Anti Kapores Demonstrators near 770

CROWN HEIGHTS [CHI] – A group of demonstrators gathered in front of the Jewish Childrens Museum on Eastern Parkway earlier today to protest the use of chickens for Kapores.

The group began with just a few demonstrators, and steadily grew as Jewish people engaged them, arguing principles and beliefs. The demonstration relocated further down Kingston after police ordered the corner to be cleared.

The demonstrators protested the use of chickens for Kapores and advocated the use of money in its place.

135 Comments

  • Irony

    Tefillin ??Thats IRONIC(absolutely beautiful but soooo ironiv)…does the guy realize its made from a cow???

    • Jew is Jew

      Not ironic, BH, Shcluchim is shluchim and he doesn’t care what the jew is demonstrating for. The Yid who put tefillin is real tzadik

  • Sound and fury, signifying nothing

    B”H

    Baruch Hashem, demonstrations accomplish absolutely nothing.

  • same ending for the chickens

    do they realize that if the chickens aren’t used for Kapores they will be killed anyhow in the chicken coup with the rest of the chickens being breaded for food.

  • FAST FORWARD TO THREE YEARS LATER

    B“H

    3 years ago, I saw one of these activists taking photos of Kapporos on Eastern Parkway. I began a conversation with him, and it turned out he was from PETA. When I said, not so quietly, that he was from PETA — showing disrespect for our holy customs — none of the other chassidim around seemed to care.

    Our conversation (mine, with the PETA guy, three years ago) ended peacefully, with no personal malice on either side. However, I was stunned that none of my frum bretheren cared about what was being done by the PETA guy.

    FAST FORWARD TO THREE YEARS LATER:
    I’m thrilled to see the interchange, and that members of the kehilla are taking the opportunity to hear out the protesters and (please Hashem) to be heard out by the protesters. Mivtzoim is being done, B”H.

  • STOP CRUELTY TO PEOPLE!!

    next time they come c.h.ers should all hold signs asking y its not ok to do cruelty to animals (which were not) but its ok to have a PERSON better yet a MAN, FATHER, HUSBAND sitting behind bars and being treated inhumnanly because of them maasering???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Yossi

    Why do people feel the need to give them attention and talk to them. Ignoring them is the best solution.

  • Chaim Tovim

    The way the chickens are transported to Kapores IS INDEED CRUEL. I have started using money for Kapores instead in recent years.

    In general the meat/chicken industry thinks dollars first and tzar ba’alei chayim second, if at all. For that reason, I have almost entirely cut out using animal products – chicken, meat, leather for shoes and belts, and so on…

    Additionally the amount of steroids and antibiotics that go into these animals is appalling and super unhealthy for us.

    May we all have a good and sweet year.

  • go-ds right hand man

    it really saddens me when people feel obligated to tell other people what to do and don’t do without taking into consideration that it will possibly ruin the ritual and/or experience ( they ruined my day )
    yet it also must be taken into account that part of chabads activities include telling strangers what to do
    is telling anyone what to do good for me and my goals ?
    you feel me

  • Weird People

    I just don’t understand. As #12 wrote, “..It’s okay to have a person better yet a man, father, husband sitting behind bars…” What in the world is wrong with them? What point are they trying to make ESPECIALLY the “frum” ones? I also couldn’t help myself from laughing seeing how ridiculous these people are. What do they think is going to happen with the chickens after they are slaughtered?

  • please tell these wackos

    that Hashem and the Rebbeim decide our minhagim
    NOT THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Go use use your vocal cords somewhere else………..

  • guitars

    i wonder what the ppl with the giutars are singing…. plz stop killing the chikcens plz stop killing the chikckens plz stop killing the chickens, lalalalala! they shuld really post a vid. of it!

  • Stop It

    Kapores did not come from Hashem. It’s a stupid, pagan, superstitious custom created by man.

    If you want to give a real offering to Hashem, stop being stupid, stop being sinful and teach children kindness instead of these acts of brutality.

  • Dovie

    I asked one of these protestors if he was Pro Abotion.
    He said Yes.
    I said What about The extermination of millions of unborn Human children every year
    You care more about animals than people.
    He didn’t have an answer.

  • PETA and their likes and Philip Schein

    PETA were major mosrim and lie perpetrators about
    R’Sholom Mordechai and Agri, and they expect us to believe a word about the fact that THEY want to prevent pain and suffering and children without a parent….

