Kapparot

Etching with Aquatint
22" x 30"
$200

In Kapparot, the viewer is witness to a fowl being swung over the head of one whose sins are symbolically transferred to the bird on the morning before Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. At the same time, Psalm 107:17-20 and a verse from The Book of Job (33:23-24) are recited. The fowl is then given to charity, although money is sometimes substituted. The custom began in gaonic times (during the 6th through 13th centuries) where it was primarily supported by those involved in kabbalistic practices.