[Avodah] Kaparos? For PETA's Sake!

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, August 9, 2007 3:47 am, Rt Shoshana L. Boublil wrote:
: This is truly horrifying, and it makes it clear why the issue of
: chickens as kapparot, at least in the States is problematic.

The issue isn't US vs Israel, but having urbanites trying to care for
animals. If someone lived in yeshiva their whole lives, they simply
don't have an opportunity to know what they're doing.

R' Marc Angel has a recurring theme in his work about how Judaism
shifted from being an outdoor religion of agrarians, who were
intimately tied to natural cycles -- the seasons and the moadim, the
zemanei tefilah and the daily sun -- and somewhere along the line
became an indoor religion, centered on yeshiva and beis medrash.
Notably, he believes Ashkenazi contact with Xianity had much to do
with it.

: Here in Israel, my in-laws use chickens, but in a very different
: manner.

: Several days before Yom Kippur, the chickens are chosen for them at
: the Shochet's factory, after saying kapparot for the whole family, the
: Shochet takes care of them, like any other chicken for consumption.
: Several of the chickens are sent to local yeshivot and the others go
: home for consumption, for Erev Yom Kippur.

It's clear from the words said beforehand that the point of it all is
to perform one mitzvah as a saneigor. Seudas YT, such as on erev YK,
would qualify. As would tzedaqah.

As implied in my email of this morning (J-m time), my kaparos consists
of coins donated to buying food for aniyim.

Tir'u baTov!
-mi

-- 
Micha Berger             Spirituality is like a bird: if you tighten
micha at aishdas.org        your grip on it, it chokes; slacken your grip,
http://www.aishdas.org   and it flies away.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                            - Rav Yisrael Salanter