Has anyone explained to the poor chickens that they don't hurt and are not mistreated, as long they're slaughtered afterwards inside a store or synagogue and as long as it's all in the name of religion??? Heck, that puts the Inquisition in a whole, new light! . Didn't the victims know that as long as they were tortured in the name of religion, they weren't supposed to suffer? Well, maybe that depended on whether they converted or ended up being burned. What? It all depends on the religion in the name of which it's done?? How dumb of me not to know that!!

This is obviously motivated by bigotry towards the ultra-orthodox. They are not protesting shwarma places, supermarkets, etc from serving meat. I say this as a completely secular atheist Jew in Tel Aviv.

Kapparot ceremonies with a live chicken are a fringe custom. My personal view is that this foolish custom should be abolished, but the few minutes suffering of the poor chicken bears no relationship to the cruelty of the "factory farmed" chickens consumed by the Ramat Aviv anti religous militants. These anti-religious activists should think seriously about the tortured life spans of the chickens produced for their tables. They endure a lifetime of appalling conditions prior to slaughter!!

Who committed the sins here? The chickens? Kaparot and similar traditions leave Jews and Israelis indefensible against anti-Semitism.

Just the same as in Ramat Aviv . So who's the hypocrite here if not you ?

After doing some research into this highly disturbing custom, I came across Ramban's opinion on it. He considered the custom to be ..pagan, and seriously thought it needed to be abolished. If you come to think of it, it really falls out of everything we are used to as being Jewish. Nothing changed since then however.

1) In no way there is a mitzva to slaughter any animal before Yom Kippour! More over, since it is forbidden to slaughter animal if it is not for eating, defense or for certain punishment (like sodomy), this is a clear violation of Torah's principles! Who will eat this chicken on Yom Kippour? If anybody now calls upon mitzva about Azazel, I ask him - where is the Temple!? If it was ment to be everlasting mitzva - not connected to Temple, like mixing meat and milk - why is it not made that way? 2) 10th Maimonides principle says that G-d gives to a PARTICULAR PERSON GOOD FOR GOOD AND EVIL FOR EVIL. Therefore - transposition of the sins to another body is, to say at least, dubious. And especially to a CHICKEN. Whoever connects this to sacrifices, same question: where is the Temple?! And if somebody goes lenient, saying "Oh, come on, you can sacrifice because of tradition..." then the answer is that that person is a heretic - it is strictly forbidden to sacrifice outside the Temple, and by a person that is not a True Cohen. 3) This chicken turning around the head has striking similarities with tribes from North Africa and their pagan rituals. Since it is forbidden to even MIMIC the idol worshipers (pagans), this should be avoided on all cost. 4) If somebody thinks that his stealing, being brutal to somebody, not giving tzedaka, and/or various acts will be forgiven with few waves of chicken around his head, following by butchering that poor soul, then he is gravely mistaken and I suggest him he converts to Islam and moves to middle Saudi Arabia (desert areas). He is their mentality, intelligence and viewpoint. In Europe or Israel, I think, we do not need those.

chickens are slaughtered by millions every day. But, boosting the barrage of their blood and priding themselves on torture of animal along their religious parade. do the laws of Kashrut not consider chicken meat, meat?

My dear Jewish brothers and sisters why do u whine about sacrfice?what will u do when the Temple is rebuilt whine more?Even among my people we will still sacrifice a ram as we have since we came to Afghanistan 2700 years ago.So if the sons of Yousaf can still sacrifice why can the sons of Judah not sacrifice without the whining?START OBEYING THE LAWS OF THE PROPHETS!and stop whining!Khudai Hafiz

I doubt someone can mistake kapparot for sacrificial service, since the purposes of these two acts are clearly different, saying nother about the absence of the Temple. Spleaking about the Temple, I doubt that there is a divine plan to reinstall sacrifices even after the Temple is rebuilt, since in my opinion animal sacrifices were once inroduce in order to replace the human ones, for the sake of easier transition. But, this is my opinion.

If the Haredim protest about every little thing that goes against their fanatic religious ideas, then seculars can protest against the religious. Isn't it called Freedom of Expression / Speech ? Then there is the city laws to take into account. I, personally, can't understand how the Haredim consider themselves above the law of state - they live here so they need to honor Israeli law.

there are so many things to argue and complain about the Haredim but this is Not the time, not the way, not helpful. You can talk about this far more responsibly and effectively MONTHS before yom Kippur in within the framework of national unity.

The lifetime of appalling conditions is 7 weeks. That is the time/feed/ weight gain ration that is the economic threshold of modern poultry production.

The chicken killed in the kapporat ceremony is ritually killed in order to give it to the poor. And no, #1, murdering a human being is not the same as slaughtering a chicken for food. And to the rest of the haredi haters, if the Arabs were doing this ceremony who would trip over yourselves to make sure they had the RIGHT to do it. You are all so pathetic.

It used to be the Christians that did every to stop the Jews because they hated us, not it is the seculars who wish to stop an ancient Jewish custom.. A sad comment on the times.

(i) The custom goes back 1000 years to Babylon, so the chances of it being of pagan origin are slight - the area was Islamised by then, and moreover, the Gaonim who permitted it would certainly have looked into is roots. (ii) The chickens are later all given away to the poor, and actually form an important part of their income for the month in which much income from work is lost due to the festivals. (iii) With regard to the claims of maltreatment,, perhaps the opponents are unaware of the strict laws governing what is considered treifa. The vast majority of orthodox people performing the ritual know enough to avoid that sort of abuse. Mistakes can and do happen, but they regularly happen in slaughter-houses as well. With regard to leaving the birds without food or water. They are provided and delivered by the poultry farms who transport them under the same dismal conditions that they raised. They are then usually despatched within hours of arriving at their destination. Were a chicken to be left as claimed for days without water, it would, like a human being, dehydrate and die. From personal experience I would point out though that certain checks have to be run on each chicken before slaughtering it to ensure its kashrut. Some of these cannot nowadays be done because the chickens have been raised under such abysmal conditions in the poultry farms that they simply do not know how to respond. Most cannot even walk. If the enlightened liberals really were concerned about the wellbeing of these birds, they would do well to protest the conditions under which the birds are raised, rather than a short ceremony in which they die.

People who take part in it are mentally unstable and definitely sick in the head. It must be banned!!!! Those sick Haredim should not be allowed to do as they please especially when it repulses an entire nation. Someone has to stand upto the sickos once and for all.

Druids, Aztecs, Incas, Mayas, totem pole dancers, Solomon Island headhunters, Count Dracula and the and Gothics, Scientologists and HAREDIM, all one and the same thing.

It's not the slaughter that is the problem , it's turning this living chicken above your head that is . I have assisted , long years ago , to such a ceremony . Not nice to see it , to hear the chickens . Religious Jews can replace this barbaric ritual by giving money , that also goes to the poor , and that's OK .

I never let somebody else control my emotions, especially with regard to hate. Hating just doesn't feel good to me. As for killing people vs. chickens, I was merely making the point that needless pain hurts just as badly in the name of religion as for any other reason, whether it's inflicted on chickens or human beings.

And what does the Rema and many other poskim say? That's right... quoting one of many opinions isn't very intellectually honest.

and away from our children