ב"ה
Wednesday, 17 Shevat, 5786
  |  February 4, 2026

Pro and Against Kapparos

Crown Heights residents didn't stay silent this year when animals rights activists protested the kapparos ritual. Chassidic men and boys held humorous signs, pointing out that "It tastes just like chicken" and "salad is slaughter." Photos

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Boro Parker
September 22, 2015 5:58 pm

In boro park we had a counter protest as well with signs reading nazis too loved their animals but murderd people

no one is against feeding them before shechita
October 9, 2011 10:26 pm

i hope the chikens dont starve! that would be against Halacha!

i really hope the people in charge, follow halacha & do indeed feed the chickens!

I collected Tzedakat
October 9, 2011 10:11 pm

2 Jewish protesters got a little sluice for supporting Kappores, even if they didnt ask to. I collected a few dollars since it was Yom Kippur by letting them know it was important to give as much as possible before Yom Kippur. They say even a miser that drops a few coins and later a beggar picks it up, he still gets credit. Anyway, its amazing that they actually gave the tzedakka at all. Their Godly spark overcame them!!

a total chilul hashem
October 9, 2011 7:42 pm

if hashem said to dob s/o thn do it……. i realy dnt gt u guys

most jews don't do kaporos. at all.
October 9, 2011 7:21 pm

“most jews don’t do kaporos with chickens”. unfortunately that is true. by the same token, most jews don’t say tachanun on yud tes kislev (or ever).

Question
October 9, 2011 6:51 pm

I agree with the fact that Shechita is painless and it’s not tzar baalei chayim, and I’m sure the swinging doesn’t bother them too much. What I am wondering is how long are the chickens waiting around in cluttered cage/box things and do they get fed at all:? Because let’s say they are out there from the afternoon until late night, including the travelling time, have they been starving that whole time? They should at least be comfortable until the time that they are being shechted?!

its not
October 9, 2011 5:38 pm

it isnt tzar ballei chayim since its a mitzvah also it doesnt hurt the chicken when you shect it everyone who is againt it is WRONG!!!

#49
October 9, 2011 5:00 pm

well said

most activists are not aware that they are just being used, & fed misinformation

a valid point worth repeating
October 9, 2011 4:18 pm

if ONLY the world only knew more about the Torah laws governing Shechita & Tzaar balei chayim,

…the Leftist-anti-orthodox-groups would not be soo successful at their propaganda, misrepresenting the truth! & recruiting innocent well intentioned activists…
(who are naively being used to promote someone else’s anti-orthodox agenda)

if these well meaning activists only knew the true motives of the people behind peta etc they would realize that they are just being manipulated by the Anti-Orthodox-Left ….

post #4 ty! for showing the under-reported side of the story
October 9, 2011 2:02 pm

unfortunately, in the media coverage the true percentages gets lost,

the media likes to give attention to the few radicals, since that makes for a more sensational story!

the vast majority of mature respectful chasidim are quiete & dont get any proper exposure in the media,

if the world only knew more about the laws governing Shechita & Tzaar balei chayim, the Leftist anti orthodox groups would not be soo successful at misrepresenting the truth! & recruiting innocent well intentioned activists who are (unknowingly being used by a hidden agenda)

their held from UNDER their wings!
October 9, 2011 1:50 pm

not held by their wings!

the chikens seem very comfortable by this common position!

try holding them by their wings for one second… they’ll freek out (the chikens will go crazy if you mis handle them)

What Tzar Bali Chaim
October 9, 2011 7:22 am

First time visit to Kapporos. What NO squaking ? Yes NO squawking .
People were VERY gentle with the chickens. I was really suprised how gentle.
you had to watch they din’t soil your clothes
Chickens were NOT swang, they were held upright by their wings. Some of the chickens looked quite dignified as the watched the prayer book.
Happy new year

99.9% no tzaar baalei chaim
October 8, 2011 9:07 pm

i have looked out closely this year, i havent seen anyone mistreating the chickens whatsoever!

the problem is that there is much misinformation out there about Shechita & Kaparos, we dont hold the chikens in a way that makes them uncomfortable! as the left wants everyone to believe

