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Ritual killing of chickens....Kapparot
#1
Every year Orthodox Jews kill chickens as an act of atonement in a practice called Kapparot.
There is a certain amount of violence and abuse in the killing and afterwards the meat is thrown away. It isn't even used as food. It is treated as garbage.             

http://www.laweekly.com/news/ultra-orhto...ay-8725261

This is what happens every year.

I am not criticizing any particular religion. I am just mentioning this particular ritual animal killing because it is current and we are all familiar with it. It is important that we keep protesting this event because so many chickens are killed so badly.

The real thought that I have is, why is any religion still killing animals? No matter what our roots and what our practices are we should have grown way past ritual animal killings. This is the 21st century. We have grown sensitive to so many things that we never considered before. Ritual animal killing is something very primitive that has been part of the human past. Shouldn't we be leaving it in the past. 

If we have grown up in so many ways, why do we still hold on to this primitive taking of life? 
How can abusing a chicken or any other animal be an act of atonement?
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Catherine

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#2
This particular practice, which I had read about a long time ago whilst researching for my website, is barbaric and superstitious in the extreme. It can be termed "religious superstition", as the idea that waving a chicken about your head (and breaking its bones in the process), then killing it, will give one a long life is ludicrous and indeed superstition at its most extreme.

To be fair, this crude practice is only carried out by ultra-orthodox Jews and not by the majority of other Jews, who these days donate money instead. However, the concept that animals are expendable because they do not have souls is widespread in Judaism. The crude idea that the blood of animals is "coarse" because they do not have the divine spark is still widespread. See this depressing comment by a Jewish rabbi: http://www.aish.com/atr/Animal_Souls.html?catid=954654

Amongst the ultra-orthodox Jews there is one more compassionate voice. Here is his view on this annual primitive street slaughter:
http://rooster613.blogspot.fr/2014/09/on...-with.html

We just need to be clear that it is the cruel killing (with the carcasses thrown away afterwards) that we are criticising, not religion per se. (Catherine has already made that clear; I am just adding my own similar comment).
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#3
(10-10-2017, 12:48 PM)Catherine Wrote: How can abusing a chicken or any other animal be an act of atonement?

The utter idiocy of a deed like that is, that it isn't, and cannot be! And anyone with any real spiritual knowledge and awareness would know that. How horrendous.

Poor chickens.

Blood sacrifice, torture, causing deliberate suffering to another, and glee or any sense of glory in doing so....are states of consciousness that will need to be atoned for properly. These people will have to purify their intent or they will remain in a low place. And the low places are not pleasant. If only they knew what the finer states of being are like!
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#4
I am not feeling very philosophical tonight. I will need to come back and read things again tomorrow.

The point I was making was not a criticism of religion or any particular religion. I am questioning why we are clinging to outdated acts of cruelty towards animals. This is the same as Gadhimai. For some reason killing animals is being given a spiritual significance that it doesn't deserve. 

More than 40 years ago as part of a religious studies course we visited a Synagogue. I asked if the Temple were ever rebuilt would they start sacrificing lambs again. The Rabbi gave me a look and then he said (I have lost the exact words) it is the 20th century and we have grown way past such things.

It is now the 21st century and it is incredible to find that humans have not grown past such things.
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Catherine

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#5
I agree with all you say, Catherine. We have all (you, Tobi and I) made it clear that it is not religion per se that we are criticising. But is sadly the case that these ultra-orthodox Jews still believe that this cruel and barbaric superstitious sacrifice will bring them a long and happy life. In reality, all this "festival" causes is misery and suffering for poor factory chickens, who already having suffered terrible conditions previously, then have to suffer again. Their bodies are then dumped.

Barbaric, primitive and cruel....

For anyone who doesn't believe that the bodies are dumped, not eaten, watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fp4wPQ_ocw

There is a very good discussion of some of the issues here:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyath...ot-problem

I am tempted to say, "Religion at its worst", but there are (sadly) plenty of other examples - such as the Gadhimai slaughter which you mentioned, Catherine.
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#6
I watched the video and it is brutal. The  chickens are handled roughly and killed inhumanely. It is exactly what I expected.

What I did notice was money changing hands. These are older chickens so the farmers are happy to get paid for them.
Whoever organizes the slaughter is making money. Even the people working as chicken killers are getting paid. 
As long as there is money to be made people will defend the practice and want it to continue.

I suspect there is money behind all of these slaughter festivals. I find it hard to imagine a seriously spiritual origin for a slaughter ritual. I also am baffled by this obsession with atonement. Since most people lead very ordinary lives how much could they really need to atone for. People are not as bad as they think they are. Probably killing the chicken is the worst thing they do in their lives.

If it became too expensive the practice would stop. Maybe there should be a special tax on killing chickens on the public street.
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Catherine

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#7
There should be some intervention by animal welfare officials!
The trouble is, so many people are so PC nowadays that they are crippled by it. If  kids who lived on a council estate did this, there would be uproar and someone would report them.
But I suppose the "powers that be" are afraid of being accused of religious discrimination or being labelled as "anti-semitic".
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#8
(10-13-2017, 02:08 AM)Tobi Wrote: But I suppose the "powers that be" are afraid of being accused of religious discrimination or being labelled as "anti-semitic".

That's it, exactly. Fear has made them sit on their hands.
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#9
It is outrageous. What's next? The PC brigade allowing Satanists to perform child sacrifices??
If not....then why do the authorities allow such cruelty and torture in the name of religion? Because they are just chickens?
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#10
We have let these things go on for years and done nothing. Now people are looking at animal sacrifice and seeing it as wrong. It is just not easy to stop something that has history. They can claim discrimination. I just can't accept that any long standing practice is alright just because it is a long standing practice.

Take the action out of context and you know it is wrong. Abusing and killing a chicken like that is wrong. Dressing it up in tradition, culture and religion doesn't make it right.

It is fine to respect tradition and culture, but they shouldn't be an excuse for doing bad things. 
It is the same with scientific studies. Just because you call it science doesn't make a wrong action right.
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Catherine

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