Yipes It's Yom Kippur

The Days of Awe are drawing to their climactic conclusion, and signs of the impending Day of Judgment may be seen all over the country.

In the days before Yom Kippur, thousands of Torah observant Israelis rush to finish the ritual of kapparot, where human sins are symbolically transferred to a fowl—generally a chicken. It's a custom that does not appear anywhere in the Talmud, but whose origin seems to come courtesy of several 9th century rabbis.

In a parking lot near Jerusalem's Machane Yehuda market, dozens of live chickens are whirled above the heads of men, women and children, while a pronouncement is made declaring: "This is my substitute, my vicarious offering, my atonement. This chicken will meet its fate while I will proceed to a good, long life of peace." (See kapparot photos from Machane Yehuda on Flickr) The chickens are then donated to the needy or redeemed with money that goes to the poor. Meantime, members of the Anonymous Animal Rights Group protest the practice of kapparot as cruelty to animals.

Meanwhile, curious secular Israelis by the hundreds take part in pre-dawn Selichot tours, where they look in on dozens of congregations where the faithful are immersed in penitential prayers chanted to ancient melodies.

In the streets later in the day, men hurry along with towels to the nearest mikveh (ritual bath). Many have already started building their sukkot (booths) in readiness for Sukkot, the one-week festival that starts the week after Yom Kippur. Structures of all kinds have sprung up on balconies, street corners and in front of cafes.