The following live broadcast is a d'var Torah teleplay written and produced by Lucy B. Smolar. This teleplay is sponsored by Sue's Pantyhose Restaurant, where every dish is a home run.
This morning's service has already been very long and, for some, very tedious. We don't usually read two Torah portions. And these are each very, very long. They also have many, many laws that are not safe for children to hear, and maybe some grownups, too.
So let me start my d'var by saying:
Can I please have our volunteers come up to the bimah? [helpers enter stage right - the corner near the door to the bride's room]
By the way, if you start to smell schawarma and tehini, what you're really smelling...is talent! [helpers do jazz hands]
So let me start my d'var by saying:
- We won't discuss nudity.
- We won't discuss throwing kids into fire pits.
- We won't even discuss dating your cousins. I can barely pronounce 'consanguinity'.
Can I please have our volunteers come up to the bimah? [helpers enter stage right - the corner near the door to the bride's room]
By the way, if you start to smell schawarma and tehini, what you're really smelling...is talent! [helpers do jazz hands]
This morning, I'll be speaking about the annual Yom Kippur scapegoat offering to Azazel. This is found in the very beginning of our Torah reading today, the part my Dad tried to chant.
Good try, Dad. [pats himself on the back]
Good try, Dad. [pats himself on the back]
In Leviticus chapter 16, we read instructions for Aaron as the Kohen Gadol and what he had to do to get rid of the Israelites' sins on Yom Kippur.
[helpers dress up and take out props]
He starts by stripping down, washing up, then putting on his holy clothes, including tunic, turban, and a belt of bells, all made of white linen.
He sacrifices a bull for his sins and those of his family. [kills stuffy bull]
He also makes sacrifices on behalf of the sins of the Kohanim and the Temple. [kills another stuffy]
But for the sins of the Israelite people, Aaron then takes two goats... ['goats' are kneeling or sitting]
As we read in verse 8:
[helpers dress up and take out props]
He starts by stripping down, washing up, then putting on his holy clothes, including tunic, turban, and a belt of bells, all made of white linen.
He sacrifices a bull for his sins and those of his family. [kills stuffy bull]
He also makes sacrifices on behalf of the sins of the Kohanim and the Temple. [kills another stuffy]
But for the sins of the Israelite people, Aaron then takes two goats... ['goats' are kneeling or sitting]
As we read in verse 8:
וְנָתַן אַהֲרֹן עַל־שְׁנֵי הַשְּׂעִירִם גֹּרָלוֹת גּוֹרָל אֶחָד לַה' וְגוֹרָל אֶחָד לַעֲזָאזֵל׃
The Kohen Gadol blindly picks which goat goes to Hashem and which goes to Azazel. [take out the bowl, stick in your hands and choose goats]
He ties a crimson thread around the neck of the goat that goes to Hashem. [like a bowtie]
Then he ties a crimson thread around the horns of the goat that's supposed to go to Azazel. [horns on a headband - use a red scrunchie]
He ties a crimson thread around the neck of the goat that goes to Hashem. [like a bowtie]
Then he ties a crimson thread around the horns of the goat that's supposed to go to Azazel. [horns on a headband - use a red scrunchie]
He takes the goat that goes to Hashem and sacrifices it on the altar. [rolls the goat off the bimah and around the back]
But with the goat for Azazel, he puts his hands on the head of the goat and confesses all the sins of the people. [mutters to himself]
We read this in verse 21:
But with the goat for Azazel, he puts his hands on the head of the goat and confesses all the sins of the people. [mutters to himself]
We read this in verse 21:
וְשִׁלַּח בְּיַד־אִישׁ עִתִּי הַמִּדְבָּרָה׃
...and the goat shall be sent off to the desert by an appointed person.
He then hands the goat over to an appointed person to lead the goat away. [hands the goat to the next person with a turban?]
But where is the goat going to go? [musical STING]
But where is the goat going to go? [musical STING]
In Verse 22, we learn where the goat is going to go:
[mimic each scenario]
[mimic each scenario]
- The goat is going to an eretz g'zeirah - a land of sharp cliffs.
- The goat is going into the midbar - the desert.
- And as I said before, the goat is going to Azazel.
So...was Azazel a place? A person? Or maybe a really hungry demon goat monster?
Is there a monster at the end of this d'var??
