The Shamayim V’Aretz Institute

The Shamayim V’Aretz Institute

Jewish ethics. Heavenly ideals. Earthly compassion.

The Practice of Kapporos
1. Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 605:1: The practice of atoning on Erev Yom Kippur by slaughtering a fowl for every male person and saying verses over it is a practice that should be prevented.
1.1 Rema, Orach Chaim 605:1: . . . It is in fact the practice in all these countries. One should not deviate because it is a practice of the conscientious . . . It is the practice to take a rooster . . . It has become the practice to give the kaparos to the poor or to redeem them with money, which is given to the poor . . . Once one had turned the kaparah around him and laid his hands on it simulating the offering, the slaughtering should follow closely, immediately after. One should cast the entrails on roof or in a courtyard in a place from where the birds can take them.
1.2. Mishnah Berurah: 1) It is a practice that should be prevented. (SA O.C. 605:1) This is because of a fear that it derives from the way of the Amorites 2) A practice of the conscientious. (Rema, O.C. 605:1) One should think that whatever is being done to this fowl is all fit to befall him, but through his repentance The Holy One, Blessed be He, will remove the decree . . . There are localities where many gather together (for the slaughtering) . . . the slaughterers are awake all night with resentment and they do not feel the knife (to test that it is permissible) owing to the considerable work, which can cause a transgression of the prohibition against eating a neveylah (not properly killed animal). In these circumstances, it is preferable to slaughter the kaparos a day or two before Yom Kippur . . . Alternatively people should circle money above their heads, which will be considered meritorious for them so they should not stumble into the prohibition against neveylah . . . 9) One should cast. (Rema O.C. 605:1) . . . we reason that just as one has mercy on living creatures by providing them with food, Heaven will also have mercy on us.
1.3: Rabbi Chaim David HaLevi, Choose your Rabbi: We need the compassion of the Holy one blessed therefore how can we be cruel to others?
1.4. Rabbi Shlomo Aviner: Since this is not a clear duty but rather a tradition, and in the light of the kashrut problems and cruelty to animals, and in the light of all of what our aforementioned rabbis said, it is recommended that one should prefer to conduct the atonement ceremony with money, thus also fulfilling the great mitzvah of helping poor people . . .
Questions

1. 
   After reading source 1.2 explanation of sources 1+1.1 do you believe it is a practice that makes sense? What parameters would you create?
   
2. 
   Sources 1.3+1.4 highlight the tension today. How would you proceed?