September 24, 2004/Tishri 9 5765, Vol. 57, No. 4
Symbolic atonement
LEISAH NAMM
|
 Rabbi Zalman Levertov, director and founder of Chabad of Arizona, performs the pre-Yom Kippur custom of kapparot. Photo by Leisah Namm |
These chickens are used to perform the rite of kapparot (symbolic atonement).
"The week before Yom Kippur, we try to ask God's forgiveness for any transgressions that we may have done," says Rabbi Zalman Levertov, director and founder of Chabad of Arizona.
Until the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, penalties for certain transgressions included lashings or the death penalty, he explains.
"We are not conscious of everything we do during the year that might be that harsh (to deserve such a penalty), but we're saying, just in case we did, we're asking God's forgiveness," he says.
To ask God's forgiveness for any transgressions that may have required a death penalty, "we're asking God to take the chicken ... instead of us."
A man uses a rooster, a woman uses a hen. Each individual recites a prescribed verse and then swings the live chicken around his or her head three times, saying, "This is my substitute, my vicarious offering, my atonement; this cock (or hen) shall meet death, but I shall find a long and pleasant life of peace."
Some individuals use fish or money for kapparot instead of a chicken, Levertov says. Whatever the custom, the food or money is donated to the poor.
After about 50 people performed the kapparot rite at Chabad of Arizona on Sept. 22, Rabbi Dan Hayman, director of Chabad's Russian programs, ritually slaughtered the 31 chickens according to Jewish law, and they were then soaked, salted and donated to Russian families in the community.
Other local synagogues that scheduled community kapparot ceremonies included the Sephardic Community of Arizona and Shirat-David Synagogue.