    PETA activist Philip Schein was at Kapores in Crown Height last year taking pictures and gathering lies to spread and give over in interviews. For example telling the Forward that there is a carnival-like atmosphere in kapores in Crown Heights…

    Did you know that PETA compares the chickens to victims of the holocaust!?!

    Can you imagine that?????

    Last year Philip Schein asked his photographer to take a picture of him standing in front of the truck carrying the chickens. He posed for the picture, not looking very sad or perturbed.

    According to him, if the chickens are to be compared to victims of the holocaust, I guess we would have seen Philip Schein posing in front of the trains taking Yidden to the gas chambers, or perhaps he would have calmly posed in front of the gas chambers for a picture….

    Yom Kippur is around the corner, I hope Mr Schein does Teshuva and asks a huge mechila from all those he has hurt in ways only Hashem knows how he can undo…

    see:
    http://www.forward.com/arti

  • Avi

    HASHEM created the Chickens for us to Use for Kapores.
    Protesting against Kapores is protesting against what HASHEM wants.

  • PR Disgrace

    Where are the signs from Chabad “we use the chickens to feed the poor?” Or Signs that say “every animal lover is also pro abortion”?

    Personally, if we ignored them, and never say one word to them, there would be no news to report!

  • Mushky P

    They’re right.
    … In a way.
    The way the Israeli/American bochurim treat those chichens is really vicious. Why do they have to treat the chickens like shmateh baggage? Can’t they do it in a more decent manner? Why make President street look like a chicken pogrom?

    I really don’t know what to do this year. Any ideas?

  • My idea

    I think we should all go down there Thursday at 7PM , stop at mendy’s or anywhere and pick up some chicken nuggets and sit down there and eat it in front of them….

    as for Kapporos, I think they have a point, not that we should c’v stop but we need to change how they are treated leading up to and after Kapporos. It’s disgusting what goes on there with all the blood and bags of chickens. There’s no reason that they should all go to waste especially when it’s supposed to go for people to eat but instead gets wasted.

  • Attention Yossi - # 13

    Why ignore them? They’re not stupid. They are human beings who actually have a valid point. Yes they are against the whole killing chicken theory; but aren’t we against tzar baalei chaim as well? This whole issue needs some explanations.

  • Taube Rivkah

    Baruch Hashem. This is wonderful, Jews speaking out about this horrific practice. Kaporos using a chicken is cruel and inhumane and is not part of the teachings of Judaism. In Yeshiva I was taught that we must respect and show compassion for all living things. Give tzedukah to the needy instead, that is more befitting our need to fulfill our atonement.

  • Vegetarian

    True, kaporos is an ugly sight. I can ony imagine how barbaric it looks to the people unfamiliar to this custom. Having recently become vegetarian,this year I will be doing kaporos using money instead. I know my money will go to a better cause.

  • peta=reshoyim gemurim

    gotta love people who think they have to teach G-d about kindness, Shechita was perscribed by hashem Himself!

  • excerpt from Chabad org

    The reality is that there is no magic in kapores which transfers a person’s sins to the chicken. Even in the days of the Temple, sins were not magically transferred to an animal. The entire purpose of kapores is to create an experience that inspires a person to teshuvah , that is to return to G-d and to repent. All the sacrifices — and chickens — in the world will not result in forgiveness, unless teshuvah takes place.

  • interesting

    first of all the how is it possible that frum men and boys would go over to a women especially if she is not tznius and speak with her seems to me that all those people don’t even care about this they just want attention.

  • zalmen

    lets be honest kaporas can be done in a more respectable sensitive manner, so these guys arent totally wrong.

  • MENDEL

    THESE SAME PEOPLE PUT SHOLOM MORDICHAI RUBASHKIN IN JAIL THEY WOULD NOT HELP A HUMAN IF HE WAS DYING IN THE STREET BUT THERE CONCERNED FOR ANIMALS LET THEM GO ASK G-D FOR FORGIVENESS

  • remember the famious story with a rebbe

    parnts must remind there kids and friends that crulity to animals is a terable sin ( remember the famious story with a rebbe who had a belt hanging on the wall for the students to see and never used it until he found his own son being not nice to the animals that was the first time he used the belt on his own son to demastrait the inportints of not being CRUEL to animals) when you go out to do kapores with your family please take extra care to handel the chickens so that they dont get hurt ie not to hold more than 1 chicken at a time and to hold it as carful as possible

  • JOE THE PLUMBER

    how about using one of those PETA guys as a kappora?
    why don’t they protest in front of McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, Popeye’s, etc.etc.????
    What are they serving there, vegetables?
    They are 100% ZICHER GOYIM GEMURIM!! I know for a fact that they take italians & russians (who have Jewish features) and dress them as frum yidden, but they really are GOYIM!
    Why do you think the guy let himself put on teffilin? Because he doesn’t know or care what they are anyway!

