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The Kaparot ritual, while not biblically mandated itself, is widely understood to be
a symbolic continuation and adaptation of the biblical scapegoat ritual from Yom Kippur. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, animal sacrifices could no longer be offered, so later rabbinic practices developed to fill the symbolic void.
Parallels between the rituals
Feature
Biblical Scapegoat Ritual (Temple Era) Kaparot Ritual (Post-Temple)
Occasion Performed on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) as part of the Temple service. Performed on the eve of Yom Kippur.
Animal used Two goats were selected, with one designated as the scapegoat to be sent into the wilderness for Azazel. A rooster for a male and a hen for a female is traditionally used, though money is now common.
Transfer of sins The High Priest would lay his hands on the goat's head and confess the sins of the nation, symbolically transferring them to the animal. A person swings the chicken (or money) over their head while reciting a prayer that symbolically transfers their sins.
Symbolic removal of sins The goat was led out into the wilderness to be completely removed from the community. The sins were physically carried away. The slaughtered chicken is given to the poor for a meal, a final act of charity to signify atonement. When using money, the cash is given to charity.
Purpose To achieve atonement (kapparah) for the nation's sins and to cleanse the Sanctuary. The prayer recited during the ritual asks God to transfer any harsh decrees from the individual to the animal, so the person may have a good year.
Rabbinic debate While commanded in the Torah, the scapegoat ritual's exact meaning was debated by later commentators. The Kaparot ritual has been controversial since its inception, with some rabbis opposing it as a pagan superstition.
The shift from biblical law to custom
The most significant difference is that the scapegoat ritual was an explicit biblical commandment for the Day of Atonement, while Kaparot developed later as a custom.
After the Temple was destroyed, there was no longer a central institution for sacrifice and atonement. Rabbis adapted religious life for the Jewish diaspora, emphasizing prayer, repentance, and charity over animal sacrifice.
Some scholars note that the use of a chicken may be based on a linguistic connection: the Hebrew word for "rooster," gever, is also a term for "man". This made it a suitable symbolic substitute for a person.
The ritual's shift from a collective act involving the High Priest to an individual custom reflects the evolution of Jewish worship after the loss of the Temple. The symbolic framework of atonement through an animal surrogate was retained, but repurposed for the individual.
Core parallels: Atonement, purification, and substitution
The Kaparot, biblical scapegoat, and parah adumah rituals all share core themes of atonement (
), purification (
), and symbolic substitution. All three use an animal to address the consequences of sin or ritual impurity. However, they differ in their specific applications, methods, and theological understandings.
Comparison of the three rituals
Aspect
Kaparot (Rabbinic Custom) Biblical Scapegoat (Temple Era) Parah Adumah (Biblical Commandment)
Primary purpose Atonement for individual sins. The ritual, performed on the eve of Yom Kippur, is a symbolic transfer of a person's sins and a plea for a good year. It is considered a custom, not a biblical commandment. Atonement for the nation's sins. On Yom Kippur, one goat was sacrificed to God for atonement, and the other (the scapegoat) was sent into the wilderness to carry the sins away. Purification from contact with death. The ashes of the red heifer were used to create a "purification water" to ritually cleanse a person who had come into contact with a corpse.
Symbolic removal Sins are symbolically transferred from the individual to a chicken (or money) by swinging it over the head. The High Priest would lay his hands on the goat's head and confess the sins of Israel over it, which the goat then physically carried into the wilderness. The ashes of the red heifer, which represent the ultimate negation of death's impurity, were mixed with water and sprinkled on the impure person.
Outcome The chicken is slaughtered and given to the poor as a form of charity, which is considered a powerful act of atonement. Using money directly fulfills this act of charity. The scapegoat's purpose was for the sins to be completely removed from the community and carried to an "uninhabited region". The purification process cleansed the impure person, allowing them to re-enter the Temple. Paradoxically, the person who performed the ritual became impure.
Paradoxical element Though its purpose is atonement, Kaparot is a custom with roots that troubled some prominent rabbis. It is not part of the required process of repentance. The two goats were identical in appearance but had opposite fates. One was offered to God as a sin offering, while the other was sent to Azazel, a desert demon. The ritual purifies the person contaminated by death, but the priest who carries out the purification is made ritually impure. This was considered a chok, a divine law beyond human reason.
The evolution of symbolic meaning
The Scapegoat: This was a direct, biblically commanded ritual with two distinct functions: atonement through sacrifice and purification through removal. It was a national, rather than individual, rite.
Parah Adumah: This was a unique, biblically mandated rite of purification specifically for death-impurity. It had no connection to atonement for individual sins, but rather to ritual cleanliness related to the Temple.
Kaparot: This later rabbinic custom, developed after the destruction of the Temple, adapts the core idea of an animal surrogate carrying away sins. It moves the focus from a communal Temple rite to an individual and private custom performed before the Day of Atonement. Its status as a custom makes it distinct from the other two, which were explicit biblical commandments.
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