Anti-Kapparot Activists To Protest In Crown Heights

"Chicken kaporos is cruel, needless, embarrassing, and a violation of New York State Anti-Cruelty Law Article 26."

 

Activists Will Rally In Brooklyn, NY to Protest Chickens in Kaporos Rituals

Chicken Kaporos is Cruel, Needless, Embarrassing, and a Violation of New York State Anti-Cruelty Law Article 26 and Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 53.67

Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos

NEW YORK, Sept. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos is hosting two 2-hour protest demonstrations in Brooklyn September 23 & 24, 2012 to protest and eliminate the "swinging" and slaughtering of chickens in Kaporos ceremonies the week before Yom Kippur – the Jewish Day of Atonement – in which chickens are ritually sacrificed by many (but not by most) Orthodox Jews by being waved over practitioners' heads and butchered in public ceremonies.   

What: Protest the needless use of chickens in Kaporos rituals and urge that money be used instead. When: Sunday September 23rd 4-6 p.m., and Monday September 24th 6-8 p.m. Where: Eastern Parkway, between Kingston and Albany Avenues, diagonally in front of the Brooklyn Jewish Children's Museum (792 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11213). Why: The use of chickens in Kaporos rituals is cruel and contrary to Jewish teachings. It is not a mitzvah but a bizarre custom that originated in the middle ages. Most observers give money to charity which they express symbolically by swinging coins while reciting prayers for mercy and peace. Waving and slaughtering chickens as Kaporos violates tsa'ar ba'alei chaim, the Jewish mandate to avoid needlessly hurting animals and to show them compassion.

Chickens used in Kaporos rituals are trucked from factory farms to urban areas and held in transport crates for days without food, water or shelter. Brooklyn resident and Alliance member Rina Deych has witnessed chickens packed pitifully in crates on top of crates in the cold and rain for entire nights. She writes: "I live in the heart of Boro Park. Every year, I see chickens ROUTINELY thrown into dumpsters, the dead along with birds who are dying of dehydration, injury, exhaustion, and pain."

New York State Anti-Cruelty Law, Article 26, states that animals must have fresh food, water, and protection from the elements. Kaporos practitioners violate this law so flagrantly and mercilessly that they mock their own prayers for mercy and peace. And while they may claim to distribute the butchered birds to the poor, this distribution is invoked as a secondary justification that according to rabbis and other critics is meaningless because the mistreatment of the chickens used in Kaporos renders them non-kosher – a point Rabbi Avi Zarki in North Tel Aviv made this year in "Israel: Kaporos Under Fire Earlier Than Usual" in The Yeshiva World, September 4, 2012. Moreover, chickens dead and alive have been reported in Los Angeles and New York being thrown into garbage bags without any charitable goal. 

"Chickens suffer terribly in Kaporos rituals," says the Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos. "They suffer in being callously held with their wings pinned painfully and injuriously backward and in being packed in crates, often for days, without food or water leading up to the ritual. They suffer in being slaughtered and handled as if they were inanimate objects, unworthy of kindness, mercy or respect."

Criticizing the gross mishandling of the birds, Orthodox Rabbi Yonassan Gershom, a Breslov Hasid, wrote in his blog last year of the cruelty of holding chickens suspended by their wings: "Imagine somebody holding your arms behind your back and then suspending you by the elbows to get an idea of what this method would feel like. The feet of a chicken are made to support its weight; the wings are not."

Rabbi Gershom is not alone in objecting to the whole performance. More and more Orthodox rabbis are speaking out against using chickens in Kaporos rituals on grounds of religion, morality, and compassion for animals. In 2010, Rabbi Steven Weil, CEO of the Orthodox Union of Rabbis in New York City, told the Alliance that the OU opposes using chickens as Kaporos due to the ritual's "insensitivity" to the birds and the lack of historical foundation.

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Head of Jerusalem's Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim, stated in a video presentation in 2010 that in the light of cruelty to animals, "It is recommended that one should prefer to conduct the atonement ceremony with money."

Orthodox Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz wrote in The Jewish Week that Kaporos observers "should be cultivating mercy for all those who suffer and not be perpetuating pain on sentient creatures in the name of piety."

Rabbi David Rosen, International Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Congress and Former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, wrote: "Those who wish to fulfill this custom can do so fully by using money." Rabbi Shlomo Segal, Rabbi of Beth Shalom of Kings Bay in Brooklyn, states: "The pain caused to the chickens in the process of performing Kapparot is absolutely unnecessary. Giving money is a more humane method."

