Rosh Hashanah... the Jewish New year... will begin on September 18th of
this year and will last until September 20th. During Rosh Hashanah
people will sound the shofar each morning, light candles in the evenings,
enjoy festive meals with friends and family, and attend services at a
synagogue. Some people will also participate in the Jewish ritual of
atonement called kapores (also known as kapparot or kaporos) during this time. Kapores is a ritual in which a chicken or money is waved over a person's head
and the chicken is then slaughtered in accordance with halachic rules and
donated to charity. Kapores is a controversial practice and people often choose to wave money
instead of a chicken. Some choose not to do either. Erica
Silverman tells the story of kapores from an interesting perspective... from
the perspective of the chickens! The story is called When the Chickens Went on Strike: A Rosh Hashanah Tale and was first published in 2003.
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Author's Summary
One Rosh Hashanah, a boy overhears some chickens planning a strike.
They are sick of being used for Kapores, the New Year custom in which
people swing a live chicken over their heads, hoping to erase their bad
deeds. When all of the chickens run away, the women try to coax them
back with grain, the men try to get them back with force, and the rabbi
tries to negotiate. Finally, the boy pleads, "Without Kapores, I will
never be able to make my papa proud." A chicken responds, "Boychick, for
this, you need a chicken?" This amusing and telling story about wise
chickens and foolish villagers will be enjoyed by anyone who has ever
wanted to be a better person.
🍎 Author: Erica Silverman
🍎 Illustrator: Matthew Truman
🍎 Publisher:
Puffin
🍎 Date: *may
be out of print*
🍎 Pages:
32
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to read When the Chickens Went on Strike with a group of third-grade boys. I met them at their Jewish school in
Buffalo, NY. They told me they all celebrated Rosh Hashanah, but only half of
them participated in the act of kapores. Some waved money. Some waved
chickens.
The boys enjoyed listening to the
When the Chickens Went on Strike. They laughed at the funny
parts and became thoughtful when the main character spoke of wanting to be
a better person. We had a lengthy discussion about customs,
traditions, and how they change and they took delight in teaching me about
kapores and modeling how it's done. (No worries... no chickens were
used!) Afterward, they sat and worked independently on their reading
response papers below.
"My favorite part of the story is when the chickens attacked the
people. And that is why I liked the story. "
|
"Chickens: We are tired of being swung around and
around.
People: But we need you for our holiday!"
|
"The chickens wanted freedom. They did not like
kapores."
|
"The women ran away from the chicken and the men fast."
|
To download a FREE copy of this reader-response sheet, click on the image
above. Clicking on this image will take you to the
Teachers-Pay-Teachers third-party website. This is a
FREE download-- no purchase necessary.
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