The Custom of Kapparot – What Is It? Forbidden or Obligatory? How Is It Performed?

The custom of kapparot — what is it? Forbidden or obligatory? How is it performed?

The custom of kapparot is an ancient custom from the period of the Geonim, about 1,000 years ago, and it is cited in halachah (Orach Chaim, siman 605, se’if 1). Among the Rishonim there is a dispute, as will be detailed below, whether it is forbidden to observe this custom, or whether it is a proper and recommended custom.

Those who forbid and those who permit

The Ramban (cited in Orchot Chaim, Erev Yom Kippur, siman 1) forbade observing this custom. Similarly, the Rashba (vol. 1, siman 395) wrote that in his time people in his city practiced this custom and would hang the rooster’s head by its feather together with heads of garlic and various other vanities, and he abolished the custom in his city. Yet the Rashba also wrote in praise of the custom and notes that it is already mentioned in the responsa of Rav Hai Gaon [one of the Geonim of Babylonia, 939–1038], and that all the rabbis of Ashkenaz practiced it. We will explain below how the apparent contradiction in his words is resolved. Another reason cited by those who forbid it is that people may think that the kapparot are a type of sacrifice and may come to consecrate the animal as an offering, which could lead to the severe prohibition of me’ilah, misuse of consecrated property, or to the severe prohibition of offering sacrifices outside the Temple.

On the other hand, this custom is cited in many works of the Rishonim, and, as noted, it is already mentioned in the responsa of Rav Hai Gaon as a correct and proper custom. It is interesting to note that Rashi (Shabbat 81b) cites this custom as being performed with a flowerpot.

In practical halachah, the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim, siman 605, se’if 1) forbade observing this custom. However, the Rema (ibid.) wrote that one should observe it, and so too the Arizal (Shaar HaKavanot 100; Pri Etz Chaim, shaar 27, ch. 1) wrote that one should follow this custom. In practice, Sephardim as well (Ben Ish Chai, year 1, Vayelech, sec. 2; Yafeh LaLev, vol. 3, siman 605, sec. 1; Kaf HaChaim, siman 605, secs. 5, 8; Or LeTzion, vol. 4, ch. 8, sec. 1) observe this custom, and Or LeTzion wrote that the reason is that the custom of the Eastern communities, where the Arizal and the Shulchan Aruch disagree, is to follow the Arizal. Yemenites, however, did not practice this custom, neither the Shami community (Shtilei Zeitim, siman 605) nor the Baladi community (the Tikhlal of the Maharitz omitted kapparot); only in the Sharab community did they follow it, as they generally followed the Arizal and Kabbalah. The Kaf HaChaim wrote, however, that Sephardim customarily do not recite the verses, except for some Sephardim who recite only the verse “a soul for a soul.”

It is very important, however, to know what is primary and what is secondary in this custom.

The reason for the custom

The custom includes several different components:

A. The act itself is meant to awaken a person to repentance, as he thinks that everything happening to the rooster is what should have happened to him because of his sins. Seeing the slaughter of the bird and the handling of it should arouse him to regret his sins and return in complete teshuvah. At the time of the rooster’s slaughter, a person should think of the four court-imposed death penalties being carried out: when the shochet holds the rooster’s neck, he should think that strangulation would have been fitting for him; the moment of slaughter is execution by the sword; after the slaughter, when the bird is cast to the ground, that is stoning; and when the feathers are singed in fire, that is burning. Through thinking about this and repenting, his sins are forgiven.

B. Giving the chicken to charity, or giving the redemption money of the kapparot to charity, and in the merit of charity we will merit a good year.

C. Prayer and supplication that if a decree has been issued against us, the decree should be fulfilled upon the rooster and we should merit good life, together with reciting verses of supplication and request, or verses that arouse repentance.

D. Performing actions which, according to Kabbalah and the esoteric tradition, can annul harsh decrees from a person and cause a good year to be decreed upon us. When a harsh decree has been issued against a person, sometimes it cannot be annulled without being actualized. But when there are many merits, if it is actualized upon another person or upon an animal, it is considered that the decree was fulfilled. Thus we find several stories in the words of Chazal (see Jerusalem Talmud, Berachot 1:1, and elsewhere) that there was a decree upon a certain person, and because of an act of kindness or a mitzvah he performed, the decree was fulfilled upon a wicked person instead of him. Concerning this it is said (Mishlei 11:8): “צַדִּיק מִצָּרָה נֶחֱלָץ וַיָּבֹא רָשָׁע תַּחְתָּיו” — “The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked comes in his place.” Therefore, through kapparot, in the merit of the charity and kindness involved, the repentance that is awakened in the person, and the prayers and requests to Hashem, it is possible that he will merit that even if, Heaven forbid, a harsh decree was issued against him, it will be fulfilled upon the rooster and he will emerge to good life.

