On the Jewish Yemenite custom of "Yilbegu al-kilab" ("Beating the dogs") From the 17th century onward, Yemenite Jewry was a stronghold of Jewish mysticism, deeply influenced by Kabbalah. In Kabbalistic thought, dogs are associated with demonic forces, Amalek, and impurity, a view that draws on negative portrayals of dogs in biblical and rabbinic literature but is developed much further in Kabbalah. Thus, a known custom among Yemenite Jews in previous centuries, as part of the Chodesh HaSelichot ("Month of Repentance") rituals observed during Elul, was for children to go out into the streets at night, armed with sticks, and beat stray dogs as hard as they could. Here's how the practice is described, rather apologetically, on the website of The Association for Society and Culture - Yemenite Jewish Heritage: "A strange custom among Yemenite children was that, after reciting the confession prayer (Vidui) during the middle of the night watches, while it was still dark outside, they would leave the synagogue shouting "Yilbegu al-kilab" ("Beating the dogs"), each carrying a stick. It should be noted that in Yemen there were no domesticated dogs; almost all of them were strays, living wild throughout the city streets without any veterinary supervision. The boys would organize themselves into groups and, working as a team, lie in wait for packs of dogs before vigorously beating them. Surprisingly, the dogs seemed to sense this and disappeared from the streets, unlike their usual behavior. Needless to say, the adults would scold the children on the one hand, on the grounds of preventing animal cruelty, but on the other hand, they were exceedingly lenient toward them, remembering that they themselves had done the same in their childhood." In the photo: Yemenite Jewish children in Sanaa, 1901