10/08/2021
The original idea behind Kaporos some 900 or so years ago was a ritual to be performed in the backyard on one's own home, not the commercialized mega event that it has become.
Kaporos, NOT ordained in either the Torah or Talmud, needs to end, once and for all. The suffering that the chickens are forced to endure in transit is bad enough but the obvious pain felt by these birds during the ritual is almost indescribable unless you are present to hear the chickens scream as their wings are broken behind their backs. Writhing in pain the chickens are then held by their wings and swung overhead three times as the participant prays:
" This is my exchange, this is my substitute, this is my expiation. This chicken shall go to death and I shall proceed to a good, long life and peace."
SYMBOLICALLY the sins of the participant are passed on to the chicken and when the chicken dies by the cut to the throat of a butchers knife, so too do the sins. That is how the proper Kaporos ritual is performed.
But what if the chickens are not put to death and the ritual is not completed? What if instead they are placed back into travel crates, broken wings visibly dangling at their sides, reused by other participants and then placed back into the travel crates again, this time to endure yet another 18-24 hours or more being shipped back to a slaughterhouse? Does the sin of the participant pass to the chicken or not? If the chicken doesn't die DURING the ritual, which specifically calls for death, should this continue to be viewed as free expression of religion or nothing more than an annual tradition that sanctions, with misplaced court approval, horrific animal abuse?
Various court challenges over the years have held that the ritual itself, when practiced properly, is a protected form of religious expression. The cases relied primarily on the United States Supreme Court ruling in Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah.
The Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye practiced the Afro-Caribbean-based religion of Santeria. Santeria used animal sacrifice as a form of worship in which an animal's carotid arteries would be cut and, except during healing and death rights, the animal would be eaten. Shortly after the announcement of the establishment of a Santeria church in Hialeah, Florida, the city council adopted several ordinances addressing religious sacrifice. The ordinances prohibited possession of animals for sacrifice or slaughter, with specific exemptions for state-licensed activities.
The question before the court was whether the city of Hialeah's ordinance, prohibiting ritual animal sacrifices, violated the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause.
In short and by unanimous opinion the Supreme Court of the United States held that the ordinances were neither neutral nor generally applicable. The ordinances had to be justified by a compelling governmental interest and they had to be narrowly tailored to that interest. The core failure of the ordinances were that they applied exclusively to the church. The ordinances singled out the activities of the Santeria faith and suppressed more religious conduct than was necessary to achieve their stated ends. Only conduct tied to religious belief was burdened. The ordinances targeted religious behavior, therefore they failed to survive the rigors of strict scrutiny.
More specific to Kaporos and at the state level, back in 2018 New York's highest court refused to overturn lower court rulings in a case brought by an animal rights group, Alliance to end Chickens as Kaporos. The suit claimed the practice violated New York health and animal cruelty laws and the group sued the New York Police Department hoping to force them to enforce those laws.
A Manhattan Supreme Court judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling the department could use discretion in enforcing sanitary and animal cruelty laws in relation to religious ritual. The Court of Appeals upheld that ruling and the State Supreme Court did the same.
But all of those rulings were based on the pretext that the chickens would be slaughtered and then given to the poor.
Here in Ocean County last year, many of the chickens were reused and were forced to endure the pain associated with the breakage of their wings, the improper handling, the denial of food, water and exercise in transit on the way to the area and again when they were transported back to Pennsylvania slaughterhouses. Whether or not they actually made it into the food chain remains a mystery, follow up efforts to find that out last year fell flat.
Once again the PROPER ceremony entails:
1. Holding the chicken from below with both hands. Improperly holding the chicken may be painful to the chicken, and may also render it no longer kosher by causing it serious harm (this is EXACTLY what happens).
2. Reciting a prayer, the beginning of the second paragraph instrumental, passing the chicken over head in circular motions three times—once when saying, “This is my exchange,” again when saying “This is my substitute,” and again when saying, “This is my expiation.”
3. Repeating the entire process another two times. (Passing the chicken over your head a total of nine times.)
4. Bringing the chicken to the shochet (kosher slaughterer), to slaughter the bird.
Absent the kosher slaughter, it would appear that the practice that has stood the test of the courts is no longer being used and it's time for a new challenge to Kaporos, based exclusively on animal cruelty laws, particularly here in Ocean County.
In the video below chickens have already endured a full day without food and water, the torture of having their wings broken while being swung through the air and are being returned to travel crates for reuse by other participants.
Does this mean that we want to see participants once again slaughtering chickens on the street? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Our preference is that participants use money, an acceptable alternative.
Both Lakewood Township and Jackson Township have stringent ordinances prohibiting animal cruelty and we do believe that if officials are pressed by enough voices, they MAY intervene and at least issue summonses. It would be far better however to bring the issue to the Ocean Vicinage of New Jersey Superior Court and ask for an opinion.
Back in 2019 Jackson Township strengthened its animal cruelty ordinances but included a carve out exemption for religious, ritual slaughter.
“Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit, abridge, or in any way hinder the religious freedom of any person or group. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, in order to protect freedom of religion, ritual slaughter and the handling or other preparation of livestock for ritual slaughter are exempted from the terms of this chapter. For the purposes of this section the term “ritual slaughter” means slaughter in accordance with section 98-61(T)(2) of this title,” the religious exemption reads.
Absent the "ritual slaughter", what are we left with other than animal cruelty? This year Jackson officials and enforcement authorities will be compelled to not only observe the ritual but to act according to local code. Trust that.
As for Lakewood Township, where slaughtering is at times performed as a part of the Kaporos ritual, there is no exemption for religious, ritual slaughter. Although we would argue that township animal cruelty laws are being violated (and we will) during Kaporos, the township also has a rigorous "Poultry Killing and Dressing" ordinance that goes unenforced. This year that will change.
Chapter BH15Poultry Killing and Dressing, which in part includes the need to obtain permits under § BH15-1PERMITS and makes it unlawful for any person to slaughter poultry or cattle in the Township without first having obtained from the Sanitary Inspector a permit for such purpose.
The remainder of the ordinance deals with sanitary conditions, proper refrigeration, lighting requirements, lavatory facilities, access to water and waste treatment, NONE OF WHICH are available in an outdoor setting and all of which go unenforced. The authority for enforcement falls under the purview of the Lakewood Township Board of Health which has in previous years been unresponsive to reports. This year that too will change.