"There is a perfectly acceptable Kaporos practice that not only avoids animal cruelty, but can help reduce hunger and show compassion to all," says the Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos. "Money can be used instead of swinging and sacrificing chickens, and funds raised can be given directly to charities. People ask mercy from G-d. The chickens need mercy from us. We ask Kaporos observers to show mercy and use money instead of chickens."

Last year, the Alliance rescued 121 chickens from Kaporos, and they are living happily in sanctuaries. No animal should have to suffer the horrific fate these birds were slated for.  We look forward to a day when people evolve past the use of chickens and other animals in sacrificial rituals in all faiths. Maybe in the process we will learn to be kinder to all species, including our own.

The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos is a project of United Poultry Concerns that was formed in New York City in 2010. It is an association of compassionate people everywhere who seek to replace chickens in Kaporos ceremonies with money or other non-animal symbols of atonement. To learn more about the Alliance and its objectives, please go to http://www.EndChickensAsKaporos.com.

United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl. http://www.upc-online.org.

Comments

[Sarah]

About Time.... something should have been done
years ago.

[Steven]

Convincing Rabbonim to come out against kapporot would probably carry more weight than a demonstration. People are hesitant to muck around with Yom Kippur rituals. (I use money).

[Reb Chaim]

This demonstration is a fine idea but I'm afraid it will take many more such acts to finally end this foolish medieval practice. What is really needed is for the gedolim to speak out forcefully against it and I'm afraid such a declaration is still a long ways off. Over the centuries Judaism has picked up a number of such primitive and superstitous acts and it's going to to take a lot of effort to finally get rid of them.

[seymour]

Convincing Rabbonim to come out against kapporot would probably carry more weight than a demonstration. People are hesitant to muck around with Yom Kippur rituals. (I use money).

Posted by: Steven | September 20, 2012 at 08:11 AM

never the same crowd that supports MP I guess are the same crowd that supports chicken kapporros

[A. Nuran]

Who cares about goyishe "laws"? We live in Jewland

[SameOldSameOld]

Ah, that time of year again. Time to do some kaporos bashing.

[seymour]

Who cares about goyishe "laws"? We live in Jewland

Posted by: A. Nuran | September 20, 2012 at 08:23 AM

this might be in violation of Jew laws

[David]

Cruelty? Goyishe concept. Hashem wouldn't have commanded this pagan rite if the animals actually suffered from it.

[seymour]

Cruelty? Goyishe concept. Hashem wouldn't have commanded this pagan rite if the animals actually suffered from it.

Posted by: David | September 20, 2012 at 08:38 AM

he didn't

[jancsibacsi]

I hope when they do kaporos the chicken craps on their heads so they will be frightened away the next time:)

[zibble]

Pure avodah zarah, whether it's chickens OR money.

[rebeljew]

How dare the state interfere with the holy ritual of kaparos with chickens! When Moshe Rabennu came down from Mt. Sinai on Yom Kippur with the luchot and mandated that every Jew substitute a chicken for himself or herself (and 3 for a woman who was pregnant) to atone for their sins, the world did not dare stand in his way. Should we now give in to the world's demand that we stop this ancient and holy mitzvah d'oraita, just because of some idol worshippers?

[Rocky]

JB said: "I hope when they do kaporos the chicken craps on their heads so they will be frightened away the next time:)"

My first laugh of the morning.

[Gridlock]

The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos is hosting two 2-hour protest demonstrations in Brooklyn September 23 & 24

Thanks for the heads up. Major gridlock tying up Eastern Parkway. I hope the police are deployed in force to keep traffic flowing.

[נתנה תוקף]

רבש"ע, שבור! עול הפושעים ועול הגליות מעל צוארנו

כפרות - שחיטה - מילה - מסירות - שנאת ישראל - דיני קשיא על החרידים! - גילוי עריות על הכל! - וכו' וכולו

[Alter Kocker]

I hope that PETA arrives in force to take the crates of chickens away while the police cites those selling the chickens for cruel and inhuman purposes.

Fucking neanderthals are too cheap to wave money over their heads and then give it to charity, the chicken is cheaper. May they all end up with cases of Histoplasmosis from the chicken feces dropping into their mouths.

[Pinocchio]

Alter Kocker said:
"Fucking.. chicken feces dropping into their mouths"

No wonder they call you "Alter Kocker" Alter Croaker ?!

[Sarek]

I'm glad a lot of rabbis are speaking up about this. I was afraid they'd be chicken. I hope the crazies don't cry "fowl."

