Kapparot (Hebrew: כפרות, Ashkenazi pronunciation, Kapparos) is a Jewish ritual practiced by some Jews on the eve of Yom Kippur. The person swings a live chicken or a bundle of coins over one's head three times, symbolically transferring one's sins to the chicken or coins. The chicken is then slaughtered and donated to the poor for consumption at the pre-fast meal.[1]
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Kapparah [כפרה], the singular of kapparot, means "atonement" and comes from the Hebrew root k-p-r which means "to atone".[2][3]
In modern times, Kapparot is performed with a live chicken (rooster for men, hen for women), mainly in Haredi communities. In other communities who perform the Kapparot ritual, money may be substituted for the chicken and then given to charity.[4]
The ritual is preceded by reading Psalms 107:17-20 and Job 33:23-24. While swinging the chicken or money, the following paragraph is recited three times:
| Repentance in Judaism Teshuva
"Return"
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|---|
| Repentance, atonement and higher ascent in Judaism |
| In the Hebrew Bible |
| Altars · Korban Temple in Jerusalem Prophecy within the Temple |
| Aspects |
| Confession · Atonement Love of God · Awe of God Mystical approach Ethical approach Meditation · Services Torah study Tzedakah · Mitzvot |
| In the Jewish calendar |
| Month of Elul · Selichot Rosh Hashanah Shofar · Tashlikh Ten Days of Repentance Kapparot · Mikveh Yom Kippur Sukkot · Simchat Torah Ta'anit · Tisha B'Av Passover · The Omer Shavuot |
| In contemporary Judaism |
| Baal Teshuva movement Jewish Renewal |
Kapparot was strongly opposed by some rabbis, among them Nahmanides, Solomon ben Adret, and Yosef Karo. They considered it a non-Jewish ritual that conflicted with the spirit of Judaism, which knows of no vicarious sacrifice outside of the Temple in Jerusalem. However, it was approved by Asher ben Jehiel and his son Jacob ben Asher. The ritual appealed especially to Kabbalists, such as Isaiah Horowitz and Isaac Luria, who recommended the selection of a white rooster as a reference to Isaiah 1:18 and who found other mystic allusions in the prescribed formulas. Consequently, the practice became generally accepted among the Jews of Eastern Europe.
In the Shulchan Aruch, Rabbi Yosef Karo discouraged the practice. According to the Mishnah Berurah, his reasoning was based on the fact that it was similar to non-Jewish rites. Rabbi Moses Isserles disagreed and encouraged Kapparot.[6] In Ashkenazi communities especially, Isserles' position came to be widely accepted. The late 19th century work Kaf Hachaim approves of the custom for the Sefardic community as well.
Some Jews also oppose the use of chickens for Kapparot on the grounds of Tza'ar Ba'alei Chayim (the principle banning cruelty to animals).[7] On 2005 Yom Kippur eve, a number of caged chickens were abandoned in rainy weather as part of a kapparot operation in Brooklyn, New York; some of these starving and dehydrated chickens were subsequently rescued by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.[8] Jacob Kalish, an Orthodox Jewish man from Williamsburg, was charged with animal cruelty for the drowning deaths of 35 of these kapparot chickens.[9] In response to such reports of the mistreatment of chickens, Jewish animal rights organizations have begun to picket public observances of kapparot, particularly in Israel.[10][11]
Erica Silverman wrote a children's book, When the Chickens Went on Strike (illustrated by Matthew Trueman) (Puffin Books, 2005).[12][13] This book is adapted from a story called "Kapores" by the Yiddish author Sholem Aleichem. The story takes place in a 19th century Russian village, where the residents are preparing to celebrate the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah. A boy overhears some chickens planning a strike. They are sick of being used for Kapores. When all of the chickens run away, the women try to coax them back with grain, the men try to get them back with force, and the rabbi tries to negotiate. The chickens ultimately ask, "Where is it written [that Jews must perform Kapores]?" putting the humans on the theological defensive. Finally the boy pleads, "Without Kapores, I will never be able to make my papa proud." A chicken responds, "Boychick, for this you need a chicken?"
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