The Atonement Market?!

During the week of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), many Jews practice a ritual of waving a white rooster over their head while reciting, "This is my exchange, this is my substitute, this is my atonement. This chicken will go to its death while I will enter and proceed to a good long life, and peace." For a donation of $40, anyone is invited to participate in this event. The chicken is subsequently slaughtered and given to the poor as are the proceeds raised.

I had the opportunity of witnessing such a ceremony this week. The sign pictured above in Hebrew is translated The Atonement Market. In the days of Moses, Aaron, as priest, was to offer a young bull for his own sins and a ram for a burnt offering. He was then to take two goats, sacrificing one as a sin offering and sending the other off into the wilderness as a scapegoat for the sins of the people (see Leviticus 16). This was to be done yearly. Yom Kippur is to be observed as a sabbath day of rest when one is to deny oneself. This is often done by observing a complete fast, doing no work, and refraining from driving one's car. On this day, the children take to the streets with their bicycles where they can safely ride without fear.
As believers, we know that our priest, Jesus Christ, "entered once for all into the holy places, not by the means of the blood of goats and calves but by the means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption." Hebrews 9:12.




WARNING! ACTUAL CHICKENS HAVE BEEN HARMED IN THE PROCESS OF THESE EVENTS.