Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef: Instead of chickens for Kapparot, donate 35 shekels

Former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef has called for replacing the use of chickens in the Kapparot ritual with a donation of 35 shekels if proper conditions for the birds cannot be ensured. In an open letter, he emphasized that the custom cannot be observed at the expense of violating the prohibition on cruelty to animals. The current chief rabbis, David Yosef and Kalman Bar, set the recommended redemption amount at 30 shekels.

Former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef on Tuesday, September 14, called for not conducting the Kapparot ritual using chickens if the birds cannot be provided with proper housing conditions and controlled slaughter. Instead, he recommends donating 35 shekels to charity—an amount corresponding to the cost of a bird. In an open letter, the rabbi emphasized that the Kapparot custom cannot be observed at the expense of violating the prohibition on cruelty to animals. He paid special attention to mass ritual sites where birds are kept for long periods without sufficient shade, water, and food, and slaughter is carried out in places where necessary religious and veterinary oversight cannot be ensured. "Whoever performs this commandment while violating the prohibition on causing suffering to animals may not be observing the custom at all, but rather violating a Torah prohibition," the letter states. The article also describes alternative ways to perform Kapparot: with fish, money, or a flowerpot. The current chief rabbis of Israel, David Yosef and Kalman Bar, set the recommended monetary redemption amount this year at approximately 30 shekels per person.