For more information about Azazel, we go to the Machzor, the High Holidays prayerbook, and look at the Avodah service. That's the part of the machzor that describes how they actually did the Yom Kippur service in the early ancient Temple.
Here, it says the appointed person takes the goat for Azazel and follows a specific path to a rocky cliff, with helpful people marking the way. He reaches the sharp cliff, ties the thread around the goat's horns and the other end around a heavy rock. [tie a beach ball]
He then points the goat away from the cliff, throws the rock over the side of the cliff, making the goat flip backwards to its timely demise. [rolls dramatically down - drumroll and cymbal crash!]
Is there a monster at the end of this d'var??
For more information about Azazel, we go to the Machzor, the High Holidays prayerbook, and look at the Avodah service. That's the part of the machzor that describes how they actually did the Yom Kippur service in the early ancient Temple.
Here, it says the appointed person takes the goat for Azazel and follows a specific path to a rocky cliff, with helpful people marking the way. He reaches the sharp cliff, ties the thread around the goat's horns and the other end around a heavy rock. [tie a beach ball]
He then points the goat away from the cliff, throws the rock over the side of the cliff, making the goat flip backwards to its timely demise. [rolls dramatically down - drumroll and cymbal crash!]
The Talmud says a guy standing on a nearby platform watches this and waves a red flag to confirm that the goat is dead. [from behind the bimah "he's dead!"]
The helpers along the path wave their red flags one after another until the signal is seen back at the Temple.
When the Kohen Gadol sees the last flag, he tells the People. They all cheer because the day is done, the Kohen Gadol changes out of his clothes, washes, changes into regular clothes, does some more sacrifices, and then all the Kohanim go back to his place to eat and wind down. [exit stage left]
The helpers along the path wave their red flags one after another until the signal is seen back at the Temple.
When the Kohen Gadol sees the last flag, he tells the People. They all cheer because the day is done, the Kohen Gadol changes out of his clothes, washes, changes into regular clothes, does some more sacrifices, and then all the Kohanim go back to his place to eat and wind down. [exit stage left]
Thank you, helpers.
Now I'll discuss some interpretations of what Azazel actually was...or is...or means.
In the Talmud tractate Yoma, page 67b, there are arguments about the meaning and identity of Azazel.
In one instance, the Talmud says Azazel is a "har az v'kasheh": a strong and hard mountain. So in this case, the word Azazel just means they had to take the goat to a sharp cliff on a tall mountain to throw it over. This matches up with the term "eretz G'zeira", because "gezer" can mean a place with lots of cliffs.
It could also mean a cliff full of carrots...but only if it's Wabbit Season.
Now I'll discuss some interpretations of what Azazel actually was...or is...or means.
In the Talmud tractate Yoma, page 67b, there are arguments about the meaning and identity of Azazel.
In one instance, the Talmud says Azazel is a "har az v'kasheh": a strong and hard mountain. So in this case, the word Azazel just means they had to take the goat to a sharp cliff on a tall mountain to throw it over. This matches up with the term "eretz G'zeira", because "gezer" can mean a place with lots of cliffs.
It could also mean a cliff full of carrots...but only if it's Wabbit Season.
The 11th century commentary Rashi later put this together, saying that the word Azazel both describes the ceremony and location of the Azazel sacrifice: take the goat to a remote place and throw it over a cliff.
But maybe Azazel wasn't a place. Maybe it was a mystical, magical being...or two.
Another selection I also found in Yoma quotes Rabbi Yishmael. He went back to the story of Noah and the Great Flood. Why did Hashem destroy the world? Genesis chapter 6 starts by saying the angels became corrupt, sinning with the daughters of men. Whatever that "sinning" was, it was enough that Hashem wanted a recall on humanity.
Rabbi Yishmael blames all of this on two angels specifically. Their names? Uzza and Aza'el. The Talmud says, if you combine their names, you get Azazel. And every year, we must all as forgiveness for the sins of Uzza and Aza'el so that Hashem won't destroy the Earth...with a flood.
Another selection I also found in Yoma quotes Rabbi Yishmael. He went back to the story of Noah and the Great Flood. Why did Hashem destroy the world? Genesis chapter 6 starts by saying the angels became corrupt, sinning with the daughters of men. Whatever that "sinning" was, it was enough that Hashem wanted a recall on humanity.
