One of the most perplexing features of the service of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur are the two goats. One is sacrificed to Hashem in the Mikdash. The second is sent out into the desert and cast off a cliff. The goat sacrificed to Hashem in the Mikdash is understandable, but why do we have to send a second goat as an offering to Azazel? What exactly is Azazel?
The Ibn Ezra (Vayikra 16:8) cryptically says, “I will reveal to you secret of the word Azazel in a hint – when you are thirty-three, you will know it!”
The Ramban, quoting the Ibn Ezra says, “I will be the ‘tattle tale’ and reveal the secret.” The Ramban says that this second goat is a “bribe” to the satan.
To understand what is going on here we need to backtrack a little. In the first five pesukim, the parsha tells us that the Kohen Gadol has to bring three sacrifices on Yom Kippur. The first is an ox as a chatat (sin) offering. The second is a ram as an olah (burnt) offering. The third has to be taken, not directly by the Kohen Gadol, but the Kohen Gadol must take two goats from Am Yisrael – also as a chatat.
Chazal tell us that these three different offerings refer to the three avot. The ox refers to Avraham, as it says (Bereishit 18:7), Avraham prepared three portions of calf (ox) tongue in mustard for the angels. The ram refers to Yitzchak, as it says (Bereishit 22:13), the ram was the korban in place of Yitzchak. The two goats refer to Yaakov, when Rivka told her son Yaakov to dress up as Eisav and get the blessing from Yitzchak (Bereishit 27:9) she prepared two goats.
From this we see that the origin of the ceremony of the two goats on Yom Kippur originated with Yaakov and this episode of the “stealing” of the blessing from Yitzchak.
The Ramban says that the word “se’ir” (goat) is also reminiscent of Eisav, who Yaakov describes as “sa’ir,” (hairy) and the two goats represent Yaakov (for Hashem) and Eisav (for Azazel). The Ramban, quoting the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 65, 10), says that the goat for Azazel is a bribe to Eisav, a representative of the satan.
The ceremony of the two goats on Yom Kippur is a replay of the episode of Yaakov getting dressed up as Eisav and “stealing” the blessings.
Why was it necessary for Yaakov to play charades? Why couldn’t he have simply said to Yitzchak, “I know you sent Eisav to hunt and intend to give him the blessing, but Rivka has seen in a prophecy that the blessing should be given to me – Yaakov!” Why not tell the truth? Why the whole masquerade?
It was critical that Yitzchak’s blessing be given to Yaakov “disguised as Eisav” and not simply to plain Yaakov “as himself.”
When Yaakov approached Yitzchak, the pasuk (Bereishit 27:27) says, “Yitzchak approached (Yaakov) and kissed him and smelled the smell of his clothes (“begadav”) and blessed him.” The Yalkut Shimoni on that pasuk says, “Don’t read it as ‘begadav’ (clothes) but ‘bogdav’ (traitors),” and continues to tell the stories of Yosef Meshita and Yakum Ish Tzrorot (Bereishit Rabbah 65:22), two Jewish traitors in the time of the Hellenistic Greek exile, who in the end did teshuva and died al kiddush Hashem.
When Yitzchak blessed Yaakov, dressed as Eisav, he smelled his clothes and they were like the smell of Gan Eden. Yitzchak foresaw that later in history there are going to be some Jews who rebel against Hashem – traitors! And despite that, Yitzchak blesses Yaakov.
It was vital that Yaakov receive the blessing in that way. If Yaakov would have entered Yitzchak’s tent as Yaakov, with no pretenses, then Yitzchak’s blessing would have been only for Yaakov and his descendants who behaved like Yaakov, who were loyal to Hashem and the Torah. However, since Yaakov received the blessing dressed up in Eisav’s clothing, the blessing applied both to Yaakov’s descendants who were like Yaakov, but also to those who from the outside looked like Eisav. It applied to all future Jews who from the outside looked like sinners, but inside, their true essence was still Yaakov. All it needed was a trigger to bring out the dormant spark, like Yosef Meshita and Yakum Ish Tzrorot.
The Ibn Ezra gives a cryptic hint. If you want to understand the essence of the goat for Azazel, the secret is the number 33. The Ramban says, “I’ll tell you the secret.” If you skip 33 verses forward (from Vayikra 16:8), you get to the pasuk (Vayikra 17:7) discussing the prohibition of bringing a korban (goats) anywhere outside of the Mikdash. To which goats is this pasuk referring? Those goats that Am Yisrael used to serve idols!
In Yitzchak and Rivka’s home there were two “goats.” Yaakov was one, pure in and out. Eisav was the second. On the outside, Eisav looked like a tzaddik, but inside he was rotten. There were two charades taking place here. One was a once-off occurrence – Yaakov dressing up as Eisav. The second charade was an ongoing thing, a daily repetition, year after year – Eisav “dressing up” as Yaakov, pretending to be a tzaddik, while deep inside he was totally evil.
The goat for Azazel/Eisav is a “bribe” to silence the satan. It is a charade! The goat selected for Azazel sees the other goat selected for Hashem being offered as a korban in the azara, and breathes a sigh of relief. “Whew, that was close. Look at my poor brother and look at me! He is dead and I have just been given a first-class ticket for a vacation – all expenses paid, touring all over the country, taking in the sights, eating gourmet food along the way. This is the life!” Meanwhile, the Kohen Gadol is atoning for Am Yisrael, while the satan is distracted by the charade, admiring the view, munching on caviar and getting an even suntan. At the last minute, just as he thinks that the vacation will last forever, he is flung off a cliff. By then, it is too late.
Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: How did the Kohen Gadol select which goat was for Hashem and which one was for Azazel?
Answer to Last Week’s Trivia Question: What was the “strange fire” that caused the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon? Chazal give up to 15 opinions what Nadav and Avihu’s sin was. Meir Panim (chap 15, pg.174) says that they did not sin at all – they offered their lives al kiddush Hashem to atone for the sin of Adam and Chava who brought the “strange fire” by eating from the Tree of Knowledge.
