By Matthew Taub – Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Continuing protests and legal action over Kaporos — a holiday ritual involving the use of live chickens, practiced by some observant Jewish communities — took place in the courts and on the streets over the last few days.
On Eastern Parkway Wednesday morning, near the heart of the Chabad-Lubavitch community, a group called United Poultry Concerns protested the practice, which involves the raising of live chickens over participants’ heads to atone for their sins, then slaughtering the fowl.
“We are here to draw attention to the fact that chickens are needlessly being subjected to extreme cruelty by Kaporos practitioners, all while numerous health laws are being broken,” Karen Davis, president of United Poultry Concerns, told the crowd.
Rabbi Shea Hecht, chairman of the board of the National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education — along with his family and supporters — is considered the main reason the almost extinct practice was revived about four decades ago.
“If you believe God created this world, you believe he created man as superior to animals,” Rabbi Hecht said in a telephone interview. “We kill animals to eat, we use their skin for household goods, for the clothes we wear, for mezzuzot, to make phylacteries. Why can’t we use it for this sacrifice?”
im just letting it roll off my back. Dont let these nobodies bother you
Print signs from that website and hold it up next to them.
these chickens wish to die for a jew as long as he can live.:) 🙂
have no problem with OBAMAs drone strikes on innocent children at wedding parties
True story. I was just passing by peta protest.
Someone accidentally pushed one of the demonstrators. So he turnes to him, annoyed and says, ay watch yourself, would u not push me like a …. animal!
Some of you talking out against the protesters sound like immature little kids! I hope you guys didn’t argue with them…
Even though it may not be a popular opinion, I am so glad that you stood up for your beliefs! If you want to be against kaporos with a live-chicken then that’s totally cool!
They are coming from a completely secular point of view. So, you can’t explain to them “on one foot,” that G-d gave us permission to slaughter animals, and that the highest aspiration in life for a chicken is not to run free with its chicken buddies in the barnyard. We believe that the best possible honor for a chicken is to be used for kaporos and consumed after being kashered, and having a bracha made before and after it is eaten. This is not just about two different opinions, it’s a major philosophical difference that cannot be bridged. (Of course… Read more »
In non kosher restaurants they kill lobsters why don’t these people protest there?
why are you giving these people a forum?
they are craving publicity and you are giving it to them!
To the protesters: If you need a cause go protest ISIS beheading humans. Preferably to Syria or Iraq. I’m sure they’ll welcome you there.
Listen they’ve or a point, we could hold the chickens in a nicer way and for as short as possible, not stopping to pose for pictures with the chickens… Instinctively when you swing the chicken you tighten your grip on their wings which causes them more pain and is classified as tza’ar ba’aley chaim so Pls next time have this in mind. I’m not saying not to use chickens just try cause them as little pain for as short a time as possible.
I get it. they don’t like it when the heads of baby cows and chickens are chopped off, but do you really think eating that tofu burger is saving lives. Fruits, vegetables, and grains are a staple among vegetarian diets, but did you know that millions of animals die just so you can enjoy that piece of bread? Eating foods like grains means destroying ecosystems and all of its inhabitants. It means killing all the little animals, birds, bugs, and microorganisms that live among the fields. Do you know how many little animals and microorganisms die when farmers use machines… Read more »
they are reshoim. they think their opinion overrides gods command. they want to make us listen to their beliefs.
can u imagine if they where the government? it would be a dictatorship!!
They do protest at all different places all year, they also come to kaporos but they don’t wait around all year just for this
Well we shouldn’t swing chickens over our heads. We can find another way to achieve what we’re looking for in this mitzvah.
Why don’ they go to a poultry farm or slaughter house and see hoe those poor chickens are handled????
the way we kill them is not harmful at all. better them to be killed nicely now then harmfully later. what come fist ppl or chickens? remmember we do kaparos so the negative doesnt happen to us but to the chicken instead.
Soon when moshiach comes, I could see the PETA ppl coming with soy veggy burgers to offer sacrifices. LOL
Look the least amount of chickens get killed during our kapores. There are big industries that kill 100 of thousands of chickens. The reason they go after us is, there is a lot of media. PETA raises millions of dollars to “protect animals” they have to show action for the money. Here is where they do. If they were real concerned they would be in from if Purdue, Tyson’s ETC. Maybe they would even be in Africa attempting to feed lions soy product. Yes they were not treated very nicely, but when you mix in to someones business, what do… Read more »
You’ve lost the argument already by calling these people Lowlifes and Morons for protesting for animal rights….
I was at kapores. They were almost a non entity.
I am not a fan of the way chickens are treated therefor I only use money for kapporos. That being said, I dislike PETA and they can “gey kakin”.
Never has a protester been so dismissed as these are by the young adult and older members of our community. The bochurim have fun with them and they are frustrated. So do you know what they do, these animals? The go after the children, I know this from my daughter (10) who told me about how she was harassed with vitriol — you are a killer! heh look at this fat girl I bet she has a lot of pig in her! — and how she saw how they harassed other children. Our children cannot fathom depraved adults who are… Read more »
The absolute Chillul Hashem I saw on Thursday night on Eastern Parkway was really shocking. The animal rights activists were being very respectful and were not starting conversations or arguments with anyone, unless someone walked up to them to ask or discuss something with them. Lubavitcher bochurim, however, were being extremely attacking and were trying to start fights and get the activists mad. Saying things like “Guess what I’m going to do tonight? I’m going to go kill chickens”. Or “Why do you eat vegetables? Vegetables also have feelings.” And that wasn’t even the worst of what I heard… It… Read more »
Morons. Let them become vegetarian and stop wearing animal leather and fur..
As far as the mistreatment of chickens goes, tzar balei chayim does happen to be an issur d’oiraisa. There’s no doubt chickens are mistreated during kapores.
The rebbe held the chicken from underneath, not by its wings.
If I recall correctly, rabbi Lau said that if chickens are mistreated by kapores, its a mitzvah haba’ah ba’aveirah.
The reason these people come to crown heights and not to Williamsburg and boro park is because in crown heights they get attention, if nobody would give them attention they won’t come any more.
this is so disgusting they only have the right of speech not the right to get into peoples faces. and why are people giving them attention if you stop they will leave
they have nothing to do in life