# 4
October 8, 2011 8:57 pm

i agree with this approach

the issue is
October 8, 2011 8:56 pm

Lets avoid Tzar aleh chaim before the shechita

frrd the chikens, dont starve them, & pack them properly, im sure nobody holds them the way described by the anti kaporos ppl

question for PETA
October 7, 2011 6:17 pm

are you more compassionate than G-D? In vayikra we are told to slaughter animals and we are also told wich animals are kosher to eat

to 24
October 7, 2011 5:29 pm

actually it was a joke and they r not ill informed at all

vegetarian
October 7, 2011 4:00 pm

Kapporos on chicken is BARBARIC the way I see it being done. I’ll never say anything negative about shechting chicken for food, but the public mistreatment and mass slaughter is DISGUSTING AND HORRIBLE. Just makes my stomach churn and my heart ache. I want to open those jail cells they are kept in and stick a dozen or so people in there. No need to tell me that they are happy to die for a mitzvah. Actually, they might be happy to die after the life leading up to their death.

To 37
October 7, 2011 3:12 pm

And what, praytell, is that special way? Because it seems very cruel and the animals seem very much in pain.

To 38
October 7, 2011 2:36 pm

Most Jews dont do Kaporos…
Where did you get your #’s from?
Dont make stuff up.

to Ilana S. and others
October 7, 2011 12:51 pm

The way that the chicken are used for kapparros prior to shechting is done in a certain special way that is not tzar baalei chaim. If you would notice, when the people hold them the chickens do not squawk. The reason it squawks when it it being swung around is because of the change in position. Have a happy sweet new year!

Member of the Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos
October 7, 2011 12:50 pm

Most Jews do not use chickens in the ritual of Kaporos. The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos encourages the use of money, instead of chickens, in this custom. The ritual is not mandated in the Torah or Talmud, but was adopted by some sects during the Middle Ages. Many great sages have spoken out against the practice. There is a growing sentiment within the orthodox community that the use of money, instead of chickens, should be promoted. I have followed this issue for two decades. Through the years, in my Boro Park neighborhood alone, I have found chickens discarded… Read more »

To #24
October 7, 2011 12:29 pm

Actually according to Chassidus, vegetables also have a “soul” and it is no worse plucking a leaf off a tree than killing a chicken. This is the argument my husband always uses with them.
A chicken is more animated so to us it looks more graphic but veggies also die and also have soul even though we don’t see it.
Don’t you know the story of the Rebbe and son with the leaf.

Boruch N. Hoffinger BS"D
October 7, 2011 11:25 am

#4 EXCELLENT!
Chochma!
We are a ‘light to the nations!’

Why don't they??
October 7, 2011 10:02 am

Why don’t they go to all the treif chicken farms and see
how the labor there handle the chickens on the way to being killed???? Sounds like they have another agenda.

there is alot of misinformation against kaporos
October 7, 2011 9:26 am

some outsiders wrongly believe that the chicken is SWUNG by it’s wings

what they dont know is that it is not literally SWUNG!!

also
the position its held in is clearly preferred by the chicken! bec if you shift it a little wrong the chicken immediately complains!

Why is kapporos so much worse than the way chickens are used the rest of the year?
October 7, 2011 9:19 am

Nobody grabs a chicken by the feet and swings it around like a golf club. That would indeed be “cruelty to chickens” but I have never seen anyone treat a chicken this way. Just pick up the chicken gently and hold it in your hands and the chicken will stay very calm.

lol
October 7, 2011 9:15 am

those guys sadya and levi r hilarious i couldnt stop laughin

the way the chickens are treated prior?
October 7, 2011 7:14 am

Why is eVerybody convinced the chickens are abused somehow? I saw nothing at all that was inhumane about how they were treated.

how about a spelling lesson?
October 7, 2011 6:33 am

Just wish we could spell slaughter correctly!

