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Perush on Azazel

(ג) מסרו למי שהיה מוליכו. הכל כשרין להוליכו. אלא שעשו הכהנים גדולים קבע ולא היו מניחין את ישראל להוליכו. אמר רבי יוסי מעשה והוליכו ערסלא. וישראל היה:

(3) They turned over [the goat sent to Azazel] to the person leading it [out to the wilderness]. Anyone could lead the goat out; however, the leading priests fixed a procedure and would not allow a Yisrael to lead it out. Rabbi Yose says, It once happened that Arsala led it out and he was a Yisrael.

(ד) וכבש עשו לו מפני הבבליים. שהיו מתלשים בשערו ואומרים לו טול וצא טול וצא.

מיקירי ירושלם היו מלוין אותו עד סוכה הראשונה. עשר סוכות מירושלם ועד צוק.

(4) They made a special ramp for him because of the Babylonians who used to pull at his hair, and say to him, Take [our sins] and go, take [our sins] and go.

The leading citizens of Jerusalem would accompany him to the first booth. There were ten booths from Jerusalem to Tzuk.

(ה) על כל סוכה וסוכה אומרים לו הרי מזון והרי מים ומלוין אותו מסוכה לסוכה. חוץ מאחרונה שבהן. שאינו מגיע עמו לצוק אלא עומד מרחוק ורואה את מעשיו:

(5) At every booth, they would say to him, Here is food and water. And they would accompany him from one booth to the next, except for the last one, since the escort would not go with him all the way to the cliff, but rather, he would watch his actions from a distance.

(ד) וכבש כמין מעלה עשו, שהוא גבוה ויוצא דרך הכבש חוץ לעזרה וחוץ לעיר כדי שלא יוכלו הבבליים ליגע במשלח. לפי שהיו רגילין לתלשו בשערו ואומרים לו טול מהר וצא ואל תשהא עונותינו אצלנו עוד:

K'veesh: How was it constructed? It was high up and went on the paved path, outside of the temple courtyar and outside of the city so that the Bavli could not reach the messenger because they would normally pull the [goat's] hair and say to him: Go quickly and take [our sins]...

(ה) הרי מזון והרי מים לא היו אומרים לו כך אלא כדי שייטב לבו, שמי שיש לו פת בסלו אינו רעב כמי שאין לו פת בסלו, אבל מעולם לא הוצרך אדם לכך:

Here, have some food and have some water-- They would only say this to make their hearts feel better, for he who has a basket of bread with him is not hungry, whereas someone who does not have a basket of bread with him [is hungry]...

