Kapparos כפרות שלאגן

Kapparos is an atonement custom practiced on the eve of Yom Kippur; the word comes from the root k-p-r, "to cover".

On the afternoon before Yom Kippur one prepares an item to be given to the poor for the pre-fast meal, recites Psalms 107:17–20 and Job 33:23–24, and circles the charity over one's head three times with a short prayer. In one variant money is used; in another a rooster, which is then slaughtered according to halacha and given to charity.