About Kaparot the Shulchan Aruch says: \u201cOne should not partake in this custom\u201d (\u05e9\u05d5”\u05e2 \u05d0\u05d5”\u05d7 \u05e1’ \u05ea\u05e8”\u05d4). On the first publication of the Shulchan Aruch, the headline in section 605 was \u201cthe custom of kapparot on Yom Kippur eve is a foolish custom.\u201d Later publications removed \u201cfoolish custom.\u201d It also said, \u201cit should be stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rashba (\u05e9\u05d5”\u05ea \u05d4\u05e8\u05e9\u05d1”\u05d0, \u05d0 \u05e1\u05d9\u05de\u05df \u05e9\u05e6”\u05d4) and Nachmanides (\u05db\u05de\u05d5\u05d1\u05d0 \u05d1\u05d1\u05d9\u05ea \u05d9\u05d5\u05e1\u05e3 \u05d0\u05d5\u05e8\u05d7 \u05d7\u05d9\u05d9\u05dd \u05e1\u05d9\u05de\u05df \u05ea\u05e8”\u05d4) objected to this custom as well and Maimonides did not even mention it so therefore it was not practiced in Yemen.<\/p>\n
Rabbi Haim David Halevi who wrote the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch said: \u201cWhy should we, on the eve of the holy day, be cruel to animals, without a reason and slaughter them without compassion, at the same time we\u2019re asking God to judge us for life?\u201d (\u05e9\u05d5”\u05ea \u05e2\u05e9\u05d4 \u05dc\u05da \u05e8\u05d1, \u05d7\u05dc\u05e7 \u05d2, \u05db)<\/p>\n
\u201cSit and do nothing is the preferred course\u201d \u2013 this is a term in Talmud which is used to decide the halacha when there\u2019s a doubt. Rabbi Eliezer Papo in his book \u201cPele Yoetz\u201d explains it very well: \u201cIn some things abstention is very good, such as anything that may make you concerned that there is a one percent chance for an sin, and there\u2019s no clear mitzvah, sit and do nothing is the preferred course.\u201d<\/p>\n
The kaparot custom of using chickens is not a mitzvah but a custom of a very small group. There is nothing about it \u201cthat may make you concerned that there is a one percent chance for an sin\u201d but instead a very clear cut sin of animal suffering (tzar ba\u2019alei chayim). The suffering of the chickens starts with the very tiny cages they are confined to, continues with their transport to the market in tiny cages without any food or water, and later being kept waiting in very harsh conditions. We find that in of our desire to perform a custom, we end up engaging in an sin.<\/p>\n
The use of chickens for this custom is entirely psychological rather than for religious reasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
About Kaparot the Shulchan Aruch says: \u201cOne should not partake in this custom\u201d (\u05e9\u05d5”\u05e2 \u05d0\u05d5”\u05d7 \u05e1’ \u05ea\u05e8”\u05d4). On the first publication of the Shulchan Aruch, the headline in section 605 was \u201cthe custom of kapparot on Yom Kippur eve is a foolish custom.\u201d Later publications removed \u201cfoolish custom.\u201d It also said, \u201cit should be stopped.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n