A blessing upon encountering a dead animal, by Rabbi Gila Caine

I composed this short blessing when passing by a dead coyote once. Crows and Magpies were congregating around the corpse and I felt this was a moment to notice, sanctify and bless. It was my way of connecting with all of them, dead and alive.

Categories:

Mourning

Tags:

21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., animals, ברכות brakhot, corpses, death, עולם הזה Olam ha-Zeh, surprise encounter

Contributor(s):

Gila Caine

A blessing upon consuming animal flesh, by Rabbi Gila Caine

This blessing for the consumption of meat (or poultry, or fish) is based on a verse from Vayikra / Leviticus, ch. 17: כִּי נֶפֶשׁ הַבָּשָׂר בַּדָּם הִוא וַאֲנִי נְתַתִּיו לָכֶם עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לְכַפֵּר עַל־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם כִּי־הַדָּם הוּא בַּנֶּפֶשׁ יְכַפֵּר׃ (“For the life of the flesh is in the blood. And as for me, I have given it to you on the alter to ransom your lives, for it is the blood that ransoms in exchange for life.”) This verse helps us remember (and how can we ever forget?!) that any bloodshed, is a loss of life – human or animal. And, it helps us understand that even when we kill for our own sustanance (or even in a ritual offering), we cause a loss of life. The burden is on us. We are commanded to release the blood-life so we can use the meat. (I wrote more in detail about this blessing here.)

Categories:

Blessings Before Eating, Blessings After Eating

Tags:

21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., animals, ברכות brakhot, eating animals, עולם הזה Olam ha-Zeh, predation, predatory nature

Contributor(s):

Gila Caine