  • you got a right

    to 41
    if you wanna pay for organic kapores
    remember if you are willing to pay for it.
    work for the money …..
    stick your sensitivities into an obamanative cuz this mo fo don’t give a dang

  • Rochel

    We totally agree with the comments about how the chickens are treated before and after the actual kappores take place. . . Back here in london, the way the boys/men treat them with cpmplete lack of concern/ sensitivity. . . is absolutely disgusting beyond words, the chickens are so afraid, and to those handling them , all that seems to be one big joke. . . which it so is’nt;What has happened to the Mitzvah of Tzaar Baalei Chaim. . . its enough to turn many many of us off the whole inyan of Kappores. . THIS is NOT what the Aibishter has in mind when we were asked to do Kappores Erev Yom Kipper. . . there is something very wrong over here;Yes, they too, were created by Hashem, and thus have total right to be treated in a fair sensitive and humane way, fitting for the way frum, sincere Yidden should treat their animals. . . In that respect, we can understand why people are slowly turning to money over the last few years. . . . its really sad. . .

    G’mar Chasima Tova to all and may this year be the beginning of Good things for people . . AND (lehavdil) animals/ chickens too . .

    A Group of us here in London/Crownheights

  • they-re protesting ch.info too

    Its obvious that all of these anti kaporos comments are coming from people associated with pets because every Lubavitcher wouldn’t be against doing Kaporos with chickens if that’s what the Rebbe used. So these people, are just wasting their time, because there is no way we will listen tot them over the ways of chasidimand rebeeim for hundreds of years. This is minhag Yisroel, and we understand that when an animal is slaughtered, it is for an elevation.

  • World-s Fattest Father

    #53, you never saw how the Rebbe did kapporos. I did. It was with the utmost gentleness. He cradled the chicken and held it up while making some turning motions. He did not swing or spin the chickens like today’s amateurs are doing. The chicken was then carefully schechted, and the animal was then taken to be processed and eaten. It was not just tossed into the garbage, like you see today.

    Don’t lecture us about the Rebbe, since you obviously know nothing about him.

  • to #24, 36,37

    Yes, we should treat animals with care, and yes there may be room for improvement in the ways the chickens are treated, but we don’t have others decide for us if we use chickens or money for kaporos, definitely not hypocrites who are pro-abortion, pro using absolutely disgusting,extremely prusste pictures of people, publicizing it in places where adults and young children alike can see it, all in the name of being nice to animals.
    These are people who destroy the lives of others and try to preach by humiliating, boycotting, and aiding in imprisonning human beings.

    We have a higher authority, please check your sources before you talk. What will you say next, that korbonois was something men came up with too??????

    A gut gebentched yohr.

  • awesome reporting

    webby,
    great video of footage
    great entertainment.
    this is what i call news coverage

  • USING CHICKENS

    ITS ALL JUST FOR PUBLICITY BUT THE FUNNIEST THING WAS WHEN THEY STARTED PLAYING AND SINGING ONE OF THE BOCHRIM SCREAMED “NU KOL ISHA KULAM HABAITA!!” AND EVERYONE RAN AWAY – THEY WERE LEFT ALONE LIKE REAL NEBACHS

  • WHERE WAS PETA...

    WHEN 400 GEESE FROM PROSPECT PARK WERE CAPTURED AND GASSED TO DEATH??? WHY THE ZEALOUSNESS TOWARDS JEWISH RITUALS????

  • i dont understand

    i dont understand when they go home and eat chicken or meat or steak or most other foods, it comes from a dead animal so why protest in ch and make a fuel at themselves go to any kosher or even non kosher plant and protest over there?

