Kaparot is a Jewish ritual that is performed annually on the day before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Since late Talmudic times, it has been a widespread Jewish custom to perform kaparot in preparation for Yom Kippur. Kaparot (also spelled kapparot or kaporos) literally means “atonements,” just as Yom Kippur means “the Day of Atonement.”

Kaparot consists of carefully passing a chicken over one’s head three times while reciting the appropriate text: A live chicken is waved over one's head while reciting a prayer. The chicken is then slaughtered and its monetary worth is given to the poor. The ritual is meant to symbolically "transfer the sins" of the person performing it. However, nowadays, most people substitute money for the chicken, and then give that money to charity.

The chicken is then slaughtered in accordance with the laws of KOSHER. The chicken itself is discreetly donated to a charitable cause, such as an orphanage, where it is eaten just like any other chicken. In modern times, this variant of the ritual is performed with a rooster for men and a hen for women.

“This is my exchange, this is my substitute, this is my atonement. This rooster (hen) will go to its death, while I will enter and proceed to a good long life and to peace.”

In a second variant of the practice, the chicken is sold: a bag of money is whirled around the head and then given to the poor.

“This is my exchange, this is my substitute, this is my atonement. This money will go to charity, while I will enter and proceed to a good long life and to peace.”

It is important to keep in mind that the chicken is not an offering. Neither does a performance of the ceremony alone atone for one’s sins.  However, the ceremony is quite shocking. This is especially true today, when we rarely come face-to-face with the slaughter of animals to fill our tables. Holding a chicken and then seeing it slaughtered, contemplating that “there but for the grace of God go I,” can have a profound effect on one’s attitude going into the day of Yom Kippur.

Many rabbis have taken a stand against this ritual and call on the public to perform kaparot using money.

Morality is a sexy thing
Everyone likes to deal with sins - get excited, empathize. Good deeds are just boring.
Our passions leave stains, and sometimes we want to protest, not what made us leave the stain, but the traces ...
It is no coincidence that there is no list of Jewish sins
Judaism is a legal religion and of course has an endless list of transgressions and punishments.
Judaism is a religion of compromise in the first place.
She recognizes the desires and fears of them.
"Smart" lives well with their passion and pride.
The people who made the lists tended to turn a blind eye to their sins.
The lie, the deception, the deception, is the characteristic of leaders in this world - to make promises that you cannot stand behind, to guarantee heaven and hell, to claim that you are more righteous than you are.
But is it possible to "erase" all sins, only by the slaughter of chickens and fasting?