When a New York Times piece is titled “A Raw Deal for Chickens As Jews Atone for Sins” the thought that comes reflexively to mind is “Okay get ready here it comes….” And given the record of the “paper of record” on coverage of the Orthodox Jewish community such a thought is not without basis.
But fast-forward to the final two paragraphs of the story which appeared shortly before Yom Kippur and that headline appears in a very different light:
Many people purposely leave their chickens with the store knowing that they will be given to people in need or to organizations that could use them.
So maybe not a good week to be a chicken getting stuck with human failings. But not so bad for hungry people without money in their pockets. Just inside the door to the store a shopping cart was filled to the brim with plastic-wrapped chicken parts. The stickers listed the price: Free.
