Animal Sacrifice by Jews

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
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Ref: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msacrifice.html

Some Jews still participate in animal sacrifice, although most other Jews I know say it’s an aberation. Do a quick google search for “kaparot” and you will find information on the rite, including pictures.

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More information:
A series of 20 pictures of Kaparot performed in the Mea Shearim neighborhood in Jerusalem starts at
http://www.photozion.com/category.asp?category_cd=3&page=22
Click on the numbers 23 and 24 near the bottom of the page for the remainder of the series

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First of all, mmdtkw, welcome to the boards.

Secondly, OK, we have a bit of a misunderstanding here.

Kaparot is not a sacrifice. It is simply a ritual done whereby one symboliclly passes one’s sins on to a chicken (many Jews use money instead). The chicken is not slaughtered or harmed at all as part of the ritual. After the ritual (many people can use the same chicken if need be), the chicken is donated to charity and distributed to poor people to use for food (the money, if used, is likewise donated to charity).

This differs from a traditional sacrifice in many ways:

  1. A traditional sacrifice must be brought in the Temple. This is not a sacrifice, so the Temple is not required.

  2. A sacrifice had to have it’s blood sprinkled on the Altar. This is not done in kaparos. The chicken is not slaughtered at all.

  3. Chickens are not acceptable as sacrifices at all.

  4. Sacrifices acquire a degree of holiness. Thus (depending on the sacrifice) only male kohanim could eat from it, or guests of the owner who are in a state of “ritual cleanliness.” Eating from a sacrifice in a state of “ritual uncleanliness” is a huge no-no in Judaism. Kaparot chickens are eaten by anyone in any state of “ritual cleanliness.”

  5. Sacrifices must be blemish free. Kaparot chickens can have blemishes as they are not actually sacrifices.

In short, kaparot chickens are simply chickens that have a harmless ritual done with them and are then donated to charity for poor people to eat. They are not sacrifices at all.

Zev Steinhardt

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I apologize if I misunderstood. I merely reported what the people in Mea Searim in Jerusalem told me: that they were sacrificing the chickens as part of the ritual of the Day of Atonement. As I said in my original posting, most of my Jewish aquantances said that their actions and explanations were aberant.

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No need for apology, mmdtkw, you were clear that you were just reporting and asking about what you heard. Mea Shearim is an area inhabited by many very small, very odd sects of the ultra-right of the Hasidic movement. Even so, I’m surprised they actually used the word “sacrifice” for all the reasons Zev cited.

It’s possible that they thought it was the easiest translation, foregoing accuracy for some vague understanding… since I don’t think there would be an English translation for kaparot. Around Chicago, a person who does an extensive kaparot ritual actually swings the chicken around his/her head in a circle. But the animal is not killed (at least, not as part of that ritual.)