Kaparot with chickens: Mercy or Hypocrisy?
- shaneandjoodlannet
- Sep 28
- 3 min read
Yom Kippur is approaching and if you are someone who celebrates it, and practices Kaparat with chickens, this post is for you.
I want you to think for a moment about your actions, to truly analyze your actions, and to ask yourself is this something I want to do? Is this the example that I wish to set to future generations?
Let's talk about what Yom Kippur symbolizes- A fresh slate.
Children are taught that Yom Kippur is about repentance, forgiveness, and new beginnings. They hear that God is compassionate, that this holiday is a chance to be better, to say sorry, to make things right. They learn about clean slates and talk about treating others with kindness.
And then many of them — with those same values fresh in their minds — go with their parents to kaparot.
There, they see chickens packed into filthy cages. Starved. Without water. Sitting in their feces. They see other crates full of dead chickens. They watch a worker pull a live bird out by its wings or feet and swing it over someone’s head. They’re told this is part of repentance. That this is holy. That this is how we make things right.
But what kind of lesson is that?
Kaparot is a ritual where a person symbolically transfers their sins to a chicken by swinging it over their head. Afterward, the chicken is slaughtered — taking the person’s sins with it.
It’s not a commandment. It’s not in the Torah. It’s not in the Talmud. It’s a custom — one that showed up centuries later and was rejected by many rabbis. And more importantly, it violates actual Jewish law, which prohibits causing animals to suffer.
So while kids are taught about compassion, they witness cruelty. While they’re told to say sorry, they watch others ignore the suffering of helpless animals. People beg for mercy while showing none. They call it tradition. But it’s not holiness — it’s hypocrisy. And it needs to stop.
It’s Not a Commandment. It’s Not Even in the Torah.
The truth is, kaparot with chickens has no place in the Torah. It’s not in the Bible. It’s not in the Talmud. It’s not part of the foundations of Judaism.
It appeared much later — centuries after the core texts were written — and it was controversial from the start. Rav Yosef Karo, one of the most respected halachic authorities, called it a “foolish custom.” Others worried it resembled pagan rituals. But somehow, despite that, it stuck. Not because it was right, but because it became familiar.
And now people treat it like it’s sacred. Untouchable. As if questioning it is the problem , not the actual suffering it causes.
But here’s the thing: it’s not a mitzvah. It’s not a law. It’s a man-made ritual that directly violates real Jewish law, the law that forbids causing animals to suffer.
And Jewish law also teaches that a person must feed their animals before feeding themselves, But it is blatantly ignored when chickens are left to starve in cages, for days until they are ultimately used in a ritual that’s supposed to represent mercy.
What Does This Really Teach?
What are you really teaching your children?
That it’s okay to look away from suffering if it’s done in a religious context?
That harming a living creature is acceptable if you say a prayer afterward?
That tradition matters more than empathy?
That you fail to practice what you preach?
There’s a Better Way
There is an alternative. Many people now perform kaparot using money. You take a few bills, circle them over your head, and then donate them to charity.
No suffering. No blood. No contradiction.
It’s symbolic. It’s meaningful. And it helps someone in need instead of hurting a being that can’t speak.
If You Believe in Mercy, Show it
Don’t call it repentance if it causes pain.
Don’t call it tradition if it breaks the very values you’re trying to uphold.
And don’t call it righteousness if you’re ignoring suffering.
This isn’t about being against religion. It’s about being against cruelty disguised as holiness.
If we really believe in compassion, we should show it, especially when no one’s watching.
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