JERUSALEM (VINnews) – As Yom Kippur approaches, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has issued halachic guidelines regarding the traditional Kapparot ritual, warning against conducting the practice with chickens when it involves animal cruelty.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
In a halachic ruling, Rabbi Yosef stressed that Kapparot is an ancient Jewish custom practiced by communities for generations. But he said the custom should not be performed in a manner that violates Jewish law.
He warned about conditions that can occur at large Kapparot sites, where chickens may be held for extended periods without adequate shade, food or water. He also raised concerns about slaughter taking place without proper religious and veterinary oversight.
“Whoever performs this mitzvah through the transgression of animal cruelty, we are concerned that he is not fulfilling the custom at all, but rather violating the biblical prohibition against animal cruelty,” Rabbi Yosef wrote.
When Kapparot with chickens cannot be carried out without causing animal suffering and while meeting proper halachic standards, Rabbi Yosef said the custom should instead be performed with money, which is then given to charity.
Rabbi Yosef noted that his father, the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, followed this practice in his later years, performing Kapparot with money and saying, “This money will go to charity.”
Regarding the amount, Rabbi Yosef said each person should give according to their means. Those seeking to enhance the observance may give an amount equivalent to the cost of a chicken, which he put at 35 shekels per person.
He concluded his ruling with a prayer that the Jewish people be inscribed and sealed in the Book of the Righteous for a good life and peace.
In other words, Rav Yitzchok, like Rav Ovadia Yosef before, are sefardi.
Come see the crates stacked up in boropark
Yeah, as usual
Take it all out of context,
It’s not about about stopping a heligeh minhag yisroel,
and becoming peta ym”sh,
Just be a mench and don’t make unnecessary tsar baley chayim
The concern here is that a practice meant to bring a person closer to God becomes an occasion for cruelty. This is not about the custom itself, but about how it is carried out.
When conduct causes suffering, it misses the point. We are called to live with a clear conscience before Yom Kippur. If the way we approach a mitzvah creates a transgression, it is not a mitzvah at all.
The alternative is simple: give charity. This is a clear path to fulfilling the intention of the custom, without the attendant pain. It is a matter of choosing conduct that aligns with mercy.
You mean giving 35NIS tzedaka without getting chicken poo & feathers all over you??!
C’mon man …where’s the fun in that?!
[No reply]
This is an annual argument, which has been argued for centuries. No one is going to convince anyone that their practice is what HKBH wants from us. To me it’s all fowl play.
A few years ago I saw a sign against the PETA anti Kapparos protesters. It read why do white liberals oppose killing white chickens but support killing of black babies through abortions. I thought it was creative.
It would be a shame to be over a d’oraisa because of something that may very well be darkei emori.
What about the fancy ladies who wear minks and furs. The animals are skinned alive.
So, the So’ir Hamishtaleach was also Tzar for the animal. And the Zohar says that the purpose of Shliach Hakan is to induce tzar for the mother bird, so that she should cry. I don’t know what to say.