Kaparot: Literally “atonements,” this ritual is first mentioned as a custom in the ninth century. Opposed by some authorities, it was endorsed by others, especially Jewish mystics. Traditionally a chicken was used, so that the rite could not be confused with a sacrificial act (chickens were not offered in the Temple). The symbolic transfer of sins recalls the rite of the goat on which the High Priest confessed the sins of Israel on Yom Kippur (Leviticus, chapter 16). Maimonides explains that though sins cannot be transferred, the rite had a powerful psychological effect, signaling the act of distancing ourselves from past wrongs. Many have the custom of donating money to charity instead.