Rabbi Yishmael blames all of this on two angels specifically. Their names? Uzza and Aza'el. The Talmud says, if you combine their names, you get Azazel. And every year, we must all as forgiveness for the sins of Uzza and Aza'el so that Hashem won't destroy the Earth...with a flood.
OK, so I can see you're getting restless, so here's a story about demonic goat sacrifice. [*evil laugh*]
For that, we go to 13th century Spain, when the RamBAN quoted the 4th century book of legends, known as the "Pirkei d'RAH-bee Eliezer". In short, he said that every year on Yom Kippur, Satan tries to swindle Hashem into NOT forgiving all our sins.
So in the ancient Temple, we had to give Satan his own animal sacrifice so he wouldn't cancel out the effect of the Kohen Gadol's sacrifices that day. Notice how we're not supposed to sacrifice the Azazel goat in the Temple...because it's against the Ten Commandments. So there's that.
Anyway, RamBAN teaches that the Azazel goat was a bribe to Satan to get him to leave us alone.
For that, we go to 13th century Spain, when the RamBAN quoted the 4th century book of legends, known as the "Pirkei d'RAH-bee Eliezer". In short, he said that every year on Yom Kippur, Satan tries to swindle Hashem into NOT forgiving all our sins.
So in the ancient Temple, we had to give Satan his own animal sacrifice so he wouldn't cancel out the effect of the Kohen Gadol's sacrifices that day. Notice how we're not supposed to sacrifice the Azazel goat in the Temple...because it's against the Ten Commandments. So there's that.
Anyway, RamBAN teaches that the Azazel goat was a bribe to Satan to get him to leave us alone.
Here, the term Azazel describes the goat sacrifice and the its location...but may also refer to the devil himself.
Or not.
So now, as a bat mitzvah, I'd like to give my own interpretation of the Azazel story.
[helpers come back onto the bimah]
What they did back then with Azazel was simple to do.
During the ancient ceremony, the High Priest would magically remove all their sins, while the people just stand and do nothing? That would mean that none of the people would think about their sins later. And this was over in a day. One and Done.
What we do today is very hard to do. And that is doing T'shuva, the act of Repentance. Asking forgiveness from other people in other ways is hard to do.
[helpers act these out]
Or not.
So now, as a bat mitzvah, I'd like to give my own interpretation of the Azazel story.
[helpers come back onto the bimah]
What they did back then with Azazel was simple to do.
During the ancient ceremony, the High Priest would magically remove all their sins, while the people just stand and do nothing? That would mean that none of the people would think about their sins later. And this was over in a day. One and Done.
What we do today is very hard to do. And that is doing T'shuva, the act of Repentance. Asking forgiveness from other people in other ways is hard to do.
[helpers act these out]
- Some people have social anxiety, meaning it's difficult for them even to approach others.
- Maybe it's hard to examine and realize all the bad things they did to other people.
- It might also be hard not to repeat the things you did because you didn't even realize you'd done them in the first place.
BUT - even if what they did back then was easy at first, it would've been hard for them in the long run.
[helpers act these out]
[helpers take a bow]
[helpers act these out]
- They still carried their sins all year.
- They didn't face their friends.
- They didn't ask forgiveness...and that means they would've lost their friends.
[helpers take a bow]
I'd like to thank all of you, family and friends, for joining me this morning. Thanks to the Rabbi and Cantor for training me for this day and my dad for tutoring me to chant Torah and Haftarah.
And thanks to our Sue's Pantyhose Playhouse Helpers...along with our writers, editors, stage managers, security guards, and building services.
And after Shabbat is over, come on down to Sue's Pantyhose Restaurant, a division of Sue's Pantyhose Emporium, incorporated. Come on down to Sue's, where shoes are never a problem.
This has been a Smolarville production. And whether or not we ever learn what Azazel is or was, we can see that there never was a monster at the end of this d'var.
Shabbat Shalom.
And thanks to our Sue's Pantyhose Playhouse Helpers...along with our writers, editors, stage managers, security guards, and building services.
And after Shabbat is over, come on down to Sue's Pantyhose Restaurant, a division of Sue's Pantyhose Emporium, incorporated. Come on down to Sue's, where shoes are never a problem.
This has been a Smolarville production. And whether or not we ever learn what Azazel is or was, we can see that there never was a monster at the end of this d'var.
Shabbat Shalom.