Kaparot (Ritual Redemption)Between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, many Jews ritually atone for their sins. The Jewish tradition provides a few ways to atone, including swinging money around one's head or a chicken. Once swung around the head, the chicken is ritually slaughtered and supposed to be given to the poor. There is no legal imperative to use a chicken for this ritual and so we call on all Jews to stop using chickens for kaparot and to use money instead as the chickens are grossly mistreated.
Each year thousands of chickens are kept in harsh conditions waiting to be used for kaparot. Many are never used and some are left to die of dehydration and starvation. Furthermore, undercover investigations have revealed that ritually slaughtered kosher chickens allegedly earmarked for "the poor" were instead thrown into the trash. What is Kapparot?
Kapparot is a Jewish religious practice in which a live chicken is swung over a person’s head three times before the chicken is slaughtered. The purpose of the ritual is for the chicken to symbolically receive all the sins of the man or woman participating in the ritual, which is practiced before Yom Kippur. Kapparot originated in medieval times and today only a small fraction of members of the Jewish faith practice the ritual using live chickens. The vast majority of observant Jews use coins instead of chickens. Many rabbis condemn the use of chickens as unethical and contrary to the spirit of Jewish tradition. Why Do We Oppose Kapparot? The pain and suffering than chickens endure as part of the Kapparot ritual is unimaginable. In addition to being slaughtered, many chickens are subjected to torturous conditions leading up to their death. (from www.kapparot.org) Relevant ArticlesA Brief History of a Fowl Custom
By Rabbi Shlomo M. Brody Talmudic scholars have never agreed on the pre-Yom Kippur chicken sacrifice read more> My Opinion on Kaparos With a Chicken (Don’t Do It) By Rabbi Eliyahu Fink Rabbi Fink explores various reasons to no longer use chickens for kapparot read more> A Plea Against the Custom of Kapparot By Rabbi Yonah Bookstein Rabbi Bookstein an Orthodox Rabbi in Los Angeles, pleads with the Jewish community to stop using chickens for the kapparot ritual. He says using chickens for kapparot violates four different Torah laws: tzaar ba’alei hayyim, creating nevailah, ba’al tashchit, and dina d’malchuta dina read more> A Yom Kippur of Mercy or Cruelty? By Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz Bringing an End to Kaporos! read more> United Poultry Concerns’ Campaign to End Chicken Kaporos By Karen Davis, PhD Read the report written as a contribution to The National Museum of Animals & Society read more> The Non-Jewish Origin of Kapparot By Dr. Israel Drazin read here> 3 Very Religious Reasons To End The Barbaric Practice Of Kapparot With Live Chickens By Rabbi Haim Ovadia read here> |
Orthodox rabbis who have come out in opposition to the practice of chicken Kapparos
Rabbi Yosef Adler Rabbi Dr. Marc Angel Rabbi Shlomo Aviner Rabbi Daniel Askenazi Rabbi Joseph Beyda Rabbi Yitzchak Blau Rabbi Yosef Blau Rabbi Aviad Bodner Rabbi Ira Budow Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo Rabba Dr. Carmella Abraham Rabbi Michael Chernick Rabbi Eliyahu Fink Rabbi Eliezer Finkelman Rabbi Aaron Frank Rabbi Avidan Freedman Maharat Ruth Balinsky Friedman Rabbi Yonassan Gershom Rabbi Jeremy Gimpel Rabbi Daniel Goodman Rabbi Dr. Mel Gottlieb Rabbi Dr. Yitz Greenberg Rabbi Donn Gross Rabbanit Goldie Guy Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy Rabbi Ari Hart Rabbi Benjamin Hassan Rabbi Dr. Richard Hidary Rabbi Eliezer Hirsch Rabbi Shaul Judelman Rabbi David Kalb Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky Rabbi Ysoscher Katz Rabbi Tzvi Koren Rabbi Dr. Eugene Korn Rabbi Gabriel Kretzmer-Seed Rabbi Daniel Landes Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz Rabbi Aryeh A. Leifert Rabbi Aaron Levy Rabbi Yamin Levy Rabbi Dov Linzer Rabbi Yehoshua Looks Rabbi Haskel Lookstein Rabbi Asher Lopatin Rabbi Moshe Mayor Rabbi Dr. Ariel Evan Mayse Rabbi Michael Melchior Rabbi Avram Mlotek Rosh Kehillah Dina Najman Rabbi Haim Ovadia Rabbi Dani Passow Rabbi Dr. Ariel Picard Rabbi Yossi Pollak Rabbi Aaron Potek Rabbi Sam Reinstein Rabbi Dr. David Rosen Rabbi Daniel Raphael Silverstein Rabbi Shlomo Segal Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller Rabbi Jay Shoulson Rabbi David Stav Rabbi Chaim Strauchler Rabbi Devin Villarreal Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz Rabbi Alan J. Yuter Rabbi Lawrence Zierler Rabbi Shlomo Aviner calls on Jews to use money instead of chickens for Kaparot
The campaign to end chickens as Kaparot in Los Angeles
Brooklyn Investigation
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Jewish ethics. Heavenly ideals. Earthly compassion.
