Monsey, NY – Moshe Lefkowitz has been conducting the Kapparos ceremony for ultra-Orthodox Jews for more than 30 years. So he can’t understand what the recent fuss has been about.
The ceremony, which involves the circling of live chickens over the head of the faithful and later slaughtering them as a means of atonement for sins, has invited fines from the county Health Department, which says health codes have been flaunted, and the ire of some neighbors.
Lefkowitz, 59, said his community was saddened by the furor over the ceremony and its description as something violent.
“I am proud of our customs,” said Lefkowitz, a butcher who walks with a cane. He said he has lost almost all of his sight. “It’s very difficult to explain some things to people who do not believe.”
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2 Responses
We should be delighted that we reside in communities that care enough about the health and wellbeing of residents to enforce statutes which require that we conduct kapporos in such a way that disease is not spread and birds are not abused. Indeed, our Torah values, in a day and age where we understand how disease is spread, demand the same standards. Adherence to “our customs” does not require disregard for these issues, quite the contrary. It is regrettable that these standards need to be enforced on our behalf by the municipality.
As a Monsey resident, I can tell you that there have been tremendous chilul Hashem’s for the last couple of years with regard to kaparos. The local media (newspaper)reports animal feces being left around as well as an utter mess that is not cleaned up as much as days afterwards. Let’s not cause more any disgrace to Am Yisroel and maybe this Rav can make sure we only cause Kiddush Hashem’s instead.