[God is not amused]

Why haven't there been mass arrests for this violation of the law?? CORRUPT POLITICIANS in the pocket of the Haredim. What more proof do we need?
Every politician that supports the Haredim anywhere, should be voted out. This cult is pure evil. The politicians that allow this are pure evil. 21st century and they are still practicing dark ages paganism. 21st century and they are still promoting spiritual darkness. 21st century must see the end of these ignorant vile entitites.
Kudos to those that are protesting and demanding that this insanity of cruelty be stopped. Welcome to humanity and the 21st century.
PS. Kiryas Joel, NY has a hidden chicken holding area....STATE PD RAID IT!!!!!

[God is not amused]

http://gothamist.com/2011/09/29/annual_protests_of_annual_jewish_ch.php

for those in nyc...protest sites........see you in midwood

[seymour]

what is so sad is they can easily avoid all this trouble by doing humanly

they are such idiots

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

++God is not amused | September 20, 2012 at 11:20 AM++

That link is from last year.

Here is what you want for this year:

http://endchickensaskaporos.com/120918nr_rally.html

[take it east]

The best way to promote humane practices is to have the price of food reflect its true cost. Of course with the cost of meat going up $2 / lb by next year, I'm sure that most people will continue to complain about greedy Jews rather than pay $5 / lb for ethicly processed chicken.

[Deremes]

Although Kaporos bashing has been going on for a few years it seems like the way we are heading it probably will become an illegal thing.As I said before first its Metzitzah B'peh which the city with its King Bloomberg are trying to ban Jews not to follow Halacha.Now there is noise about Kaporos which is only a custom.And no its not becuase people are not handling the chickens correctly it is they claim the whole thing is inhumane.So you MO Jews you think its only frum Jews they are targeting?fools,they are targeting jews in general.
The mo think that by pandering to secular Jews and gentiles people will say oh they are ubermentchen and will let them be as they want to.Who would ever belive that in 2012 in the USA the goverment will tell pople how to parctice their religion and not the Schulcan Orech.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

Deremes, if the chickens were handled and slaughtered humanely and per halacha, nobody would be protesting. But you probably don't believe me, since it's easier to take the paranoid position.

When I was a Lubavitcher, I used to go to kaporos in a kosher slaughterhouse in North Williamsburg. The chickens were handled by men who worked there, and given to you when you were ready to do the ceremony, and they would stand next to you if you were nervous with the chicken. Then you would take the chicken and hand it to the shochet standing there, and after the shechita, it would be given to workers to clean (while you watched) and you would be handed a chicken fully cleaned and ready for cooking, that you took home.

Today what goes on in the streets that is called kaporos is disgusting. The animals are kept in cages on the truck for days, and a lot of them are dead or near dead by the time you want one. You are on your own with handling the live chicken, and people routinely break its wings, etc. which is blatant cruelty. The chicken is then handed to a boy who is also clueless about how to hold the animal humanely, and after the slaughter, the bodies are thrown on piles in the street, where they lay for hours or days. You don't think it's a health hazard?

Kaporos, if you want to do it with a live chicken, should be done in a slaughterhouse or a butcher shop, not in the street.

[Baruch Shelo Asani Haredi]

Unfortunately, when it comes to Lubabs, they will not budge on something which Scheerson approved and performed himself.

[Deremes]

WoolSilkCotton,i believe everything you say.What you say about "When I was a Lubavitcher" the same practice is being done today in many places in boro park,williamsburg,monsey so it shouldn't be a problem,right?are you ok with it?
but no its a big problem to those who want to make Jews uncomfortable.You right becuase people who do things the wrong way brings out the people who are magnifying frum Jews every opportunity they get and that causes problems.

[jancsipista]

Deremes---I am sorry but i must tell you youre so far out of youre noodles that i am catagorizing you as shtark meshuge with bringing up mbp here and constantly mentioning it with kapure shlugen you must be really really mentaly disturbed with youre heilige self absorbed fixation on paranoia about banning this and banning that

[jancsipista]

Deremes-i Never knew that there is a thing like the right way to do it by hassidim its only one way i dont have to tell you which way we all know that, its a no brainer.

[seymour]

Posted by: WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar | September 20, 2012 at 12:32 PM

very well said

do it humanly and the problem will go away
deremes why take the challenge to see who is right? it is very simple or your part or your community.

[Jeff]

WSC, with each post he makes, he demonstrates the futility of your attempts to reason with him. I really wish you'd stop defending him. How many psychotic, paranoid statements does he have to make before you say, "You're right; he isn't going to change"?

[Jeff]

Ah, that time of year again. Time to do some kaporos bashing.

Posted by: SameOldSameOld | September 20, 2012 at 08:27 AM

Right because it's SUCH an honorable custom. We evil, self-hating Jews are too ignorant to understand you're just trying to liberate the "holy sparks".

