The process of Kaparot sweetens and cleanses judgments from us.

The Kaparot process can be done anytime between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur before the fast begins. Read a detailed explanation in the attached PDF.

In the writing of the Ari, Rabbi Chaim Vital describes how his teacher, the Holy Ari, was doing the Kaparot with chicken before Yom Kippur.

Many people follow this process. I myself decided to do the Kaparot with money because of two main reasons. I do not know a trusted Shochet that will do the meditation of the Ari. The one that does it in the morning slaughtering may have hundreds of chickens and may not check his knife frequently enough for flaws in the blade that would make the slaughter non-Kosher. It may bring judgments on the chicken’s soul and make it non-kosher. Whoever eats the chicken later may eat non-kosher meat and that affects the soul negatively. The improper slaughtering turns the act to have the aspect of cruelty to animals and the outcome of the Kaparot may not be as intended or desired.

Bottom line is that if you are not sure about the Kosher slaughtering then it’s better to do the Kaparot with money as described below.

The process of Kaparot with money is done in a similar way, replacing the live chicken with money. Any amount you can afford is okay even a few coins per person. Use $10 or more per person but any amount is okay with the proper consciousness and meditation provided below.
We learned that the name of a person represents his soul. There is a custom to multiply the number of letters in the name by an amount (any amount according to their ability). With this method, they connect each letter of their name to Tzedakah and energy of life.

The Kaparot process is done any time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

You may give the Tzedaka of Kaparot before Sukkot to poor people that you know or submit online to the Daily Zohar as a channel of light/life:


Download (PDF, 134KB)