  • i dont understand

    i dont understand when they go home and eat chicken or meat or steak or most other foods, it comes from a dead animal so why protest in ch and make a fuel at themselves go to any kosher or even non kosher plant and protest over there?

  • mother in ch

    Why are they not protesting bullfighting?! What about the 250 6-9 year old girls who were married to adult men in Gaza in one day? What about hunting? What is their hidden agenda by going after us? Plenty of people EAT those chickens. If we were cruel to the chickens they would have broken bones and thus be NOT KOSHER. Holding a chicken and helping it circle your head 9 times is not cruelty. We put the chicken in a box and do it that way. esp if you have to use 3 sometimes. Next time they are going to say that the way we write our sefer torahs is inhumane. we shouldn’t use feathers or parchment. maybe they think we should use a plastic pen and paper? They seem to have a hidden agenda that has nothing to do with animal cruelty.

  • emunah

    Does PETA….
    -believe in G-d?
    -believe in the concept of karbanos as part of the teshuva process that will take place iy”h when moshiach comes in the bais hamikdosh?
    -believe in not treating animals with tzaar baalie chayim the way the Torah explains it?

    And btw, so here we see how the animals are shechted, why are they not at every supermarket that sells meat and chicken?

    We don’t need them to teach us about moral behavior, we are the ones who need to learn it and teachit to the world.

  • Frimet Esther

    So pleased that some of those who were there got some chuckles out of it. Your arrogance will not bring anyone closer to Yiddishkeit. Even more pleased that it gave pause for thought in others as reflected in some of the comments above. What was surprising and refreshing was that many tried to engage in some real dialogue. At the end, it’s likely that no one on either side had any change of mind at all, but it was respectful and that’s better than the alternative.
    What was so strange was the questioning about abortion. #25 asked one demonstrator about his views on abortion and generalized that (one) person’s response to the whole group. I believe the more scientific way is to take a statistically representative sample. Dovie would have found a wide range of viewpoints on this topic. Next time, Dovie, asked each person and see what you get if you have a real desire to know. Otherwise, it just makes you look desperate to find something objectionable in the group as a whole. This was a very diverse group, from frum. to Jews who have left the fold, to non-Jews. Their views on abortion would differ. But their views on the cruelty evidenced in Kappores rituals would not differ. That’s what the demonstration today was about. And no need to feel singled out; animal cruelty is pervasive in our society so be assured that our work is not focused just on you. Also, please don’t assume that this is a PETA-affiliated group and don’t assume that any of us were involved with the Agri situation. Let’s keep the facts straight. Today, we were there for one purpose only and that is to make the process of kappores less cruel and to ensure that animals are treated with as much compassion as the Rebbeim say they should. That’s the focus. Nothing else.
    I appreciated the efforts of a number of people who came up to me to impart Halacha and to engage in humble and respectful discourse, especially some very respectful and extremely articulate young people. They had the right idea.

  • Shifra

    Many of you negate the issue at hand. We are not discussing a jailed man, bullfights or the killing of Canadian geese. If these matters are of importance to you than feel free to protest them, maybe you will receive a mitzvah. We are exchanging our views on the mass slaughter of chickens and the inexcusable way they are treated by the handlers. Until the chickens can speak for themselves it is our responsibility to try and protect them from this awful fate. A Shana Tovah need not include pain and suffering and fear.

  • real college ditz

    Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing

  • peta hater

    BTW I think the pro peta comments on this site are from Peta infilterators (at least most of them)
    THe best thing is to ignore them or to put signs that say we use chickens to feed poor. etc
    the abortion question is also a great one to use on them..always works.
    AND REMEMBER THEY ARE THE ONES THAT PUT RUBASHKIN BEHIND BARS>>>ANIMALS THAT THEY ARE!!!

  • city giel

    I don’t know what the agenda was of each of the protesters but we as chasidishe yidden have to realize that to many unjewishly educated poeple,kaporos looks frightining and barbaric.in our times when most of us are not raised on farms,poeple are freaked out by these types of things.

  • @#8

    None of the protesters were frum. One of them was an Israeli who says he thinks he’s a religious person, but that’s about as far as it goes.

  • WE NEED MOSHIACH NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    The REBBE did Kappores, so I do Kappores!!!!!!!!!! The Rebbe knows how we do Kappores in Crown Heights so it’s fine with me.

