Yom Kippur begins Tuesday evening, October 11 and ends when the sun goes down Wednesday, October 12.It is commonly known as the Jewish Day of Atonement.  Although many non-Jewish people may not be able to define the intricacies of Yom Kippur, they have some familiarity with its practice and its importance.  On the other hand, many non-Jewish people have never heard of Kapparot. [Pronounced Kap-pah-rawt]  Residents of Brooklyn, New York, would be some of the exceptions.  A legal battle that has been raging for sometime was settled September 17 in the Manhattan Supreme Court.  Justice Debra James stated that there was not enough evidence to prove that the ritual was a public nuisance.

This controversy will give us the opportunity to see what the Bible has to say about our practices in the Christian church.  Are non-biblical practices something that we should defend as sacred?  We are to obey God rather than man, but does this apply to things that God has not designated as essential for the Christian?  How far do our 1^st Amendment rights extend?  By the end of the lesson the students should have a grasp on how to determine what is essential to please God and what is negotiable.