[Jeff]

Here is their website:

End Chickens as Kaparot

and here is a petition you can sign:

Urge Kaporos Practitioners to Wave Money Instead of Chickens

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

++Deremes | September 20, 2012 at 12:48 PM++

For a minute I thought you were making sense, then you lapsed into paranoia mode again.

Do kaporos ONLY in a place where the animal can be properly handled by professionals, start to finish. That means a slaughter house or a butcher shop, not in the street with dead animals laying around like this was a third world country.

I don't expect Deremes to change his opinions, because, as jancsi says, there is only one way for the frumma, and everyone else must be antisemites or self-hating Jews.

But I do appreciate that Deremes is here and engaged in discussion, such that it is.

[abishter's right hand man]

They should outlaw kapparos, there's no halacha for it anyway.

[Jeff]

But I do appreciate that Deremes is here and engaged in discussion, such that it is.

He isn't engaged in discussion. He's here to do damage control because he's terrified we may be right.

[Deremes]

WoolSilkCotton,as i said it is STILL being done these days in many places in a butcher shop and still your friends are unhappy about it.

[SecularJew]

Oh the humanity of it. So many innocent chickens being murdered in the hands of the Haredim. How much better off if they were killed by the gentle loving hands of the seculars.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

++Deremes | September 20, 2012 at 01:38 PM++

You are missing the point. Nobody protested when it was done only in butcher shops. Chickens are slaughtered every day in slaughterhouses and butcher shops in the Brooklyn area, and nobody held protests.
Are the protests scheduled by a slaughterhouse or butcher shop?
No.
They will protest by the disgusting bloodbath being held in the street by Eastern Parkway between Kingston Ave and Albany Ave.

Stop your paranoia. And stop acting like a savage in the wilderness.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

Jeff. if you visit the Chabad House of North Williamsburg, there are a lot of Satmar guys there like Deremes (he may be one of them).

I've engaged them in discussion. If they could, they would jettison the whole package in a minute. But they need to cling to it because it's just too distressing not to. I understand the mindset, I think.

[Deremes]

Good to know that Kaparos is ok as long as its done in a butcher shop.
Boy,will you change when you'll hear about a protest by a butcher shop you will hear what a bloodbath that butcher shop is and how inhumane they handle chickens.

[Deremes]

WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar | September 20, 2012 at 01:49 PM

Life in general isn't easy and being Jewish following the torah with its customs for sure isn't easy.

[Shmarya]

Good to know that Kaparos is ok as long as its done in a butcher shop.
Boy,will you change when you'll hear about a protest by a butcher shop you will hear what a bloodbath that butcher shop is and how inhumane they handle chickens.

Posted by: Deremes | September 20, 2012 at 01:52 PM

The fact is that even in "butcher shop kapparos" there are problems with tzaar baalei hayyim.

Chickens are often stored outside without food or water or shade in those very cramped travel cages for several days. Some – sometimes many – die.

And the crush of people seeking to do kapparos is sometimes problematic for shechita.

But the bottom line is that haredim have done kapparos wrong for so long, torturing animals and littering city sidewalks and streets with bood, feathers and chicken waste. They've discarded thousands – probably tens of thousands – of chickens in dumpsters and trash cans, feeding no one with them. Haredi rabbis have done little or nothing to stop these abuses. And many people think haredi communities can't be trusted to do kapparos with live animals as a result.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

++Life in general isn't easy and being Jewish following the torah with its customs for sure isn't easy.

Posted by: Deremes | September 20, 2012 at 01:56 PM++

I came to the conclusion about 30 years ago that what people like yourself follow and what the Torah says are two different things.

I have seen no evidence since then to change my opinion about that.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

And Deremes, if your butcher shop violates NYC, NYS, or Federal laws about hygiene or animal cruelty then there should be protests and the place needs to be closed down.

Consider doing what the law says about hygiene and proper handling of animals. You will find that it is both the Torah Way and the secular law, which may come as a shock to you.

[shosh]

Who do they think they will convince? All they do is provide comedic relief for you the youth in crown heights who enjoy watching these “very interesting” protesters.

[shosh]

Convincing Rabbonim to come out against kapporot would probably carry more weight than a demonstration. People are hesitant to muck around with Yom Kippur rituals. (I use money).
Posted by: Steven | September 20, 2012 at 08:11 AM

If a Rov comes out against using chickens for kapporot, well that means that he is coming out against a custom clearly spelled out in the shulchan aruch (code of Jewish law).

Is so, what makes him a Rov???

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

Shosh:

It will bring the public's attention via the media to the disgusting mess going on in the streets there at this time of year.

Last year, the frumma made at least some token efforts to improve the hygiene and the animal cruelty in response to the protests.

And it does stimulate some thought and conversation among frumma, and even if it causes one person to have a second thought or doubt about the whole kaporos thing, it will have been worth it.

