Abstract:

The first ten days of the month of Tishri (High Holidays) which begins with Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and ends with Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) are the most sacred time period in Jewish religious tradition. A religious practice, which is usually performed by Ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups (haredim), in this period, is subject to discussion both within and outside Judaism. This is the kapparot ritual, which is the tradition of symbolically attributing one’s sins to a chicken or a rooster then slaughtering it and giving it to the poors. In addition to the arguments related to animal rights, hygiene rules etc., the main issue of debate ison the origin and hence religious legitimacy of the kapparot ritual. Since It is claimed that kapparot is mentioned neither in the Torah nor in the Talmud. Some scholars claim that the kapparot practice was substituted for the scapegoat ritual devoted to Azazel during the temple period or a custom or practice taken from pagan (gentile) sources. On the other hand, the kapparot ritual is closely related to another polemical purity ritual tashlick, which is performed near a body of running water on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. This study examines the religious and historical origins of the kapparot ritual and the objections to this ritual in the context of scapegoat and tashlick practices. [You may find an extended abstract of this article after the bibliography.]

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