  • to #33

    i don’t know where your getting your info from but the chickens are being eaten every year

  • chatzkel

    to all the ameratzim posting about tefillin being made from cows – the halachah is that tefillin could be made from dead cows.

    this is important to know, as sometimes on mivtzoim someone might say he doesn’t want to put on tefillin because they’re made from animals. You have to know the answer that it could be made from dead animals and we don’t kill animals for tefillin.

  • manhatan jews come to kan tziva

    why no tefilin there its a great opportunity for mivtzaim for these poor mosguided jews!

  • ??

    to 14

    ich

    that is exactlywhat those guys were saying.

    think! halachah says you must use chickens, money is only if there is no choice

    are you any better than hashem who says to eat meat on shabboss and to do kaporros

    who r u?

    i asked one of the frum guys that, and they said “i’d rather not”

    would yo “rather not” keep shabboss!

    you sound more like a reformed rabbi than a lubavitcher, if you are one

  • OMG

    this is soooo funnny!!!! why dont these ppl find a better place to make a fool of themselves…. besides for the fact that this is great entertainent :)

  • shloime freundlich

    I email each year a Shliach my credit card ,then swing my blackberry around my head ,this is more humune then this voodoo stuff

  • chloe

    there are aLOT of good points here, I hope that it brings the best points from machshava, dibbur, and meiser.
    truth has to come out from this. Those people are looking for a purpose in life.
    They should really wake up and look for the real truth. Its not in taking away Jewish customs, it should be much more expansive than that, to see the true injustice in the world. Theres alot and they better start seeing it if they want any meaning to their lives.

  • to #74

    these people have SELECTIVE freaking-out-abouts

    Do you see them at the pet shops protesting birds meant to fly that are kept in a tiny little cage instead…

    There are countless places they could choose to go to, yet they select where they go…and kapores and agri are on the list…

    Let them first worry about the people and animals in their own homes and immediate communities. Charity starts at home.

    Either way, they ARE NOT WELCOME HERE IF THEY TELL US HOW TO BE YIDDEN-

    NOT TODAY, NOT TOMORROW, NOT EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • to frimet

    there’s a dog languishing in the back yard a couple of doors down, where are you guys now????

    did you go to prospect park when they gassed the birds there?

    would you like me to come to your home and tell you what to mAke for supper? how about if I bring the media with me too, when I pay you a visit? Once the media gets called in advance, I’ll have to suspect that this is a PR stunt…

    You claim you’ve got nothing against us personally, well, we’ve got nothing against you personally either, just your twisted approach, and failure to understand that YOU GUYS-WILL NOT TELL US TO NOT USE CHICKENS FOR KAPPOROS-

    If you value your time-use it more effectively, and where it might actually make a difference

    a git gebentched yuohr

  • PHILIP SCHEIN and wife are MOSSERIM

    OF THE FIRST DEGREE

    they have blood, pain, and countless suffering on their hands

    TO SEE A PIC OF HIM GO TO….
    http://www.forward.com/arti

    YOU SHOULD KNOW WHO HE IS if he shows up again at kapores this year

  • Glass house ...

    Peta killed over 23,000 dogs and cats ie 97% that were given to them because its cheeper than caring and trying to find a owner. See Petakillsanimals.com. They bring in $25 million a year! They support and pay to defend 2 terror organizations ELF and ALF whos members blow up medacal labratories and kill their personel. see activeistcash.com.

    PETA may to do some introspection.

  • JEWISH VEGAN

    I was at the demonstration- against the ritual of Koporas. ANd guess what? I am Frum- or Jewish or whatever you want to use/say- so please stop brain washing people with your comments regarding that “None of them were frum”. Because actually, there was many of us that are jewish and are just against the torture of animals. What would you do if they grabbed one of your children and swung them by their necks just because its an ancient ritual that was taught through generations? Would you agree with it or call it abuse, torture…etc?

    WE are not affiliated with PETA, so please stop trying to bring PETA into it. Also, many of us all over the country demonstrated against the killing of over 400 geese, and we also demonstrate against Fast Food chains(especially McDeath) DAILY. And the meat industry, in general. We demonstrate for ANIMAL rights, that means in numerous places.

    The big reason why I do not agree with many of you is that you are VERY close minded. I am proud to be jewish but I am not in any way religious as you do not want to see anything other than what you were taught, you have no belief outside of your Rabbi and or what you learned in Yeshiva. I stepped away from Yeshiva realizing I am my own person. At least today, I did meet many people who were willing to have a good- conversation regarding the issue. But now I am seeing that many of you that were at the protest were only there not to listen to use and maybe try to understand but only to return to this site and bad mouth us.