Agree with 24
October 7, 2011 4:24 am

Let’s do all we can to minimize pain to these chickens. We must do kapparos but have respect for Hashem’s creations at the same time

GO DOVID LEIB
October 7, 2011 2:57 am

“my feet wount stop me down”
i gues this song is getting you all the way to argentina
cant wait to b with you after tishrei(toronto boy)

im pro
October 7, 2011 1:35 am

i think you shoud make a vote whos pro and whos agenst
im pro

Ilana S
October 7, 2011 1:23 am

Unfortunately, the bochurim posting about salads are the embarrassing ones, and making quite a chillul Hashem at that. The “vegetables have feelings too” argument isn’t brilliant. It’s actually quite ill informed and not clever at all. And while shechita is moral, the way the animals are treated prior is, indeed, tzar baalei chaim. Wake up!

resident 5 boros
October 7, 2011 12:09 am

hey Hertzel what are you doing there???? protesting or???

rebbe did it
October 7, 2011 12:09 am

the rebbe did it and the rebbe said nothing about tzar barlichaim so ya u gouse r doing a avera

vegetarian
October 6, 2011 11:54 pm

Kapporos turned me into a vegetarian. I’m no activist, but it just turned me completely off to meat. Although my family does kapporos on chicken, I’m happy to let my chicken live and use money instead. Sweet new year to everyone.

GO LEIB
October 6, 2011 11:48 pm

VERY GOOD DOVID LEIB……………………..THE BEST SHLIACH THAT ARGENTINA IS GETTING

Get a life
October 6, 2011 11:44 pm
los angeles
October 6, 2011 11:44 pm

dovid leib!!!!!!

tg im not alone!
October 6, 2011 11:39 pm

its nice to see that mainstream chasidim wer not gathered in mass with these tasteless signs!

why stoop down to their level with signs!, besides, if you will post signs, they should say things like Shechita is the most humane process out there, even better than sickness with old age!

@ "many Lubavitchers disagree with the approach to Mock!"
October 6, 2011 11:28 pm

actually the Rebbe’s approach is not to debate (VIKUCHIM)
only share positive info, as long as the party is willing to listen!

well said
October 6, 2011 11:26 pm

just tell them:
“the Chicken is much happier dying & becomming part of a human being’s TIKUN-OLAM, rather than the chicken dying of old age on the farm!”

Pleasant Valley
October 6, 2011 11:25 pm

Pleasant valley we are moving in for Succos 🙂

#4 finally! some maturity!
October 6, 2011 11:23 pm

why not make a Kidush Hashem!

Halevay they come for a friday night seudas shabbos!

hey u never know! a neshama always seeks elokus! never ever write anyone off! Tinok shenishba!

To 11
October 6, 2011 11:18 pm

thats Shimon and Levi to you 🙂

Hayihudim Hatovim were there

The Real Joe
October 6, 2011 11:05 pm

Go saadia and Levi

go dovid leib
October 6, 2011 11:01 pm

your pleasant valley night activity fans!

nice going!
October 6, 2011 10:59 pm

that’s too funny! good work!

:) haha
October 6, 2011 10:52 pm

u tell them 🙂

many Lubavitchers disagree with the approach to Mock!
October 6, 2011 10:46 pm

bec its not the way the Rebbeh taught us!

why???
October 6, 2011 10:45 pm

By acknowledging these pinheads you legitimize them.

hey
October 6, 2011 10:43 pm

zalmy having fun?????

I saw a Kidush Hashem!
October 6, 2011 10:42 pm

On president & Kingston tonight i observed a real Kiddush shem Shomayim! a young couple, gathered a group of “activists” in a circle & respectfully & politely explained to them about Judaism’s view on TZAAR BAALEI CHAYIM, how kaporos is no justification for mistreating H’s creation! & their sensitivity is in principle in perfect alignement to Torah values! they also found out that SHECHITA is THE least painful form of slaughter they also learnt that according to our beliefs, the Chicken is much happier dying & becomming part of a human being’s TIKUN-OLAM, rather than the chicken dying of old… Read more »

great!!!!!
October 6, 2011 10:35 pm

love it

haha
October 6, 2011 10:21 pm

that is really funny!!

1
October 6, 2011 10:19 pm

i like!

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