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Week 31 - Thursday - 29 June 2000

YOMA: CHAPTER 6 : MISHNA 1

The two he-goats of Yom Kippur are required to be equal in appearance, in height, and in value, and to be purchased at the same time. But even if they are not equal, they are valid. If one was purchased one day and the other on the following day, they are valid. If one of them died - if it died before the lot was cast, he purchases a pair for the second; and if it died after the lot was cast, he brings another pair and he casts the lots on them again, and he says, if the one for the Lord died, "This one, for which the lot 'For the Lord' has fallen shall stand in its stead"; and if the one for Azazel died, "This one, for which the lot 'For Azazel' has fallen shall stand in its stead." And the second shall graze until it acquires a blemish when it must be sold, and its value falls to the Temple fund, for the sin-offering of the Congregation is not left to die. Rabbi Yehudah says, It is left to die. And Rabbi Yehudah said further, If the blood was poured out, the Scapegoat is left to die; if the Scapegoat died, the blood shall be poured out.

Kehati

The two he-goats of Yom Kippur - one of which is for the Lord, and the other of which is for Azazel (see 3:9, 4:1, above), are required - in principle - to be equal in appearance - color, both white or both black, in height, and in value - both of them shall be worth the same amount, and to be purchased at the same time - The Gemara explains the reason for this law as follows. The Torah mentions three times "two goats" (1) "And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats (Lev. 16:5); (2) And he shall take the two goats (ibid., v. 7); (3) "And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats (ibid., v. 8); In all these verses it would have sufficed to write "goats" alone, since the minimum of "goats" is two (and it is written regarding them, one for the Lord, and one for Azazel). Since the word "two" is superfluous in each of the three verses, it is learned from them that they should be equal (1) in appearance, (2) in height, and (3) in value and should be purchased together (common to the last two conditions is the fact that neither is a physical feature of the goats - Tosefot Yom Tov).

But even if they - the goats, are not equal, they are valid - bedi'avad (after the fact), as it is written, "And Aaron shall offer the goat upon which the lot fell for the Lord...But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be set alive..." (Lev. 16:9-10); since the words "the goat...and the goat" are superfluous, it is learned from them that bedi'avad, any two goats are fit, even if they are not equal (Gemara, Rabbeinu Hananel). Similarly, If one was purchased one day and the other on the following day - i.e., on another day, they are valid - bedi'avad (after the fact), for the rule derived from the Torah text that they be of equal value and purchased together, applies in principle but is not indispensable.

If one of them - of the goats, died - if it died before the lot was cast, he purchases a pair for the second - another goat, to make a pair with the second, for their simultaneous purchase is not an indispensable requirement (see above); and if it - one of the goats, died after the lot was cast, he brings another pair - two other goats, and he casts the lots on them again, and he says - as follows, if the one - the goat which was - for Azazel died - he says as follows: "This one, for which the lot 'For Azazel' has fallen - in the new draw shall stand in its - the dead goat's, stead.

And the second - in the new pair, that is neither offered nor sent forth shall graze until it acquires a blemish when it must be sold, and its value falls to the Temple fund - it is deposited in the horn-shaped collection box in the Temple, whose money was earmarked for freewill burnt offerings which were offered when the Altar was not being used (see Shek. 6:5-6). The goat is not subject to the same rule as the sin-offering whose owner obtained atonement through another animal (in a case where a person set aside an animal for a sin-offering and it was lost, and he offered another in its stead, and the first animal was later found), when the found animal is left to die, i.e., they enclose it in a stall and withhold food from it until it dies of starvation, For the sin offering of the congregation is not left to die - the law of leaving the sin-offering to die applies only to the sin-offering of an individual. The goats of Yom Kippur, however, are public sin-offerings, as it is written regarding them, "And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats for a sin-offering" (Lev. 16:5), and public sin-offerings are not left to die, but graze until they acquire a blemish.

