It is likely that this year, on the eve of Yom Kippur, it will be possible to see roosters crammed into containers in the markets, in the scorching sun, without food or drink, fainting from thirst while waiting for the slaughterer's knife.<\/p>\r\n
As every year, various rabbis have called for strict animal cruelty for the roosters intended for atonement, but the reality on the ground will look different. Isn't it time to mention that there are rabbis who encourage the public to refrain from performing the custom with roosters, and that it is of course possible to perform the custom with money donated to charity (redemption of atonement)?<\/p>\r\n
Some of the great men of Israel throughout the ages opposed the custom of expiating sins with roosters (which is not mentioned in the Bible or the Talmud) for the reasons detailed below:<\/p>\r\n
The halakhic-spiritual aspect: Important jurists have determined that the custom is "of the ways of the Amoraic" (see, for example, Responsa Rashba, Part 1, Section 1), that is, idolatry, a kind of witchcraft. In the first printings of the Shulchan Aruch, the heading dealing with the custom of atonement stated: "The custom of atonement on the eve of Yom Kippur is a custom of folly." In subsequent editions, the heading was censored, but Rabbi Yosef Karo's statement still appears: "The custom should be prevented" (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Section 13, Section 1).<\/p>\r\n
Fear of predation: Maran Rabbi Ovadia Yosef zt"l wrote about this difficult halachic problem in his book Yehovah Da'at, Part 2, Section 7a: "Because of the increased slaughtering by poultry slaughterers on the night before Yom Kippur... and how many times when the local rabbis came to inspect the slaughtering knives of the poultry slaughterers, they were found to be defective... Many slaughterers also stay awake for most of the night, in order to slaughter all the atonements, and due to their exertion and fatigue from the work of slaughtering, which is done continuously and hastily, their hands become heavy from examining the knife, and they do not feel the defect in the knife, as experience has shown, and they feed carrion to Israel on the eve of the holy day. The magnitude of the obstacle is indescribable.".<\/p>\r\n
Animal cruelty: The former Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Rabbi Chaim David Halevi, zt"l, in his book Eseh Lech Rav, volume 3, discussed the paradox of the custom of atonement, and asked: "And why do we need to be cruel to animals on the eve of the holy day without any need, and slaughter them without mercy, when we are about to ask for mercy for ourselves from the living God?" (p. 67). Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri, zt"l, also issued a call in Elul 5762 to the public to practice the practice of redeeming atonement with money given to charity instead of chickens, because of the cruelty to animals and because of the fear of predation.<\/p>\r\n
It is also worth remembering that the slaughter of chickens in the name of the custom of atonement is only the final chord of the mask of abuse that industrial chickens have endured throughout their short lives; abuse that includes being raised in terrible crowded conditions and genetic distortions.<\/p>\r\n
\u00a0In this regard, the words of Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch in his book Igrot Tzafon (Fourth Letter) are appropriate: "The earth is not yours, but you are given to it. You must cherish it as holy ground, seeing in every creature a creature of God and your brother, loving it and helping it fulfill its destiny according to God's will. Therefore, every creature is reflected in the eyes of your mind, therefore the strings of your heart are moved with every cry of distress, and with every cry of age in the world; therefore, your heart will rejoice when the buds appear in the earth, and you will mourn with every noble flower... All are borrowed from you, and all will one day appear before the throne of God to testify for you or against you, whether you neglected them or used them, for a curse or a blessing.".<\/p>\r\n
\u00a0On the eve of Judgment Day, do we really want the unfortunate "roosters of the countryside" to come before the throne of honor to testify about the way we treated them?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Quite a few of Israel's great leaders opposed the custom of atonement as it was performed on birds, and for good reason: questions of 'animal cruelty', 'terrification', and even aspects of 'witchcraft' \u2022 Rabbi Halevi zt"l: "Is this the time to be cruel to animals"?","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[138],"tags":[1359,7385,7386,938,7387],"class_list":["post-85394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-138","tag-1359","tag-7385","tag-7386","tag-938","tag-7387"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n