will go to its death, and I
will go on to a year good and
long."
Rabbi Finman said most
people remember this cus-
tom as something their
grandparents did 40 or 50
years r3- o. He added that ka-
paros is slowly regaining
no oularity.
alibi Chaim Bergstein
u une custom was usual-
done privately. But, be-
cause it is difficult to
arrange for an available
schochet, it's more common
to have the custom available
at a central location. Some
, I people are pretty nostalgic
about it, he said.
"But, there are people
=-,vho really feel a need and
look forward to doing it,"
said Rabbi Bergstein. "One
person told me he thought
he would die if he didn't do
it. Listen, we're asking God
if there's something we can
do to redeem ourselves. We
pray for life, we choose life.
"There's a certain spiritu-
al hierarchy that we cannot
deny," he continued. "Ani-
mals are meant to serve hu-
manity while man was
endowed with the spirit of
divinity. All of life is meant
to be sanctified by God. The
chicken used in the kaparos
is elevated to holiness be-
cause it is helping man in
this sense."
David and Myriam Ned-
erlander of Southfield were
anxious to participate.
"The first time I ever did
this, I found it very unusu-
al," said Mr. Nederlander.
"But I knew people had done
it for generations and there
is a holiness about it."
Mrs. Nederlander felt
Another participant, with children watching, recites the prayers.
good after performing the
custom. Like her husband,
she had been hesitant in ad-
vance.
For Joanne Zuroff, this
year was the second time
she "shlugged kaparos." She
"I love
tradition, a
I'm in favor
of doing
things the
way they
were
originally
done."
Joanne Zuroff
used to do kaparos with 18
cents in a handkerchief, but
last year decided to try the
more traditional route.
"I love tradition, and I'm
in favor of doing things the
way they were originally
done," she said. "I look at it
as another important aspect
of the Days of Awe." ❑
It seems as if in this case the chicken
is going over the prayers.