MK Lipman: Kaparos? Use flowers not chickens

MK Dov Lipman against using chickens as kaparos: Haredi MK to Yesh Atid in a column published on Ynet, in which he called to stop using chickens as part of the kaparos custom, on Yom Kippur eve.

"It's time to call out here, the land of Israel, to stop this nasty habit," wrote Lipman. "This call was heard in the past, by one of the Gedolei Hatorah. Rashba (Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet from Spain) demanded that the idolized practice as he called it may be completely prohibited in his city.

"The Ramban as well as Rabbi Kaduri also ruled against this pagan custom. So it is not surprising that the Shulchan Aruch, the Jewish law book called this practice 'nonsensical'.

"This call is not seeking to stop the habit of atonement - on the contrary! Practice of using coins and then secretion to charity is a very common practice, broad and documented for years."

On his Facebook page Lipman wrote: "It is time to do what is right. Use coins to charity. Use flowers. Cease to be part of this brutalization."

"David Hamelech taught us about God's compassion and mercy over all His creations. Now, in this special time of the Ten Days of Repentance let's ask God for mercy and blessings for the New Year and let's illustrate that we live under the laws of compassion."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!