    We appreciated the good conversations. But again, we ask that you change your ritual from Chickens to Money. They ask you that, too.

    And guess what? Someone said that we eat meat, WE ARE VEGANS…do you understand what Veganism is? We do not eat or use ANY animal Products. That includes- not eating meat. Please- STEP OUTSIDE the box and learn some new things. And thank you, once again, for turning me off of my judaism.

  • AG

    in the name of Rabbi Avigdor Miller. Anyone who says that slaughtering a chicken is not moral is kofer b eker. (Does not believe in G-d)

  • To #94

    Dear 94 —

    So which one is it? You’re frum? Or not? (You say both conflicting statements in your posting.) But please read on.

    You can’t be both, and from the sound of it, you never had a good mashpiah to discuss your seeming-disillusionment yeshiva experiences with. I think that if you would find a mashpiah (such as, perhaps, Rabbi Dov Pinson, Rabbi Hecht in Park Slope, or many others: Rabbi Bankhalter, Rabbi Vigler in Flatbush, or Rabbi Manis Friedman are also very good candidates), you would be very surprised at the Torah’s answers.

    Much of what we do in our community is more thoroughly explained in kabbalah — the inner soul of the Torah. A good chassidus course would be a balm to your soul.

    Good luck in this new year! May you have the guts to do what I suggested above.

  • #94, please consider this

    You say we are “VERY close minded.”

    The day I see animal rights protesters — PETA or otherwise — in front of a Halal live chicken shop, or a Halal meat processing plant, or at a Haitian “santaria” (l’havdil) ritual, will be the day I see such protesters as open minded.

    So please take a look in the mirror and realize that you are not so open minded yourself.

    (And the term is not “close minded”; it’s “closed minded”!)

  • Self-righteous cowards

    I like the photo with the two demonstrators (ladies) pointing their fingers for emphasis: Cursed be those who say, “Aha, Aha”.

    Will we see them picketing in Williamsburgh or Boro Park? I don’t think so….

    Self-righteous cowards!

  • Veggie Burger

    A vegetarian with a big plate of greens could not help but stare at me when eating my burger. Finnaly, she said, “you.. You killed that cow!!.” I said, “No, YOU ate all its grass”

  • Anti peta

    To 94,

    Many of you are PRO PETA which is happy that Sholom Rubashkin will sit for 27 years, SHAME on YOU!!!

  • to the jewish vegan APIKORES

    First of all, YOU use the term YOU, YOUR, YOURS, YOUR RITUALS, etc. etc. in your comment.
    I can’t help but be reminded of a classic lesson from the pesach haggada – regarding the specific words used by the EVIL son – “what is this work for YOU?”…. “For ”you“ but not for him”…
    By your own admission, you have separated yourself from the Torah & it’s mitzvos. Nobody did this for you. If Hashem commanded the Jewish people – (US, NOT YOU) to shech’t animals and bring them upon the mizbeach as korbonos, and Hashem is the source of all mercy and kindness, then, who are you to say otherwise? I congratulate you on your most fitting description of yourself – “you stepped OUT and AWAY from ”the box“ of Judaism” EXACTLY! The TRUE meaning of an apikores! I couldn’t have said it better myself!!

  • frum former vegetarian

    to jewish vegan #94 – i used to be a vegetarian myself before i was frum – i certainly understand your angst.

    while i myself DO use chickens for kapores, i think the process could be done better, and the chickens could be handled better when bringing them to the site of kapores. so you definitely have a point there.

    that being said, you speak of US as being close-minded. i would like to open YOUR mind to chassidus, which discusses elevating the animal to a spiritual place it could never achieve on its own. when a jewish person makes a brocha on a piece of meat, or uses a chicken to shlug kapores, that animal reaches a spiritual place.

    also, i remind you, in the times of the beis hamikdash, people brought animal sacrifices to G-d, and this was divinely sanctioned. these are the nuts and bolts of judaism, and i assure you that you cannot be more kind and more merciful than G-d.

    so while i understand and relate to you, i ask YOU to please understand that there are many more cruel things abounding in the world, towards both animals and people. and i ask YOU to open your heart to what judaism is about, and not condescend to people who have different viewpoints than you. standing on eastern parkway and harassing pious jews is just attention-grabbing and childish.

