Just a typical day.

This is the kind of thing you’d expect in Israel I suppose, but with my in-laws, who knows what might pop up down under…

Today while visiting my brother-in-law’s farm (yes, farm), my nephew started towards one of the roosters and was attacked. My father-in-law ran over, grabbed my nephew, and kicked – booted – the rooster across the pen. The flightless bird flew like a football.

Then it was decided that the rooster had to go; it was the third time it had attacked someone and apparently, when a rooster gets too aggressive, you tell the kiddies it’s going to Hashem and say good night.

So it was to be shechted.

We brought the rooster home, in the back of the van. A few hours later, the shochet arrived. The last time I saw an animal get shechted was on a grade school trip (yes, there was a last time!).

I think watching rituals in Judaism is really important. Practicing is understanding. Talmud class was stimulating for about 5 minutes, but putting a sukkah up or, well, watching a rooster be shechted, makes it a whole lot more meaningful.

So, no, I wasn’t grossed out.

But in the end, the rooster wasn’t kosher because the chicken swallowed air and the shochet missed the sweet spot.

In the words of my father-in-law: “Well, I’m not trusting this guy with the ducks.”