It is rare that Lubavitchers are publicly told that they are wrong about their practices and beliefs. It creates a lot of dissonance for them.

Protests are far more powerful then you think.

[Abu Jihad Schneerson]

"Deremes, if the chickens were handled and slaughtered humanely and per halacha, nobody would be protesting."WoolSilkCotton

Well,I would!The idea that an innocent chicken who has absolutely nothing to do with my sins has to pay for them instead of me is totally idiotic under a theological point of view!The animal suffering thing is surely terrible;but the embarassment and lunacy of tranferring my sins to Azazel/a chicken/money is far worse!This video explains that the Rambam was strongly against this darkhe ha Emori thing and even said the chicken were sacrificed to Satan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G85JCzahSSk&feature=plcp

[Jeff]

I've engaged them in discussion. If they could, they would jettison the whole package in a minute. But they need to cling to it because it's just too distressing not to. I understand the mindset, I think.

I believe you.

That ain't him.

[SkepticalYid]

There are many places where cockfighting and even dog fighting are legal. IMO kaporot is harmless by comparison. So long as the location is abiding by sanitation and slaughter regulations, it's nothing to get worked up about.

[SkepticalYid]

There are many places where cockfighting and even dog fighting are legal. IMO kaporot is harmless by comparison. So long as the location is abiding by sanitation and slaughter regulations, it's nothing to get worked up about.

[Jeff]

If a Rov comes out against using chickens for kapporot, well that means that he is coming out against a custom clearly spelled out in the shulchan aruch (code of Jewish law).

My understanding is that Joesph Caro was opposed to the practice, as was the Rambam.

[rebitzman]

If a Rov comes out against using chickens for kapporot, well that means that he is coming out against a custom clearly spelled out in the shulchan aruch (code of Jewish law).

Is so, what makes him a Rov???

Perhaps the fact that he knows the difference between a Shulchan Aruch and the Shulcan Aruch?

In THE Shulchan Aruch - Karo specifically banned kapporot (OC 605:1). That it is later added to the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch is not worth the paper it's printed on to anyone genuinely interested in the hallachah.

[WoolSilkCotton]

++So long as the location is abiding by sanitation and slaughter regulations, it's nothing to get worked up about.

Posted by: SkepticalYid | September 20, 2012 at 02:47 PM ++

I agree, but the problem is those regulations are utterly ignored by the frumma. And if you try to take them to task for it, they do their usual cries of 'antisemitism' and 'self-hating Jews'.

[MM]

There are many places where cockfighting and even dog fighting are legal. IMO kaporot is harmless by comparison. So long as the location is abiding by sanitation and slaughter regulations, it's nothing to get worked up about.

Posted by: SkepticalYid | September 20, 2012 at 02:48 PM

Cockfighting is illegal in all 50 US states and is a felony in 35 states. Louisiana was one of the last states to have legal cockfights, and I was living there when it was made illegal. Dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states and is also a federal felony. However, as an underground criminal activity it is nonetheless widespread. The penalties include incarceration, as Michael Vick can attest.

Cock- and dog fighting may be legal in (less developed) parts of the world outside of the US, but we have been discussing kapparos in the US. As for animal fighting in general, even the Spaniards are turning against bullfighting.

[God is not amused]

silk/thanks I just typed "protest/kapparot" duh...
and didn't look at the date...duh.

There is only one way to repent: Right the wrong. Period. Face it and right the wrong. Humble and apologise to the wronged person. VERY liberating.
Torturing and animal or throwing money to a Rabbi(RCC buy absolutions, yech)at the Rabbi is not only coward it does jack shit for your rotten soul.
Taking Gods creation/artwork and do such rotten act to it does not please God. How do I know that? Destruction of LIFE is not of God. That is the adversarys domain. Fifty milllion books read 24/7 and the dbeards can't figure out that "destruction of Gods creation.......is not kosher."

"My people die for lack of knowledge."

[God is not amused]

skepyid/yeah it is something to get worked up about because you are taking a LIFE.....the "breath" and snuffing it for a pagan ungodly reason. The spark of life made by the Divine Hand of Creation is not to be trifled with. It is not merely just a "chicken." It is not merely just an ant, it is a "creation" of the Divine with a divine purpose in mind. We peeons have no right to wantonly snuff the breath of life.
24/7 Torah study and the true essence is lost on all. How sad. What a waste of lifes journey. Then to make matters worse these waste of a human lifes breed like rabbits to indoctrinate other humans to stupidity and lack of purpose. FREE yourselves and join the seculars and become doctors, lawyers, and accountant. If you can overcome the temptations in those worlds THEN AND ONLY THEN are you worthy to join the Almighty.