Rabbi Yehudah says, It - the public sin-offering in whose stead the public obtained atonement through another, also is left to die - as is the rule for private sin-offerings whose owners obtained atonement through another animal, i.e., according to Rabbi Yehudah, the public obtains atonement through the second pair, and the live goat remaining from the first pair shares the rule of the sin-offering that is left to die as the mishnah teaches below. And Rabbi Yehudah said further, If the blood - of the slaughtered goat, was poured out - before the High Priest completed all the sprinklings, or if the goat died before it could be slaughtered, the Scapegoat is left to die - for according to the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah, living animals are rejected permanently, and since it is necessary to slaughter another goat in order to sprinkle its blood, as taught in the preceding mishnah, and since it cannot be done without drawing lots, another pair must be brought and lots drawn, and the first Scapegoat is left to die; if the Scapegoat died - before the completion of the sprinklings from the blood of the slaughtered goat, the blood shall be poured out - and he brings another pair, draws lots, and fulfills the precept through them, as it is written, "But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be set alive before the Lord, to make atonement over him" (Lev. 16:10), from which the Sages learned: Until when must he be alive? Until the blood of its fellow has been sprinkled. If, however, it died before, there is no atonement by the blood at all, and the blood is poured away and another pair is brought. This law is held by all, for all agree that slaughtered animals are rejected permanently. Regarding live animals, however, the law does not follow the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah, but rather that of the First Tanna, i.e., that live animals are not rejected permanently.

YOMA: CHAPTER 6 : MISHNA 2

v He came to the Scapegoat, and laid his two hands on it and confessed. And thus he would say: "I pray, 'HaShem,' Your people the House of Israel have done wrong, they have transgressed, they have sinned before You. I pray, 'BaShem,' forgive the wrongs, and the transgressions, and the sins, that Your people the House of Israel have committed, and that they have transgressed, and that they have sinned before Your, as it is written in the Torah of Moses your servant, saying, 'For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord' [Lev. 16:30]." And the priests and the people who were standing in the Temple Inner Court, when they heard the fully pronounced Name come forth from the mouth of the High Priest, they knelt and bowed and fell on their faces, and said, "Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever."

Kehati

After the High Priest completed the sprinklings of the blood of the bullock and of the goat, he came to the place of the Scapegoat - opposite the Eastern Gate, through which they sent it away into the wilderness (see 4:2, above), and laid his two hands on it - between its horns, And confessed - for all Israel, as it is written, "And when he has made an end of atoning for the holy place, and the Tent of Meeting, and the Altar, he shall present the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins" (Lev. 16:20-21).

And thus he would say: "I pray, 'HaShem' Your people the House of Israel have done wrong, they have transgressed, they have sinned before You. I pray, 'BaShem' - the first time, during the confession, he would say, "I pray, O, the Name, (HaShem)," i.e., he would pronounce the four letters of the Tetragrammaton, and the second time, when asking for atonement, he would say, "I pray, by the Name," ('BaShem') i.e., he would pronounce the Tetragrammaton preceded by the letter bet (see also Tosefot Yom Tov, who cites opinions that in the two previous confessions he also said 'BaShem' the second time), Forgive the wrongs, and the transgressions, and the sins, that Your people the House of Israel have committed, and that they have transgressed, and that they have sinned before You - the order "they have done wrong, they have transgressed, they have sinned" follows the opinion of Rabbi Meir; the law, however, follows the opinion of the Sages, who hold that the order of the confession is as follows: "they have sinned, they have done wrong, they have transgressed," (which is the order in the version of the Yom Kippur service which we recite on Yom Kippur),

As it is written in the Torah of Moses your servant, saying, 'For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord" - here also he pronounced the Tetragrammaton, as it is written. Thus the High Priest pronounced the Tetragrammaton ten times on Yom Kippur (Tosefta, Yoma 2:2; Rambam): three times during each confession, for a total of nine times, and once more when he placed the lots on the goats, saying, "A hatat for the Lord" (see the explanation on 4:1, above). And the priests and the people who were standing in the Temple Inner Court, when they heard the fully pronounced Name come forth from the mouth of the High Priest, they knelt and bowed and fell on their faces and said, "Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever" - we learn from this that also in the two preceding confessions (3:8; 4:2, above), regarding which it was taught, "and they answer after him, 'Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever," that this refers to the priests and the people, who on hearing the fully-pronounced Name knelt and bowed (spreading out their arms and legs) and fell on their faces, and said, "Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever," as explained above. Thus also Rambam (Hil. Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim 2:7). This is the version of the liturgy describing the order of the Yom Kippur service, but the Tanna left the details until this confession, in which the Tetragrammaton was pronounced for the last time in the Yom Kippur service (Tosefot Yom Tov).

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