  • JEWISH VEGAN

    I am Jewish. I just don’t participate in the same customs that many do. Again, we protest in many places, and not just yours for we believe in Animal rights, just as much as you believe in the Torah. We went there peacefully to ask that you exchange using money instead of using Chickens.

    Also, I meant to type “Closed Minded”, but as I was typing at about 2 AM in the morning, I might have made a few typo’s.

    I am happy the way I live without the killing of another animal.

    Good Luck to you all.

  • NJ

    #97, Funny you bring that up – there will be many of these same activists at a live poultry market next Sunday. We’ll be at many more events targeting animal cruelty (no matter who is committing it), so don’t be so quick to point your dissenters out as hypocrites. The people who perform this ritual have taken the abuse of these poor animals to another level, and that is why the community is getting all this attention.
    That being said, we appreciate that we were able to have many peaceful discussions.

  • @Jewish Vegan

    Jewish Vegan and Frimet, why would you come to a community that is not your’s and then proceed to insult the people of that community by insinuating you know better than they how they should practice their religion, one you are not a part of. Think…..who do you think you are? are you G-d? How would you like someone coming into your home and then telling you how you must live, and as for that statement regarding swinging children over the head..seriously? you would compare a child to a chicken? Take a look in your mirror YOU ARE WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD.

  • Not vegetarian

    I am not a vegetarian, nor am I against Kaporos.
    But I do have to say…the way they do it by Eastern Pkwy is atrocious and an ugly sight.

    They leave the chickens squashed inside tiny boxes, with no food…
    Its like a Chicken Holocaust in there.

    Some places handle the kaporos very well, they leave the chickens in a huge tent. Feed them, and then they shecht them inside this room, so that no blood and all gets all over the streets.

    Thats why I do my kaporos by Lubavitch Yeshiva Ocean Pkwy, or by JCNZ they handle it very well.

    It looks very barbaric in front of people who dont know what Kaporos is, maybe they should handle kaporos in a little neater way so the haters will stop complaining (cuz the majority of the haters EAT CHICKEN)

  • Yid from Staten Island

    If you do Kaporos with Kesef instead of a chicken, what will happen to you? Will you die? Is that the only way you can receive redemption? It’s a groisa shanda for the world to see Yidim on the news and in video’s on the internet laughing and handling the chickens so carelessly. As Jews, we are subject to enough criticism and predjudice without this yearly chicken sacrifice. Change is part of life, things don’t always have to stay the same, explore the alternatives.

  • An idealist on Brooklyn Ave.

    There was an article in a recent weekly Hamodia that presented that the hypothesis of being pro animal and being pro human as a see saw, when people are more pro animal they tend to be less pro human, hence the one person who said he was pro abortion. It was interesting read. The examples he used was the nazis y“s who cared so much about animals and we know just how little about certain members of the human population and a professor at princeton who is for equal rights for animals but is fine with killing of ”defective” infants apparently. His quotes could have been taken out of context but it made for disturbing reading. He also went into the argument of why animals are not equal to humans.

    I agree that kapporos could be better done but having a demonstration to try and get rid of it is not going to get the demonstrators anywhere. A more practical idea is if the kapparos sponsoring organizations to be accountable that the whole procedure is done in a way that ensures no tzaar baalei chaim. If everyone worked together from the people performing kapparos to the bocherim and shochtim working there certainly that would improve things.

  • EXCUSE ME?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!

    STUPID “JEWISH” VEGAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PEACEFULLY IS NOT SCREAMING! PEACEFULLY IS NOT SHOUTING “HAVE MERCY, USE MONEY, NOT CHICKENS!” LIKE DYING CATS!!!!!!!! PEACEFULLY IS NOT FIGHTING WITH EVERY PERSON YOU SEE!!!!!!!! AND I CAN GO ON AND ON ABOUT HOW *UN*PEACEFUL YOU WERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

  • JEWISH VEGAN

    Thank you Yid, you are one of the great people!

    To the person who stated that most of us EAT CHICKEN- we do not eat Chicken, especially if we are against the cruelty to this beautiful animal!

    Have any of you actually befriended a chicken? I have and they are very intelligent and loving.