[Shlomo1]

In Australia this year it the chabad Kapporot will be done humanely in a registered slaughterhouse, the people will not be allowed to handle the chickens at all they will be in specially designed boxes with air holes etc and what will happen is that the boxes will be held and circled around the individuals head and then immediately go to a kosher slaughter.
See it can be done you just need some government regulations

[Abu Jihad Schneerson]

Besides all of the above,the fact that money is used instead of chicken does NOT change the pagan/voodoo nature of this ritual and the shameless try to outsmart G-d by tranferring our sins to animals or objects instead of doing teshuvah!

[dh]

baba, dahlink! You are bound by more than your legs.

[Aryeh]

This practice, like Metzizah p'peh should also be regulated. Just because they are dealing with animals that are about to be slaughtered humanely (by Jewish ritual slaughter) does not give ANYONE the right to mishandle them before that happens. Yet, by conducting this ancient practice en masse, that is exactly what is happening. In a way, it is similiar to factory farming which also dispensed with the welfare of the animal. And like oral suction during a bris, there are other alternatives.

[skepticalyid]

Posted by: MM | September 20, 2012 at 04:43 PM

I chose to take a global perspective. If you had a clue about common animal slaughter practices in Asian countries, you'd consider kaporos to be benign by comparison. I wouldn't do it. I rarely eat meat for that matter. What I do buy is local and humanely raised and slaughtered. I still believe that IF kaporos was performed in accordance with the law, it would be relatively harmless.

[Abu Jihad Schneerson]

Weren't animal sacrifices permitted ONLY for unintentional sins and only in the Beth Ha Mikdash?And isn't teshuvah the SOLE way to atone for sins?

[NeverFrum]

No way they should end such holy practices that our esteemed leaders deem to be daas torah. Come out to the anti-protest and swing a chicken and suck a dick! Coming soon to a haredi area near you.

[Rebitzman]

This practice, like Metzizah p'peh should also be regulated.

Clarifying - you want 2 separate regulations, right?

[ChickenRun]

Cry for the chickens!

I received the following email detailing the unfortunate chicken massacre that will be taking place.

Oy, cry for the chickens!

---------------------------------------------------

Siach Yitzchok is happy to announce that we will once again be bringing in live chickens for you to fulfill the minhag of shlugging Kaporos. We will be at the following locations on this Sunday, 7 Tishrei, September 23 (Eseres Yemei Teshuva):

1. Congregation Kneseth Israel (White Shul), 728 Empire Ave., Far Rockaway, 11:00AM–2:00PM (note shorter hours)

2. Bnos Bais Yaakov, 613 Beach 9th Street, Far Rockaway,12:00–8:30PM (note extended hours)

3. Reishis Chochma Preschool, 1045 Beach 9th St., Far Rockaway, 1:30–6:00PM

4. Congregation Aish Kodesh, 894 Woodmere Pl., Woodmere 3:00–6:30PM

5. Young Israel of Bayswater, 2716 Healy Ave., Bayswater 3:30–6:30PM

6. Young Israel of Law./Ced., 8 Spruce St., Cedarhurst 3:30–6:30PM

7. Young Israel of Long Beach, 120 Long Beach Blvd, Long Beach, 5-7 PM

[Alter Kocker]

Alter Kocker said:
"Fucking.. chicken feces dropping into their mouths"

No wonder they call you "Alter Kocker" Alter Croaker ?!

Posted by: Pinocchio | September 20, 2012 at 10:12 AM

Ah Pinocchio, the joys of a yeshiva education. Maybe if you enroll in a secular school right now you may even master the English language, and learn to write a cohesive sentence before senility finally takes hold.

[Tuvia]

How dare the state interfere with the holy ritual of kaparos with chickens! When Moshe Rabennu came down from Mt. Sinai on Yom Kippur with the luchot and mandated that every Jew substitute a chicken for himself or herself (and 3 for a woman who was pregnant) to atone for their sins, the world did not dare stand in his way. Should we now give in to the world's demand that we stop this ancient and holy mitzvah d'oraita, just because of some idol worshippers?

Posted by: rebeljew | September 20, 2012 at 08:43 AM

Moshe never came down from mount sinai because he never existed in the first place. Fuck your barbaric practice you right-wing, medieval religious Jew!
Secular Jews (like myself) who live in the 21st century have rejected this blatant display of animal cruelty.

[The Anti-Schmendrick]

Last year, Lubavitchers turned the tables and ended up getting the Jewish protestors to put on tefillin.

I am sure it will happen again this year. Venahapoichu.

