605 - תרה מנהג כפרות בערב יום כיפור ובו ו' סעיפים

605 - The Custom of Kaparos on Erev Yom Kippur - 6 Subsections

1 The practice in these lands is to take on erev Yom Kippur a rooster as a kaparah for a male and a hen for a female.

And they say over it: "This is my exchange, this is my substitute, this is my atonement," etc. (the initial letters spell ChaTaCh) — this is the Name that apportions life to every living thing.

And he circles it around his head. And he says: "Bnei adam," etc. And they do so three times.

And they lean their hands upon it, similar to the leaning upon a sacrifice. And they slaughter it immediately. For slaughtering follows immediately upon the leaning.

And there are those who refrain from leaning their hands upon it, so that it should not appear like one who consecrates sacred offerings and slaughters them outside.

And there is no need to be concerned about this, since the rooster is something not fit for the altar.

But if he has no roosters and takes other living creatures for the kaparah — he should not take turtledoves and young pigeons — for they are fit for the altar, and if he leans his hands upon them, it will appear like one who consecrates sacred offerings and slaughters them outside.

2 And they choose white roosters, along the lines of what is said: "If your sins be as scarlet, they shall become white as snow."

In what case is this said? When the white ones are readily available before him — then he should choose them over others. But if they are not readily available before him — he should not specifically go searching after them. Because this is like the ways of the Emorites. For it was their way to search after white roosters to offer them to idolatry. And it is written: "And you shall not follow their statutes."

3 There are those who practice to exempt several males with one rooster and several females with one hen.

Therefore, they take for a pregnant woman only one rooster and one hen. For if the fetus is male — behold there is here one rooster. And if the fetus is female — one hen suffices for her and for her mother.

And there are those who practice to take a kaparah for each and every one separately. Therefore they take three for a pregnant woman — two females and one male.

4 And the practice is to give the kaparos to the poor. And it is better to redeem the kaparah with money and to distribute the money to the poor, so that the poor should not be embarrassed by being given the roosters that were taken for a kaparah.

5 And there are places where the practice is to go to the graves to increase charity there. And it is a proper custom. And the charity that they give there — it is the redemption of the kaparos. And therefore it is fitting to give according to the value of the kaparos that he has in his house.

And he should not say any supplication, only what was composed by the early ones, for we do not say tachanun on this day.

6 And they throw the innards and the liver and the kidneys of the kaparos onto the roofs or in the courtyard, a place from which the birds can take them. Because it is fitting to have mercy on the creatures on this day, so that they should have mercy upon us from Heaven.