The Custom of Kapparot

It is customary to perform the rite of Kapparot (symbolic "atonement") in preparation for Yom Kippur.

The rite is performed by swinging a chicken three times over one's head while reciting the appropriate text. The fowl is then slaughtered in accordance with halachic ritual procedure, and its monetary value given to the poor — or, as is most common today, the chicken itself is donated to a charitable cause.

We ask of G-d that if we were destined to be the recipients of harsh decrees, they be transferred to this chicken in the merit of the mitzvah of charity.

In most Jewish communities, Kapparot are organized in a designated place, in compliance with health-authority guidelines. Live chickens are available for purchase, ritual slaughterers are present, and the chickens are then donated to a charitable institution. Ask your rabbi whether Kapparot are organized near you.

The details

The timing

Kapparot may be performed at any time during the Ten Days of Repentance (between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur), but the ideal time is on the day preceding Yom Kippur shortly before dawn, for then "a thread of divine kindness" prevails over the world.

The chicken

Several reasons are given for the use of a chicken for the Kapparot rite: 1) In Aramaic, a rooster is called gever; in Hebrew, a gever is a man — thus we take a gever to atone for a gever. 2) A chicken is easily obtainable and relatively inexpensive. 3) It is not a species that was offered as a sacrifice in the Holy Temple, which precludes anyone from mistakenly thinking that the Kapparot are a sacrifice.

It is customary to use white chickens, recalling the verse (Isaiah 1:18): "If your sins prove to be like crimson, they will become white as snow." One should not use a black chicken, as black is the color that represents divine severity. Nor should one use a chicken with an obvious blemish or injury.

A man or boy uses a rooster; a woman or girl uses a hen. Ideally, each person should have their own chicken; if this proves too costly, one chicken can be used for several people. Thus an entire family may perform Kapparot with two chickens: a rooster for the males and a hen for the females.

When several people use the same chicken, they should do so together, not one after the other, as one cannot perform Kapparot with a "used" chicken.

A pregnant woman performs Kapparot with three chickens — two hens and a rooster: a hen for herself, and the other hen and the rooster for the child she carries (whose gender is unknown). If this is too costly, one hen and one rooster suffice (for if the child is a girl, she shares her mother's hen).

If live chickens are unavailable, other kosher fowl may be substituted (except doves and pigeons, which were offered in the Temple). Some use live kosher fish; others perform the entire rite with money, then give the money — at least the value of a chicken — to charity.

The ceremony

See the "prayers" page to display and print the Kapparot text in Hebrew and phonetic transcription.

Hold the chicken in your hands and recite the first paragraph ("Benei Adam...").

While reciting the beginning of the second paragraph, swing the chicken three times over your head: once saying "Zeh chalifati" ("This is my exchange"), once saying "Zeh temurati" ("This is my substitute"), and again saying "Zeh kaparati" ("This is my atonement").

Repeat both paragraphs twice more (swinging the chicken a total of nine times).

Bring the chicken to the shochet (ritual slaughterer), who slaughters it.

This is an opportunity to perform a rather rare mitzvah: covering the blood of a ritually slaughtered bird. Take a handful of earth (usually prepared for this purpose near the shochet) and recite the following blessing before covering the blood: Baruch Atah Ado-nai Elo-heinu Melech haolam asher kideshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu al kisui dam beafar. (Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the covering of blood with earth.)

It is customary in many communities to tip the shochet for this service.

If you are hesitant to hold a live chicken, someone else may hold it and swing it over your head.

Even the smallest children are traditionally brought to Kapparot, and a parent swings the chicken over each child's head saying: "This is your exchange, this is your substitute, this is your atonement..."

It is of utmost importance to treat the chickens humanely and not — G-d forbid — cause them any pain or discomfort. Jewish law strictly forbids causing any unnecessary pain to G-d's creatures. Aversion to such cruelty should be all the greater on this day, on the eve of the day when we ask G-d for kindness and mercy we may not deserve. The Code of Jewish Law even suggests placing the innards and liver of the slaughtered chickens where birds can feed on them: "It is fitting to show pity to the creatures on this day, so that in Heaven they may have pity on us [as well]."

The same process is followed — except for the ritual slaughter — when using fish or money for Kapparot.