    I love humans just as much as I love any animal. We all have a right to live without abuse. I understand that the media might make it seem as though animal rights activists are “terrorists” or that we do not love humans- but we do. We just do not like the practices that most engage in, and that’s abuse and treating other animals as though they are put into concentration camps. It’s the same thing, these animals live behind bars for most of their lives before they get sent to slaughter and or gassed- if they are sheltered cats/dogs. Please, we love all living beings and I even have love for all of you, as you too have the right to live on our planet.

  • Rosanne

    Hello,

    I was one of the protesters and I appreciate how a large number of the community listened and also explained their practice. Only a few person were disrespectful and made juvenile jokes. I am not against your religion. In fact, i was quite impressed that the young ones were so articulate about their beliefs. I believe in one God and I know that God doesn’t support the needless suffering or killing of any of his creation. I do hope you stop this practice. It is bad for the chicken and it reflects poorly on your community. Please stop.

    kindest regards

  • Life

    Life is Life. Your life is no more valuable than someone else. Respect all of Gods’ creation besides your own life.

  • Hilarious!

    Does anyone have any idea where I could find a video of the song they sang? it was probably amazing… These people are hilarious.

  • Shaya

    Tishrei 5, 5771
    Haaretz reports today that Rav Shlomo Aviner, a leading Torah authority and head of Jerusalem’s Ateret Yeshiva has come out against using chickens for Kapparos.

    Here is a link for the video (in Hebrew):

    http://www.theyeshivaworld….

    The Rabbi Explained “Because this is not a binding obligation but a custom, in light of problems related to kashrut and the suffering of animals, and given the edicts of the aforementioned rabbis, a recommendation must be made to favor performing kaparot through money, by performing the great mitzvah of providing for the needy,” Aviner wrote, citing religious decrees by rabbinical authorities from various periods throughout Jewish history.

    Here is the link for the article:

    http://www.haaretz.com/news… ainst-kaparot-1.313459

  • to 94

    ur confused- u cant pick and choose- cuz then you dont really have it- you either believe in G-d and His commandments or your lost.

  • Stan Cohen - Wesley Hills, NY

    These Jews who are demonstrating are among the reasons Moshiach has not come yet. The only people who possibly have any sort of sense to be doing this would be vegans and I would almost BET that there is not a vegetarian among them. With the exception of the passing of the bird over one’s head, there is NO difference in how they are treated either as a kapora or in a poultry plant – shechita is shechita and the chickens all get eatn just the same way. The bochur in the video hit the nail on the head … Hashem made man and he made chickens – each with their own purpose. Is there even such thing as wild chickens anymore?

  • levi

    what do these allegedly religious people think happened in the beis hamikdosh? A petting zoo?

    why dont they go declaim a bull fight which is actually cruel? Because they think we’re vulnerable to protest.

    We need to stamp this out. We need to have someone articulate send letters and meet with these groups and DEMAND that they abstain from interfering with our religious freedoms.

    Nuff said

  • levi

    you know what guys, theyre right. lets stop this 5 hundred year old religious practice right now because a couple of ignorant new yorkers woke up lonely one morning. how do we convene jewry and decide that were stopping?

  • levi

    Surprised no animals showed up to protest. Youd think theyd be a bit more appreciative of a good cause!

  • PETA NAZIS

    The Nazis were also known to be animal rights activists.
    If you use your MIDAS HARACHMONUS (Nature to have pity) on animals – you end up against humans.

  • vito

    Hitler was vegetarian. All you peta activists go to muslim countries to protest treatment of humans and animals!!!!!!!!

  • DMAI SHCHITA

    This Just reminds me the importance of DMAI SCHITA
    We need to support our shochtim and give them donations and the kapporis

  • A Kappooreh

    1) Please google Shlomo Aviner to find out more about his background. You will find that he has a reputation for doing things that are far worse than kapoores.

    2) If these whackjobs tried it in Williamsburgh, a few shtarkers would swing them like a kappooreh, a kappooreh, a kappooreh right over that fence on the bridge on Lee Avenue that goes over the BQE.

  • shwank

    mmmmm thanks yall i was trying to figure out what to eat for dinner i think ill have some chickenn!!

  • to #80....- thanx m. liczyc for tefilin

    if u looked at some pics u would see there was tefilin, and the guy was a karkafta. thanx mendel lipszyc!!!!!!!