For hundreds of years the ritual has marked the most holy ten days of the Jewish calendar, but this year there have been demonstrations against what some regard as a cruel and barbaric act.

details of what happens to the chicken

he wakes up in the morning and is placed in a cage, and in the worst conditions brought to the centre of town, without air conditioning of any kind, is placed in the heat, in the sun for many, many hours. Many of them die just of the heat.

And then she's picked up by her feet and swung above somebody's head, and then her throat is slashed, but not all the way, so she can run in the dust and the blood is pouring, and pouring till she dies.

Why?

A.     A symbolic way of cleansing oneself of sin.

Name:  Kapparot

For many years it was accepted as something halachic, meaning that it comes out of Jewish law. But it's now very clear that it has nothing to do with, not with the Bible, not with the Talmud, it's not mentioned anywhere.

It's a folk habit that I wouldn't be surprised we picked up from some of the neighbours. It doesn't evolve out of Judaism, it's very popular

There's something very enticing about seeing how your sin is moved from you right now to that animal, and you can say this cock shall meet death, but I will have a long life of peace

I'm disappointed that this is still popular, and I'm delighted that there are now voices out loud of Rabbis criticising it.

See full dialogue at LINK

LINK


That's some hardcore primitive cult behaviours and beliefs right there, eh?

What Is Kaparot?

Since late Talmudic times, it has been a widespread Jewish custom to perform kaparot in preparation for Yom Kippur.

Kaparot (also spelled kapparot or kaporos) literally means “atonements,” just as Yom Kippur means “the Day of Atonement.”

Kaparot consists of carefully (see instructions below) passing a chicken over one’s head three times while reciting the appropriate text.

The chicken is then slaughtered in a humane fashion (has its throat half-slit) in accordance with the laws of kashrut.

The chicken itself is discreetly donated to a charitable cause, such as a yeshiva or orphanage, where it is eaten just as any other chicken. Alternatively, the chicken is sold and its value donated.1

We ask of G‑d that if we were destined to be the recipients of harsh decrees in the new year, may they be transferred to this chicken in the merit of this mitzvah of charity.

A male takes a rooster; a female uses a hen. Ideally every individual should use their own chicken.

If, however, this is cost prohibitive, one fowl can be used for several individuals. So an entire family can do kaparot with two chickens—one rooster for all the males and one hen for all the females. In this event, they should do the kaparot together, not one after the other, for one cannot do kaparot on the same chicken twice.

A pregnant woman should perform kaparot with three chickens—two hens and a rooster. One hen for herself, and the other hen and rooster for the unborn child (if the gender is undetermined). If this is too expensive, one hen and one rooster will suffice (and if the fetus is female, she shares the hen with her mother).

f a chicken is unavailable, one may use any kosher fowl other than doves or pigeons which were offered as sacrifices in the Holy Temple. Some use a live kosher fish; others perform the entire rite with money, and then give the money—at least the value of a chicken—to charity.

Hold the chicken from below with both hands. If you are not adept at holding a chicken, best to ask someone else to do this. Improperly holding the chicken may be painful to the chicken, and may also render it no longer kosher by causing it serious harm.

Say the first paragraph (“Children of man who sit in darkness…”).
When reciting the beginning of the second paragraph, pass the chicken over your head in circular motions three times—once when saying, “This is my exchange,” again when saying “This is my substitute,” and again when saying, “This is my expiation.”

Repeat the entire process another two times. (Passing the chicken over your head a total of nine times.)

Bring the chicken to the shochet (kosher slaughterer), who slaughters the bird.

Here’s your chance to fulfill a relatively rare biblical mitzvah—that of covering the blood of a slaughtered bird. Take a handful of earth (usually made available in the area) and recite the following blessing before covering the blood:
(Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning covering the blood with earth.).

Even the smallest of children are traditionally brought to kaparot, and one of the parents passes the chicken over the child's head, while saying, “This is your exchange, this is your substitute, this is your expiation…”

Origin of Kaparot

The custom of performing kaparot with a chicken dates back to late Talmudic times. The earliest extant record specifically discussing the use of a chicken is a responsum from Rav Sheshna Gaon who lived in the early Geonic (post-Talmudic) period (approx. 660 C.E.). Rav Sheshna takes it for granted that his reader knows about the custom, a clear indication that it was widespread at the time.2 Some commentaries point to passages in the Talmud itself that allude to this custom.3

so clear contradiction of the claim in the above post:
' It's a folk habit that I wouldn't be surprised we picked up from some of the neighbours. It doesn't evolve out of Judaism, it's very popular '


and " as Rabbi Moshe Isserles notes,6 the custom of kaparot with a chicken is in fact an ancient time-hallowed Jewish tradition

who can we trust, eh?

Several reasons have been suggested for the choice of a chicken to perform the kaparot rite:

1.In Aramaic, a rooster is known as a gever. In Hebrew, a gever is a man. Thus we take a gever to atone for a gever.


Then there's more.  Something about throwing the chicken guts up onto the roof, for instance


Good to learn about various religions and their rituals, isn't it.   Very interesting


LINK