Parashat Acharei Mot, Leviticus 16:1-18:30; Shabbat HaGadol

In memory of Rosalyn White, beloved mother of Myra White and Adrienne Rosen, much loved Bubbe to Alana and Sally. We miss you so much.

The modern scapegoat represents the denial of sin.

One of the challenges of dealing with the text of the Torah in English is that every translation is an interpretation. In these weekly studies I rely on the New Jewish Publication Society (NJPS) translation of the Torah which refers to God as "He," and the divine name as "Lord." The Torah: A Woman's Commentary tackles the issue of gender neutral language by always writing the divine name in Hebrew, allowing the reader to read it as Adonai, Hashem or "Lord."

As sensitive as we liberal Jews are to our language of prayer and study, we have it easy in comparison to the pioneers of Bible translation, who had to set the standards of translation for their descendants. And indeed, we have been greatly influenced by these pioneers. Why else would we think that Eve ate an apple? Or that things start "in the beginning," not "with the beginning" or "when God began to create?"

One of the greatest influences on the English language has been the King James translation of the Bible, responsible for our automatically saying "in the beginning." This translation, known for the beauty of its language, is not the first translation into English. That accomplishment is credited to William Tyndale, a 16th century Protestant reformer who was the first individual to translate the text from the original Hebrew into English. It is thanks to Tyndale that we say "let there be light," and "Am I my brother's keeper?" Tyndale is believed to have created English words when necessary to help in the translation. One such word is "scapegoat" referring directly to a ceremony described in this week's parashah, Acharei Mot:

Aaron shall take the two he-goats and let them stand before the Lord at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting; and he shall place lots upon the two goats, one marked for the Lord and the other marked for Azazel. Aaron shall bring forward the goat designated by lot for the Lord, which he is to offer as a sin offering; while the goat designated by lot for Azazel shall be left standing alive before the Lord, to make expiation with it and to send it off to the wilderness for Azazel.

…Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their sins, putting them on the head of the goat; and it shall be sent off to the wilderness through a designated man. Thus the goat shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness.

Leviticus 16:7-10, 21-22

While today a "scapegoat" is a person who bears the blame for others, for Tyndale this was the joining of two words (e)scape and goat – referring to the animal in the ritual that had the people's sin transferred to it and was set free for Azazel.

Jewish commentators didn't have it any easier just because they were dealing with the original Hebrew. It's not necessarily the ritual that bothered them (though it could be challenging to our modern sensibilities). What "got their goat" was the term Azazel. Since this word only appears in Leviticus 16, how is it to be understood?

The Talmud (Yoma 67b) describes Azazel as being "a hard and rough country" (Soncino translation), based on the word az meaning "strong" or "fierce." David Kimchi (12th century) explains it as being the mountain to which the goat was sent in the wilderness. Another interpretation is that it is a contraction of two words (goat) and azal (to go away), related to a description found in the Mishna (Yoma 6:2). From this one can see the development of the "scapegoat." Ibn Ezra relates it to "goat demons" mentioned in Leviticus 17:7. Baruch Levine points out that Azazel was the name given "to the demonic ruler of the wilderness."

The Torah: A Women's Commentary summarizes it best:

This is the name of the wilderness beyond the boundaries of settled life; most likely it originated as the name of a demon, Azazel in this case is best imagined as the antithesis of the Tabernacle/sanctuary, a place of disorder devoid of the relevant priestly distinctions. By carrying Israel's impurities to such a wilderness, the scapegoat effectively conveys the chaotic aspects of human life back to the place of origin.

The Torah: A Women's Commentary, p. 682

Most interesting are the commentaries relating the two goats to Biblical figures. Nachmanides, drawing on Midrash Bereshit Rabbah (65:10), through the use of puns identifies Esau as the goat that is sent away and Jacob as the one that remains. How so? Esau is described as hairy (sa'ir) which is a pun on another word for goat se'ir. This goat carries the Israelites' iniquities avonotam, punned as avonot tam, avonot meaning sins and tam meaning a person of integrity. Who is described as being tam? Jacob (Genesis 25:27). Take it a step further. Remember Jacob's disguise to fool daddy into thinking he was big brother Esau? Goatskin (Genesis 27:16).

Fast forward to late Saturday night, where, after noshing on kosher for Passover Tam Tams, we will be singing Had Gadya, One Little Goat. This ditty has been invested with allegorical meaning by Jewish commentators. Most popularly, we are told that the goat represents the people of Israel and all the other actors in the saga (except, of course, for God) represent nations throughout history that tried to destroy the Jewish people.

Yet more often than not, it is the scapegoat that has been associated with Jews. How ironic that this animal, symbolic of the cleansing of Israel's sins, has been associated with the Jewish people historically being burdened with the sins of others. Alas, we still see this in the world today.

In Leviticus the ritual with the two goats represents the public acknowledgment and acceptance of sins: the animal designated for Azazel symbolically bears them away. The modern scapegoat represents the denial of sin. We readily accept that this happens to our community on a global level. But let's get personal here. Let's face it; it is part of human nature to make excuses when we fall short of expectations. How often do we as individuals shift blame to others instead of accepting responsibility for our own actions?

So here we are on the Shabbat HaGadol, the Shabbat before Pesach, preparing to recount and relive the story of our deliverance from slavery to freedom. With that precious freedom come obligations, including the responsibility of owning up to our mistakes, shortcomings and transgressions. Pesach is sounding more and more like Yom Kippur! Let's not forget that hametz (leaven), prohibited on Pesach, is symbolically taken to be the yester hara' (inclination to evil). So Pesach, half a year after Yom Kippur, is another occasion to right wrongs. Consider this: there is nothing more liberating than 'fessing up to our sins. Pesach is a spring cleaning for the soul, an opportunity to fix the mess we have made. What are we waiting for?

Shabbat shalom.
Chag kasher ve-sameach,
MS