However, one must remember that by nature the human soul is drawn to mysticism and shortcuts, and the evil inclination tries to persuade a person to perform technical acts that will supposedly force the Creator to grant him good life. In truth, performing things in such a manner is “the ways of the Emorites,” and it is forbidden to do them. On the other hand, when a person performs a custom with the aim of awakening himself to repentance, giving charity to the needy, and praying to the Creator of the world, then doing the acts in the precise order established for us by our rabbis of earlier generations is considered an important mitzvah, and it brings us a good year and the annulment of harsh decrees (see Chayei Adam, klal 144, se’if 4; Mishnah Berurah, siman 605, sec. 2; Kaf HaChaim ad loc., sec. 11).

Therefore, it appears that in places where the custom over the years became merely a mystical practice, as it did in the Rashba’s locale, where hanging heads of garlic and other vanities were added to it, the Rashba abolished it, even though he wrote that its source is Rav Hai Gaon and that the rabbis of Ashkenaz practiced it.

Moreover, when a person tries to concentrate on the hidden secrets contained in this custom, if he is not a great kabbalist, he will likely only diminish and harm. Therefore one should think only of the actions cited by the poskim: awakening a person to repentance, kindness and charity toward the needy, and prayer and supplication to the Creator of the world that He have mercy on us, annul harsh decrees from upon us, and grant us good life. One should think that we are performing the custom in the order established by the early sages and according to their intent; then it is considered as though we had all the intentions instituted by the early sages, since we performed the act according to their understanding.

Furthermore, where various situations contain pitfalls in observing the custom, as will be seen below, the poskim wrote that the essence is only repentance, charity, and prayer, not the Kabbalistic matters; one should do it in a way that avoids pitfalls while preserving the elements of repentance, charity, and prayer, as we will detail.

The Ben Ish Chai (year 1, Vayelech, sec. 2) wrote regarding changing the transmitted order where it could lead, Heaven forbid, to a mishap: “And we trust in Hashem that everything will be accepted and rise favorably before Him as though everything had been done properly.”

How the custom is performed

According to the order of the Arizal, a man takes a rooster and a woman takes a hen, they circle it around the head and recite the customary formula. Afterwards they bring it to the shochet, and in the presence of the person performing kapparot the shochet slaughters the kapparot; then the bird is cleaned and prepared for eating. Several halachic details apply, as explained below. Afterwards the bird is given to the poor, or the bird is eaten and its value is given to the poor, as will be detailed below. The Mishnah Berurah (siman 605, sec. 2) writes that it is not incidental that everything is done before the eyes of the person performing kapparot, because he must think that everything being done to this living creature should have been done to him because of his sins. Through its arousing him to repentance, and his returning in complete teshuvah, he removes the decree from upon himself; and although the decree must move from potential to actuality, it is fulfilled upon the rooster, and the person merits good life. The Mishnah Berurah adds that the Rishonim wrote that this is the idea of sacrifices and the way they atone. Therefore the Rema (Orach Chaim, siman 605) wrote that the slaughter of the kapparot should be adjacent to the circling of the kapparot and the recitation of the prayer. [The source is the Rosh (Yoma, ch. 8, siman 23), where he wrote that immediately after placing his hands on the kapparot he should slaughter it, because slaughter follows immediately upon semichah. However, although the Acharonim objected to the Rema that semichah should not be done, they did not note that nowadays there is no need to make them adjacent, and this requires examination.]

Nowadays, however, in most places it is not possible to see the slaughter itself, and therefore a major part of the kapparot is missing. At the very least, a person should imagine how the rooster will be slaughtered.

It is important to emphasize that in their days it was normal for each person to bring his bird to the shochet throughout the year, and people were accustomed to the sight of slaughter. In our days, however, a person who knows that seeing the slaughter will affect him negatively certainly may not place himself in such a situation, which could, Heaven forbid, harm his entire service of Hashem. Only a person who knows himself and knows that he will not be overwhelmed and will be able to put things in the proper proportion may see the slaughter itself.

The preferred time

The poskim (Magen Avraham, siman 605, sec. 1; Mishnah Berurah, sec. 2) wrote that the most recommended time for performing kapparot is before dawn on Erev Yom Kippur, which is a time of mercy, and at this time a person can more easily annul the decree, as brought in the Zohar (Pinchas 213a), that the morning watch is the time when the attribute of chesed prevails in the world. When slaughtering at this hour, one must ensure proper lighting so that there is no concern of invalid slaughter. The Mishnah Berurah cites that some had the custom to slaughter it after Shacharit on Erev Yom Kippur. But one for whom this is difficult, or where there is concern of a prohibition on Erev Yom Kippur [as will be brought below], may perform it earlier, on any day of the Ten Days of Repentance.

