KAPAROT JEWISH CEREMONY PERFORMED A DAY BEFORE YOM KIPPUR

A slaughterer checks if his razor is sharp to prevent unnecessary suffering to the chicken before the Jewish ceremony \"Kaparot\" is performed by an Orthodox Jewish Man in Ashkelon market, Israel on October 1 2006. This ritual is performed in the days leading up to Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement - the holiest day in the Jewish year on October 1. Religious Jews swing a white chicken over their heads to transfer their sins to the chicken. The slaughtered chickens are then donated to the poor. Photo by Rafael Ben Ari / Chameleons Eye.