Cecil the Lion? What About Kaporos?
With the uproar about the slaughter of a beloved lion, opponents of the kapparot ritual killing of chickens hope this year will be the tipping point.
Many thousands of chickens are slaughtered each year right before Yom Kippur in the annual Jewish ritual called “kaporos.” The ritual entails the participant waving a chicken, to which his sins have been transferred symbolically, over his head, in atonement for those sins. Next, the chicken is slaughtered, wiping the sins out. Before the holiday, tables and entire vacant lots are filled with chickens on the streets of some Brooklyn neighborhoods, particularly Williamsburg, Crown Heights, and Borough Park.
Animal rights activists in Brooklyn have had enough, and they have brought suit, alleging that what once had been a discreetly conduced matter has become a “grotesque public spectacle.” The ritual violates health codes and animal cruelty regulations, among others, they say.
New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who represents parts of Brooklyn, was interviewed in the Channel 7 Eyewitness news video clip. He said that he didn’t even understand what everybody was complaining about.
What do you think?
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