טָרַף בַּקַּלְפִּי וְהֶעֱלָה שְׁנֵי גוֹרָלוֹת. אֶחָד כָּתוּב עָלָיו לַשֵּׁם וְאֶחָד כָּתוּב עָלָיו לַעֲזָאזֵל. הַסְּגָן בִּימִינוֹ וְרֹאשׁ בֵּית אָב מִשְּׂמֹאלוֹ. אִם שֶׁל שֵׁם עָלָה בִימִינוֹ, הַסְּגָן אוֹמֵר לוֹ, אִישִׁי כֹהֵן גָּדוֹל, הַגְבֵּהַּ יְמִינֶךָ. וְאִם שֶׁל שֵׁם עָלָה בִשְׂמֹאלוֹ, רֹאשׁ בֵּית אָב אוֹמֵר לוֹ, אִישִׁי כֹהֵן גָּדוֹל, הַגְּבֵּהַּ שְׂמֹאלֶךָ. נְתָנוֹ עַל שְׁנֵי הַשְּׂעִירִים וְאוֹמֵר, לַיְיָ חַטָּאת. רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר, לֹא הָיָה צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר חַטָּאת, אֶלָּא לַיְיָ. וְהֵן עוֹנִין אַחֲרָיו, בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד:
The High Priest would mix the lots in the lottery receptacle used to hold them and draw the two lots from it, one in each hand. Upon one was written: For God. And upon the other one was written: For Azazel. The deputy High Priest would stand to the High Priest’s right, and the head of the patrilineal family would stand to his left. If the lot for the name of God came up in his right hand, the Deputy would say to him: My master, High Priest, raise your right hand so that all can see with which hand the lot for God was selected. And if the lot for the name of God came up in his left hand, the head of the patrilineal family would say to him: My master, High Priest, raise your left hand. Then he would place the two lots upon the two goats, the lot that arose in his right hand on the goat standing to his right side and the lot in his left hand on the goat to his left. And upon placing the lot for God upon the appropriate goat, he would say: For God, as a sin-offering. Rabbi Yishmael says: He need not say: As a sin-offering. Rather, it is sufficient to say: For God. And upon saying the name of God, the priests and the people respond after him: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time.
קָשַׁר לָשׁוֹן שֶׁל זְהוֹרִית בְּרֹאשׁ שָׂעִיר הַמִּשְׁתַּלֵּחַ וְהֶעֱמִידוֹ כְנֶגֶד בֵּית שִׁלּוּחוֹ, וְלַנִּשְׁחָט כְּנֶגֶד בֵּית שְׁחִיטָתוֹ. בָּא לוֹ אֵצֶל פָּרוֹ שְׁנִיָּה, וְסוֹמֵךְ שְׁתֵּי יָדָיו עָלָיו וּמִתְוַדֶּה. וְכָךְ הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אָנָּא הַשֵּׁם, עָוִיתִי פָּשַׁעְתִּי חָטָאתִי לְפָנֶיךָ אֲנִי וּבֵיתִי וּבְנֵי אַהֲרֹן עַם קְדוֹשֶׁיךָ. אָנָּא הַשֵּׁם, כַּפֶּר נָא לָעֲוֹנוֹת וְלַפְּשָׁעִים וְלַחֲטָאִים, שֶׁעָוִיתִי וְשֶׁפָּשַׁעְתִּי וְשֶׁחָטָאתִי לְפָנֶיךָ אֲנִי וּבֵיתִי וּבְנֵי אַהֲרֹן עַם קְדוֹשֶׁךָ, כַּכָּתוּב בְּתוֹרַת משֶׁה עַבְדֶּךָ (ויקרא טז), כִּי בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם לְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם מִכֹּל חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם לִפְנֵי יְיָ תִּטְהָרוּ. וְהֵן עוֹנִין אַחֲרָיו, בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד:
The High Priest tied a strip of crimson wool upon the head of the scapegoat and positioned the goat opposite the place from which it was dispatched, i.e., near the gate through which it was taken; and the same was done to the goat that was to be slaughtered, opposite the place of its slaughter. He comes and stands next to his bull a second time, and places his two hands upon it, and confesses. And this is what he would say: Please God, I have sinned, I have done wrong, and I have rebelled before You, I and my family and the children of Aaron, your sacred people. Please God, grant atonement, please, for the sins, and for the wrongs, and for the rebellions that I have sinned, and done wrong, and rebelled before You, I, and my family, and the children of Aaron, your sacred people, as it is written in the Torah of Moses, your servant: “For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord” (Leviticus 16:30). And they, the priests and the people in the Temple courtyard, respond after him upon hearing the name of God: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time.
שְׁנֵי שְׂעִירֵי יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים, מִצְוָתָן שֶׁיִּהְיוּ שְׁנֵיהֶן שָׁוִין בְּמַרְאֶה וּבְקוֹמָה וּבְדָמִים וּבִלְקִיחָתָן כְּאֶחָד. וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינָן שָׁוִין, כְּשֵׁרִין. לָקַח אֶחָד הַיּוֹם וְאֶחָד לְמָחָר, כְּשֵׁרִין. מֵת אֶחָד מֵהֶן, אִם עַד שֶׁלֹּא הִגְרִיל מֵת, יִקַּח זוּג לַשֵּׁנִי. וְאִם מִשֶּׁהִגְרִיל מֵת, יָבִיא זוּג אַחֵר וְיַגְרִיל עֲלֵיהֶם בַּתְּחִלָּה, וְיֹאמַר, אִם שֶׁל שֵׁם מֵת, זֶה שֶׁעָלָה עָלָיו הַגּוֹרָל לַשֵּׁם יִתְקַיֵּם תַּחְתָּיו. וְאִם שֶׁל עֲזָאזֵל מֵת, זֶה שֶׁעָלָה עָלָיו הַגּוֹרָל לַעֲזָאזֵל יִתְקַיֵּם תַּחְתָּיו. וְהַשֵּׁנִי יִרְעֶה עַד שֶׁיִּסְתָּאֵב, וְיִמָּכֵר וְיִפְּלוּ דָמָיו לִנְדָבָה, שֶׁאֵין חַטַּאת צִבּוּר מֵתָה. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, תָּמוּת. וְעוֹד אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה, נִשְׁפַּךְ הַדָּם, יָמוּת הַמִּשְׁתַּלֵּחַ. מֵת הַמִּשְׁתַּלֵּחַ, יִשָּׁפֵךְ הַדָּם:
The mitzva of the two Yom Kippur goats, the goat sacrificed to God and the goat sent to Azazel that are brought as a pair, is as follows, ab initio: That they will both be identical in appearance, i.e., color, and in height, and in monetary value, and their acquisition must be as one, i.e., they must be purchased together. And even if they are not identical, nevertheless, they are valid. And similarly, if he acquired one today and one tomorrow, they are valid. If one of the goats died, if it died before the High Priest drew the lots, he immediately takes a counterpart for the second, since neither has yet been designated. And if it died after the High Priest drew the lots, he brings another pair of goats and draws lots over them from the start. After that lottery he utters a stipulation: If the one to be sacrificed to God died, that goat upon which the lot for God was drawn in the second lottery shall stand in its stead; and if the one to be sent to Azazel died, that goat upon which the lot for Azazel was drawn shall stand in its stead. And the second, superfluous goat, i.e., in the case where a new pair of goats was brought, should graze until it becomes unfit, at which point it will be sold, and the money received from its sale will go toward the purchase of a public gift-offering. Although for individual sin-offerings in similar circumstances there is no remedy and it is left to die, that is not the case here, as a communal sin-offering is not left to die. On the other hand, Rabbi Yehuda says: In this it should be left to die. And furthermore, Rabbi Yehuda said: If the blood of the goat sacrificed to God spilled before it was sprinkled, the scapegoat is left to die. Similarly, if the scapegoat dies, the blood of the goat sacrificed to God should be spilled, and two other goats are brought and lots are drawn.