[WoolSilkCotton]

++The Anti-Schmendrick | September 20, 2012 at 09:15 PM ++

Is that more Chabad haggiography? Almost all of the protesters were women. And there was considerable acrimony.

http://www.crownheights.info/index.php?itemid=28772

One male protestor put on tefillin. Yeah, very nice. Other than that, the protest was on the evening news, and the frumma came across like the antediluvians that they are.

[spacedout BT]

Did R. Yosef Karo actually ban kaparos with chickens or did he just deplore the misconception by many of kaporos being a substitution of sins by the chicken? The minhag was never meant to be viewed the way it is now.

[Korbendallas72]

Although Kaporos bashing has been going on for a few years it seems like the way we are heading it probably will become an illegal thing.

Yes it's funny how these distinctly Haredi rituals and customs are the ones that cause all the trouble. American Jews lived in perfect peace with the law of the land until you illegitimate shitstains started fucking like monkeys and your insane delusions drove us into this, fuck you very much.

As I said before first its Metzitzah B'peh which the city with its King Bloomberg are trying to ban Jews not to follow Halacha.

Your delusion about herpes transmission is a serious fucking problem that borders on criminal. No matter what facts are shown to you, there is no discussing the topic. Now this is what happens. 

Now there is noise about Kaporos which is only a custom.And no its not becuase people are not handling the chickens correctly it is they claim the whole thing is inhumane.So you MO Jews you think its only frum Jews they are targeting?fools,they are targeting jews in general.

Yes they are. They're coming after all of us and you give them an easy target. Your willful ignorance and repugnant customs which are rooted in pagan idolatry is what brought this upon us, not the reform Jews who try to get the far the fuck away from you as possible.

The mo think that by pandering to secular Jews and gentiles people will say oh they are ubermentchen and will let them be as they want to.

No, it's that the Haredim are even bigger fools than leftists because they're ten times as dumb.

would ever belive that in 2012 in the USA the goverment will tell pople how to parctice their religion and not the Schulcan Orech.

Yeah who would believe that in 2012 a blood cult is drinking from an open wound on an infant penis.

[Chief Hole-in-the-Sheet]

Thus spoke deremes: "Who would ever belive that in 2012 in the USA the goverment will tell pople how to parctice their religion and not the Schulcan Orech."
I plotzed laughing! The Schulcan Orech per se (i.e. Yosef Karo) SPECIFICALLY says that one should NOT do kapporos.

[David]

How does one explain kapparot to a non-Jew?

It's almost as difficult as explaining MBP.

[Chief Hole-in-the-Sheet]

Does anyone know if Rubashkin gets to swing a chicken in Otisville?

[Abu Jihad Schneerson]

Korbendallas72,excellently said!!!!

[The Anti-Schmendrick]

Other than that, the protest was on the evening news, and the animal rights activists came across like the fools and freaks that they are.

[Abu Jihad Schneerson]

The Anti-Schmendrick,you alone are much more of a weirdo and a freak than them all together!I hope the chicken you swing above your dick-head like the total moron you are,shits on you!Asshole.

[Rebitzman]

@spacedout BT

I gave the exact citation earlier in the thread. Read it.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

++The Anti-Schmendrick | September 21, 2012 at 04:59 AM++

The frumma always see themselves as so wise and brilliant, thanks to having the 'Gemorrah kop'.

Meanwhile, the rest of society sees you for what you are: disgusting cavemen. Remember the Asifa at Citifield, when a group of guys dressed in caveman costumes greeted you? You were utterly clueless about what they were trying to tell you.

Nice photo, BTW, of some 14 year old pisher wearing a yellow yechi pin taunting a group of women who were protesting your animal blood ritual.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

++Korbendallas72 | September 21, 2012 at 01:04 AM++

Korbendallas, this is when I love ya!

[KISS]

How does one explain kapparot to a non-Jew?

It's almost as difficult as explaining MBP.

Posted by: David | September 21, 2012 at 01:38 AM

You are right, how does one explain waving money about ones head or shaking a lulav all over the place or the bris ceremony (without the MBP)?

Simple, you don't, simply say that it is a Jewish thing and leave it at that.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

I can explain the lulav and esrog to people. I cannot explain the penis sucking or the dead animals laying all over the street.

[Brian]

... A violation of New York State Anti-Cruelty Law Article 26

But it's still permitted under the Space Corps Directive 68250! Surely this supersedes NY state law!?

[shosh]

Posted by: rebitzman | September 20, 2012 at 03:28 PM

Apparently you are twisting the truth.

Yes, Rav Yosef Caro was not fond of it. But the overwhelming vast majority of Halachic sources, including the Rama – part of the shulchan Aruch are clear that it is a very appropriate minhag.

