise from the Left): Philip Gabriel Photography,
Versano Photography, Maura B. McConnell Photography
T Party favors
he invitations were sent. Th e table was set at Sade’s Bark
with “beagles” and lox. Th e cake, frosted Mitzvah Photos
of Mindy
with words that read “Muzzle Tov Sade,” courtesy
Fingerman was ready for feasting.

It was Sade’s Bark Mitzvah.

Matthew and Mindy Fingerman, a young
couple living in Queen Village, decided to
throw a Bark Mitzvah for their dog, Sade, a
2-year-old terrier mix, in January. About 25
of their friends and family had gathered at
their home for the simcha.

Bark Mitzvahs aren’t a new concept. Th e
fi rst recorded Bark Mitzvah took place in
Beverly Hills, Calif., in 1958. More than 100
guests came to the Bark Mitzvah of a cocker
spaniel named Windy, who belonged to a
former mayor and his wife, according to JTA.

Th e celebration has been duplicated
numerous times over the past six decades. Bark Mitzvahs have
drawn their share of criticism, but for those that who organized the
celebrations, it’s a fun party that brings friends and family together.

“When it started for us, it was just going to be a get-together
under disguise,” Matthew Fingerman said. “We had so much
fun creating activities for the kids and incorporating diff erent
foods and diff erent puns that it was just a really fun way to cele-
brate purely tradition with friends and family and incorporating
nontraditional family members in that.”
For the Fingermans, the Bark Mitzvah was a way to celebrate their
housewarming, welcome their new dog into their family and raise
money for MatchDog Rescue, the shelter from which they had adopt-
ed Sade. It was also a way to share their pride in some staples of Jewish
culture — things like bagels and lox and Fiddler on the Roof — with
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MARCH 21, 2019
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