Concern for invalid slaughter

Since the preferred time for slaughtering the kapparot is before dawn on Erev Yom Kippur, and on that day all the townspeople would come to the town shochet and ask him to slaughter their kapparot [especially those who follow the custom of a separate rooster for each soul], the shochet would rise early before dawn and have to manage to slaughter for everyone. There was also commotion and crowding around his house, creating a situation in which the shochtim could no longer be sufficiently meticulous in their slaughtering and, because of the pressure, no longer sensed nicks in the knife. Therefore the Mishnah Berurah wrote that in a place where, Heaven forbid, a mishap of neveilah could occur, it is better to bring the kapparot to the shochet before Erev Yom Kippur, when he can slaughter calmly and properly check the knife, or alternatively to perform kapparot with money.

The Mishnah Berurah particularly warned that where the shochet goes to each person’s home to slaughter from midnight on, one must warn him to sleep well before beginning his rounds, and likewise to prepare in advance a stock of checked knives, checking them calmly, and then checking them again before slaughter.

With which species is the custom performed?

The preferred way to observe this custom is with a rooster, because a rooster is also called a gever, and a human being is also called a gever; according to Kabbalah, when the rooster is slaughtered after the person has repented and has thought that everything that happened to the rooster should have happened to him, if death had been decreed upon him, it can take effect upon the rooster (Tur, Orach Chaim, siman 605). Also, the rooster, especially a white one, is the preferred species for eating (Kaf HaChaim, siman 605, sec. 19). Another reason mentioned by the poskim for the custom of taking a rooster is that it was the most readily available at home.

The Mishnah Berurah (siman 605, sec. 4) wrote that if one does not have a chicken, he should take a goose or any other bird, and he cited the opinion of the Levush (siman 605, se’if 1) that one may also take a fish. However, the Mishnah Berurah wrote that one should not perform this custom with a pigeon, turtledove, sheep, goat, or calf, since these species are offered on the altar and a person may mistakenly think he is consecrating them as a sacrifice.

However, Or LeTzion (vol. 4, ch. 8, sec. 1) wrote that one should not use a fish, since it is impossible to perform with a fish the four court-imposed death penalties that are done with a bird when preparing it for eating; a fish was created in a form that does not require rectification and is akin to the World to Come, and is not suitable for kapparot.

There is also a virtue in a white rooster, since it is written, “If your sins be like scarlet, they shall become white as snow” (Yeshayahu 1:18), so white alludes to atonement of sins. However, one may not specifically seek out a white one or pay more for it, since making segulot specifically with a white hen is among “the ways of the Emorites.”

The Chayei Adam (klal 144, se’if 4; cited in Mishnah Berurah, siman 605, sec. 2, and Kaf HaChaim ad loc., sec. 11) wrote that where there is concern for various mishaps, it is preferable to perform kapparot with money and not take a living creature at all. One should add that nowadays, when the slaughter is not seen, etc., a large part of the meaning of using a bird is lacking, especially in a place without proper supervision, where it is unclear whether the birds are indeed ultimately slaughtered, whether many kapparot are being done on the same birds, and other concerns. The Elef HaMagen (siman 605, sec. 11) and Yafeh LaLev (vol. 2, siman 605, sec. 2) wrote that the word “kesef” written out fully [kaf, samech, peh] has the same gematria as “kapparah”; therefore, where one does not use a rooster, one should use money.

How many chickens are needed for a family?

The Mishnah Berurah (sec. 3) wrote that it is preferable to take a rooster for each individual, and even members of one family should each use a separate chicken. However, if the price is high and difficult, one may suffice with one chicken for many people, and all may perform kapparot with that same chicken. But once kapparot have been performed on a bird, even one who is financially pressed may not use it again.

The Mateh Ephraim (siman 605, sec. 6) wrote that first the head of the household, or whoever is performing the kapparot, should do it for himself, and after he has achieved atonement, he should do it for others, so that one who is innocent may come and atone for others.

Rooster or hen

The Rema wrote that the custom is to take a rooster for a male and a hen for a female, and for a pregnant woman one also takes for the fetus; if the sex of the fetus is not known, one takes both a male and a female. The Mishnah Berurah (sec. 3) wrote that if the fetus is female, there is no need to take two hens; one hen suffices for the mother and fetus even lechatchilah. Therefore, when the sex of the fetus is unknown, it is sufficient to take one rooster and one hen for the mother and fetus. However, he cites that the holy Arizal held it preferable that the fetus have a separate bird, and therefore it is preferable to take two hens and one rooster for the mother, so that the mother has atonement with her own bird and the fetus with its own; since there is doubt as to the sex, two are taken.

Redeeming the kapparot or giving the kapparot themselves to the poor?