Here is a partial list:
Rama, the Arizal, Mordechai, Shulchan Aruch admur hazaken, Rosh, Machzor Vitri, Tur, Maharal, Rashi, Tashbeitz, r’ neturai gaon, r’ moshe gaon, rav hai gaon, rav hisim gaon, rokeach, raviyah, orchos chaim, rav shashna, Or Zarua, Meiri etc.

[shosh]

One thing some of you are forgetting: for the most part, the chickens used for Kaparos go to feed poor people. It’s part of the minhag (see shulchan aruch).

[shosh]

Posted by: Tuvia | September 20, 2012 at 09:08 PM

Why do ‘Secular Jews (as yourself)’ consider the slaughtering of chickens – with the express intent that the chickens be cleaned and handed out to needy, poor people – “Fuck your barbaric practice you right-wing, medieval religious Jew! Secular Jews (like myself) who live in the 21st century have rejected this blatant display of animal cruelty”???

[Abu Jihad Schneerson]

shosh,has it ever occurred to you that this pagan voodooish practice is totally man-made,has no roots whatsoever in the Torah,is embarassing and pathetic,is a childish way to try to out-smart G-d by transferring one's sins to an innocent animal which has nothing to do with them instead of doing teshuvah,makes Jews look like supestitious cavemen(when only charedim are that)and is cruel to animals?If money is used,it does not change the matter:your sins are YOURS!And you should ask G-d to forgive you,instead of "tranferring" them to a goat sent to Azazel,to a chicken or to money.

[rebitzman]

@shosh

Because.........the allegation every year is that this is NOT what happens, and that the chickens (in addition to being kept in horrid conditions that fall well outside the lines of being kosher) are basically allowed to rot.

If the circumstances at your shul are different - if the birds are treated humanely, the kill done cleanly, you accept this for what it actually IS (a symbolic CUSTOM) and the meat not wasted.......God bless you.

[Korbendallas72]

My main complaint with kapporot is that it constitutes animal sacrifice off of temple grounds, which is first degree idolatry. Look, chickens are in fact just food and the cruelty aspect is worth discussing but there is no physical danger in slaughtering chickens. The way they do it en masse is positively barbaric, however. But, I do enjoy my chicken.

[ChickenRun]

The chickens need to get organized. Where is Ginger when we need her?

[Abu Jihad Schneerson]

Well said,korbendallas;let's also not forget that in the Temple's days animal sacrifices were ONLY for unintentional sins,while nowadays the attitude is:I can do whatever I want;the chicken's gonna pay for my sins,not me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RHo8O3J1JU&list=PL919D7389DAE1B2B8&index=7&feature=plpp_video

[Jeff]

I can explain the lulav and esrog to people. I cannot explain the penis sucking or the dead animals laying all over the street.

Posted by: WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar | September 21, 2012 at 11:42 AM

Precisely.

[Jeff]

One thing some of you are forgetting: for the most part, the chickens used for Kaparos go to feed poor people. It’s part of the minhag (see shulchan aruch).

Posted by: shosh | September 21, 2012 at 01:35 PM

Yeah - except that they aren't. It's too costly to process the thousands of birds now required as you people have reproduced irresposibly, so much of the time they're left to rot in the street.

And that doesn't begin to address the issue of tzar baalei hayyim involved in the way they're treated beforehand, nor the fact that it's impossible to properly schecht that many animals in rapid succession.

[Rebitzman]

Apparently you are twisting the truth.

By quoting the source AND providing the exact citation in context?

Thanks for the giggle.

[Rebitzman]

Here's a partial list......

Waving a book in someone's face and screaming "it's in there somewhere" is not a compelling argument.

Care to give some specifics? Book, page, volume.......?

No?

Didn't think so.

[Jeff]

Rebitzman, it never fails. They "hold by" these guys only so long as they say what they want to hear. As soon as they come across something that contradicts their rebbe, they either pretend he hasn't said it or they move on to another authority.

When I confronted my nephew with the fact that we have to believe the sun revolves around the earth because the Rambam says so, but elsewhere he says we shouldn't perform kaparot with chickens, he told me, "We don't hold by him; we hold by the Rema!" So I told him what I said in the paragraph above, and he said, "You don't understand! That isn't how it works!"

Right. I don't understand.

[shosh]

Posted by: Rebitzman | September 21, 2012 at 04:54 PM

My point was simple: you were not representing the view of the majority opinion of Halacha.

[20/20 eyesight (mendel)]

To WLC..

Hi just finished doing the unthinkable
"I DID KAPORAS"
I didn't see any dead chickens lying in the streets of Crownheights however I did see some penis sucking in the back alley