Kapparot

Kapparot (Hebrew: כפרות‎, Ashkenazi pronunciation, Kapporois, Kappores) is a customary Jewish atonement ritual practiced by some Jews on the eve of Yom Kippur.

Etymology

Kapparah (Hebrew: כפרה ), the singular of kapparot, means "atonement" and comes from the Hebrew root k-p-r which means "to atone".

Practice

On the afternoon before Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement of the world, one prepares an item to be donated to the poor for consumption at the pre-Yom Kippur meal., recites the two biblical passages of Psalms 107:17-20 and Job 33:23-24, and then swings the prepared charitable donation over one's head three times while reciting a short prayer three times.

Using a Cockerel

In one variant of the practice of Kapparot, the item to be donated to charity is a cockerel. In this case, the cockerel would be swung overhead while still alive. After the Kapparot ritual is concluded, the cockerel would be treated as a normal kosher poultry product, i.e., it would be slaughtered according to the laws of shechita. It would then be given to charity, for consumption at the pre-Yom Kippur meal. In modern times, this variant of the ritual is performed with a rooster for men, and a hen for women.