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Week 31 - Shabbat - 1 July 2000

YOMA: CHAPTER 6 : MISHNA 5

At every booth they said to him, "Here is food and here is water"; and they accompanied him from booth to booth, except for the last of them, who did not go with him to the peak, but stood at a distance and watched what he was doing.

Kehati

At every booth they - the people manning the booth said to him - the person leading the goat, "Here is food and here is water" - Rambam writes: For if his strength would fail and he had to eat, he would eat"; a baraita quoted in the Gemara states: "Nobody ever needed this, but he who has bread in his basket cannot be compared to one who does not have bread in his basket";

And they accompanied him from booth to booth - for the distance between them was only one mil, i.e., 2000 cubits which is the Shabbat limit within which it is permitted to walk on Yom Kippur (see the preceding mishnah), except for - the person manning the last of them - the last booth, who did not go with him to the peak - because the distance from the last booth to the peak was two mils, but stood at a distance - he accompanied him for one mil, and stopped at the end of the Shabbat limit and watched what he was doing - at a distance. Tosefot Yom Tov explains that they did not make eleven booths, because if they had done so, this would not be called "a land which is cut off," (Lev. 16:22) for they would be permitted to go there from the booth on the same day.

YOMA: CHAPTER 6 : MISHNA 5

What did he do? He divided the thread of crimson, half of it he tied to the rock, and half of it he tied between its horns, and he pushed it backwards; and it went rolling down, and it was dashed to pieces before it reached half-way down the hill. He came and sat under the last booth until it became dark. And from when on does he render the garments unclean? From when he went outside the wall of Jerusalem. Rabbi Shimon says, from the time it was pushed into the precipice.

Kehati

What did he - the person leading the goat, do - when he arrived at the peak? He divided - into two parts, the thread of crimson - that the High Priest had tied between its horns (4:2, above), half of it he tied to the rock, and half of it he tied between its horns, and he pushed it backwards - with both hands. The Gemara explains that since the thread of crimson would turn white as a sign that atonement had been granted for Israel's sins, he would tie half of it to the rock, so that he could see it when it turned white, for if he had left all of it between the goat's horns, and the goat had bent its head down under his body, and he could not see whether it had turned white, he would have qualms. And why did he not tie the entire strip to the rock? Lest it turn white immediately, before pushing down the goat, and due to his joy at atonement having been granted for the sins, he would forget to push the goat, or he might deem the obligation fulfilled, and there was no need to push the goat, since the strip had already turned white. He therefore divided the thread into two, first tying half of it to the rock, for the reason mentioned above, that he could see it, and there would be no fear that it would turn white before completing the task; and afterwards he tied half of it between its horns, and being occupied with the goat he would push it from the mountain,

And it went rolling down - the steep slope of the mountain, and it was dashed to pieces before it reached half-way down the hill - because of the height of the mountain, or because of the crags jutting out from it. After he had pushed the goat, he came - back to the last booth, and sat under the last booth until it became dark - even though the person who went beyond the Shabbat limit did so with the permission of the Sages, he was only allowed to go 2000 cubits from his destination, but he was permitted to return a distance of two mils (4000 cubits) to the last booth, because of the danger of remaining in the wilderness until dark. The Bible states, "And he that lets go the goat for Azazel shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterwards he may come into the camp" (Lev. 16:26). Hence, the mishnah asks:

And from when on does he render the garments unclean? From when he went outside the wall of Jerusalem - on his way to the wilderness, for since the Torah states, "And he that lets go," this means from the time that he began to be the one that lets go, i.e., from the time that he went out beyond the city wall.

Rabbi Shimon says, from the time it was pushed into the precipice - for since it is written, "And he that lets go...for Azazel," Rabbi Shimon learns from this that the pushing and the throwing of the goat constitutes its "letting go," and therefore the person who leads the goat renders his garments unclean only from the time that he let it go for Azazel by pushing it from the top of the mountain. The halakhah does not follow Rabbi Shimon.

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