Throwing acid onto peoples faces who wont dress appropriately, Swinging chickens over your head, Dressing like 17th century eastern europeans, beating women who sleep with more than 1 man. Shooting bound prisoners, rioting because chastity squads are arrested, ... What a country... Tell me...What does the human race look like, as outsiders

Leave religious traditions alone. Political views evolve over time and animal welfare views are one of them but religion does not evolve its supposed to stay the same and its time for the do gooders to stay out of religious issues. You dont have to understand it just accept this is a religious issue and leave well alone. Next thing they are going to be saying we that slaughtering animals for food in a time of vegetables and tofu is wrong.

john the baptist considered a prophet in israel 2000 years ago said to "behold the lamb of G-d who takes away the sin of the world" looking at yeshua he said this - and this same yeshua said he was the dying messiah of israel -- apparently he was the sacrifice israel is looking for even today========shalom=======augustine e johnson---usa

by twirling it over ones head have to do with religion. I dare you to show me where in the Torah (The original 5 books) where it says we are supposed to swing a chicken around our heads during the Rosh Hashana/Yom Kippur season. This is nothing more than an archaic ritual dreamt up by some particular rabbis who not only have very little respect for the fealings of the animal, but use a rather selective approach to interpreting the Torah. They seemed to ignore the references dictating kindness to animals (which also dictates the painless slaughter of animals -- painless also means avoiding fear and emotional pain.) THIS IS AN ANIMAL CRUELTY ISSUE FIRST AND FORMOST AND ANY GOOD ORTHODOX JEW THAT REFRAINS FROM THIS NON MANDATORY RITUAL VERY LIKELY SEES IT THAT WAY.

If volume is difficult to achieve this , then money should be given to the poors . You wrote . Well , why need to have this not so nice practice , kapparot , when it can be replaced by money ? Who would object this ? I have seen stands , occupied by , i think , charidi youths , for this purpose at the market in my town . גמר טוב

go to this link and please comment how more advanced you are. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1600302/posts

both these highly-respected codifiers of Halacha rallied against the custom of Kapparot and almost extinguished it. Courtesy of the Arizal and Isserles, however, we're still stuck with it and it has been ossified into Minhag. I personally will be using dollar bills for Kapparot this evening- not only are white roosters tough to come by, the thought of having a live animal in my apartment (where i study, pray, and cook and eat meals) is just disgusting.

If only these people worried more about humans than chickens the world would be a better place

Throwing acid on women who dress inappropriately is what is happening in Bengladesh. Buring women alive for suggesting to their parents they want to marry a person of their own chosing is a Pakistani thing. Marrying a man to his neighbor's sheep happened in Somalia. Is this the "humanity" were not apart of? Because if it is we're not missing anything.

Talk about an overreaction. I somehow doubt swinging a chicken around someone's head is more macabre than what goes on in actual slaughterhouses. Even those that are fully sanctioned by the state. I'm all in favor of re-evaluating Jewish custom for the modern era, but don't see any real argument on why this is a "brutal abuse that needs to be removed from this world". Unless the person admits they're Vegan at which case I can just shut them out and give a friendly nod to the Haredi to continue with tradition.

What chocko told , happened here , in Israel . Maybe not his business , but not a lie .

this barbarism can be replaced by giving money to poor people . And it's done . So why no do it so ?

1- The poor family is going to be finding and eating some chicken meat as part of a meal regardless. So either way a chicken is getting slaughtered. A ritual of chicken swinging, hardly the most brutal part of getting the meal in front of the poor. 2- You can call it any damn thing you please. Barbarism, kindness, charity, even Lesbianism. You nor the article have presented a valid argument as to why you're labeling it as such beyond the swinging.

1. jewish religious slaughter of chickens is far more humane than the standard slaughterhouses (nonJewish) where the chickens are lined on a conveyer belt and their heads cut off. 2. the chickens do not take the sins. if the writer had done any research into the matter, you would know the chicken represents what should be done to you (particularly the writer of this article) to evoke thoughts of repentance, not that the sins are transferred over. 3. the chickens are given to the poor. maybe these "animal rights" activists should get a life and stop seeking public spotlight and attention where not warranted. go save bambi.

Yes, this is a barbaric and primitive practice no less vicious than we condemn the Saudis for using when they cut off the hands of thieves.

He said our religious fanatics set us apart from the human race. Now either that guy is either stupid or racist or both if he doesn't recognize that everything he criticizes us for exists in other countries. The soldier who shot the bound man in the foot was arrested while nothing happens to the Egyptians who shoot unarmed Sudanese and we know they end up with more than a small wound.

We still adhere to the kaparot tradition; with a minor alteration. No chickens, just bread thrown in the water. Same effect, no more sins on us, just in the fish as they devour the bread. To the Jerusalemite who compared this practice to Saudi practice, you went a wee bit overboard in your condemnation. After all, the chickens wound being slaughtered by a shochet and the meat went to feed the poor. That's a little less dramatic than chopping off a theifs hands wouldn't you say??

To all of you nutters defending this horrible medieval practice---can you also tell me how it differs from pagan rituals? You say that it is "symbolic" and not literal transfer of sins. How is that different from the xian 'communion' which is only "symbolic" (cannabalism)? I'm Sephardi and fortunately my ancestors in Spain and Portugal DID not agree with or practice this disgusting minhag. Neither did the Rambam, Ramban, Rabbi Yosef Karo...etc...... All you defenders keep bleeting on about how it's kosher slaughter. SO WHAT!!!! Swinging the chicken foolishly around your head is called 'tza'ar ba'alei chayim'. It is a SIN! Do you GET THAT?????

Is there some sort of contest going on in Israel to see which liberal Israeli can say the stupidest things and behave like the biggest idiot? I would vote for this moron, but I am sure that some other Israeli will stand up and say something even more stupid than he has.

Swinging a chicken over someone's head can suck out the sins? That's not Jewish, or even monotheistic. It's a relic of pagan times. Therefore it's no surprise that it's the most ignorant of Jews who think it's a Jewish practice.

The people needed a system similar to the heathen captivity they came from...to wean them off of sacrifices, not because G-d required or still requires them.

This was just the system to "wean" Israel away from the heathen concept of deity appeasement / feeding.

Best talkback: "If these rights groups want to make a real difference, they should stop eating non kosher meat that was not slaughtered under rabbinical supervision. " Period.

Kill the animals for food and that is all right. Kill them for a religious reason and PETA is all over them, protesting. Yeshua set the animals free from being sacrificed for religious reasons when he drove out the money changers from the temple courtyard and opened the cages and set the animals free. He became the sacrificial lamb that all the animal sacrifices pointed to.

the birds go to feed poor people and in addition they atone- what could be better then that. Its always stupid anti religious people looking negatively and judging from the outside. Try learning a little first.

you, or to be at one with Him (thats from the nations). He forgives just because he does. Thats where some of the Christians get their "feed G-d Jesus" idea of atonement, or that Gd is a child abuser (comes from the nations). "In speaking to your fathers on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I gave them no command concerning holocaust or sacrifice. " Do love in Justice.

As an animal lover, I am in total agreement with you on this topic. I work at our Communal Jewish office and last week saw a trailer full of chickens ready to be killed. I felt sick! I feel that there is some alternative which can be found. I don't like activists of any sort and suspect that maybe you are Anti- Zionist, so I cannot support you, just the idea. Hope I am wrong!!!