The original custom was to give the rooster itself to the poor. Over the years, however, a feeling of shame developed among the poor: the wealthy sin and place all their transgressions upon the rooster, and then give us their sins to eat. Although halachically there is no problem whatsoever in eating the kapparot rooster, and the fact that the person’s decree was fulfilled upon the rooster causes no harm to whoever eats it and certainly has no connection to the transgressions of the person performing kapparot, nevertheless, since in practice the poor were embarrassed to receive the kapparot, it was instituted to redeem the kapparot instead and to give the poor the true value of the rooster upon which the kapparot had been performed. However, the Mishnah Berurah (siman 605, sec. 5) wrote that if the poor person is not embarrassed, it is preferable to give him the chicken itself, since thereby the poor person has food already fit for the Erev Yom Kippur meal, whereas if one gives money, the poor person must exert himself to buy a chicken and slaughter it. Nowadays, many times a poor person prefers to receive money and buy what is convenient for him and the type of meat suitable for his family; in any case he will buy slaughtered chickens ready for cooking, and it is not a great burden to go to the store to buy. However, when the kapparot are run by an organization that distributes the chickens to the poor, such as a soup kitchen or an organization that regularly distributes food to the needy, one may leave the birds themselves with the organization, thereby fulfilling the custom in the best way, especially since the poor are not aware that the chicken meat served to them is from kapparot and are not embarrassed.

The Mishnah Berurah (siman 605, sec. 6) wrote that one who is able should redeem all the kapparot at their value and give it to the poor; however, a person in financial difficulty may give less than their true value. The Kaf HaChaim (siman 605, sec. 29) wrote that this means their value after slaughter, not what they were worth before slaughter.

The Mishnah Berurah (sec. 7) wrote that one may not give the redemption money of kapparot from maaser kesafim funds.

Handling the rooster’s innards

With kapparot the custom is to throw the intestines in a place where birds of prey will take and eat them, because the rooster tends to eat other people’s food, which is theft; by doing this we show that we distance ourselves from and despise stolen property, and we awaken ourselves to repentance. Another reason is that by doing so we have mercy on the birds of prey and feed them, and when we awaken the attribute of mercy within ourselves, we merit that mercy be awakened upon us in Heaven (Mishnah Berurah, siman 605, sec. 9).

The Tur explains that the custom includes the kidneys and the liver, and so wrote the poskim [Magen Avraham (siman 605, sec. 6), Eliyah Rabbah (siman 605, sec. 4), Eshel Avraham (siman 605, sec. 6), Shulchan Aruch HaRav (siman 605, sec. 6), Mateh Ephraim (sec. 12), Kaf HaChaim (siman 605, sec. 33)].

The text

The Mishnah Berurah (siman 605, sec. 3) wrote that “זו חליפתי זו תמורתי זו כפרתי” — “This is my exchange, this is my substitute, this is my atonement” — forms the acronym חת״ך, the angel appointed over life, and through this recitation we merit. However, one must be careful not to pray to an angel or intend that the angel act through these actions; the prayer is only to the Creator of the world. Rather, repentance and charity through the custom of kapparot, when the angel’s name is hinted in the prayer formula, cause the prayer to be accepted by the Creator of the world, and He gives the angel power to grant us life for another year.

The Kaf HaChaim (siman 605, sec. 8) and Or LeTzion (vol. 4, ch. 8) wrote that some are careful to say, “This rooster shall go to death, and I shall enter life,” and not “and I shall enter life,” because if a person reads the text without correct emphasized punctuation, it may sound as though he is saying, Heaven forbid, “This rooster shall go to death, and I — shall enter life,” thereby giving an opening to the Satan, as though the rooster and he should go to death, Heaven forbid.

Tzaar baalei chayim — suffering of animals

Question: Since kapparot can be performed with a rooster or with money, is it not preferable to perform kapparot with money in order to prevent suffering of animals?

Answer: The more ideal way to perform kapparot is with chickens, and for those who follow Kabbalah it is specifically so. Therefore this is not a choice between two equal forms of kapparot. However, where there is concern for a halachic pitfall, it is preferable to perform it with money even though not all aspects of kapparot are thereby fulfilled. Therefore, if there truly were suffering of animals and abuse of the chickens, indeed it should be done with money. However, in all the places I have been, I have never encountered suffering of animals. What animal-rights organizations publicize and propagandize stems from the fact that a person who does not observe mitzvot truly does not see himself as superior to an animal; they deny the reality that the Creator granted man the right to rule over animals and use them for his needs, and kapparot is a reasonable use. It is no coincidence that these organizations regularly support hatred of the Jewish people and denial of the blessed Creator. One need not be moved by photographs taken from a distorted angle or by a one-time case of a youth who acted improperly.

Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim, siman 605).