Albany, NY – The Court of Appeals of the State of New York today rejected demands by animal rights groups seeking to prevent Orthodox Jewish communities in New York City from participating in a millennia-old religious ritual known as Kaporos.
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First Liberty Institute and the law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case on behalf of Agudath Israel of America to defend the right of Orthodox Jews to practice Kaporos.
“We’re grateful that New York’s highest court rejected this effort to force government officials to ban a thousand-year-old religious tradition,” said Roger Byron, Senior Counsel to First Liberty. “The First Amendment protects the peaceful religious practices of all faiths. This is a victory for all Americans who value our constitutional freedoms.”
Kaporos is a sacred religious ceremony performed by Orthodox Jewish congregations, where the atonement of sins is contemplated through prayer and the kosher and humane killing of a chicken. The ceremony takes place during the holiest days of the Jewish calendar.
“Today’s decision is a tremendous victory for our clients and the Orthodox Jewish community in New York,” said Jason Levine, the Vinson & Elkins partner who led his firm’s work on the brief.
yay the Jew hating leftists fail again
A good decision, and one that comes from the deep legal and cultural traditions of religious tolerance in this country…not out of any affinity for Yiddishkeit. We need to remember that when the religious practice under consideration is of another religion, and maybe even one we might find offensive.
How utterly ridiculous to state that the chicken is slaughtered humanely. By the time the chicken is killed it is barely alive having suffered through the ritual. Do practitioners truly believe they can transfer their sins to a chicken they have tortured. Where is the respect for one if Hashem’s living beings. Anyone who participates in this custom should ask for forgiveness for this heinous act.
Just make sure not to use styrofoam com Jan 1 2019.
The whole Idea of this Kaporos is Minhag Emorei. There is nowhere in Judaism where you can transfer your sins. The korbonos were not like that – it was an offering. We picked up this baggage from the Christians in the superstitious Shtetels . What is even sillier, is to transfer it to money. I think we should transfer it to your garbage can – doesn’t that make more sense? Its similar to the Breslover’s-do what you want and show up in Uman and you are free and clear of you sins. The only thing that cleanses your sins is t’shuva…..not doing some quick flip.
In Australia the chickens are placed in a cardboard box and then swung. Chickens shouldn’t be held by the wings.
where do chilul hashem , non sanitary conditions and the horrific stench come in?
In case you guys don’t pick up the pieces there is on fraudstaer who goes by qazxc, Cixelsyd_Wnosanoy, shimonyehuda, &Franklin;
Don’t get fooled guys. Iys not a coincidence. This time tricky yoni’s name is all over. We should get VIN to put an end to their tricks. But guys don’t fall for his lies and cons