2022/5782

A New Approach to the Sa'ir La'Azazeil

It seems so bizarre to throw a goat off a cliff, and yet, of all days, we perform this strange ritual on Yom Kippur?!  While we have offered a new approach in the past, we set forth another fresh idea based on a most intriguing and curious debate recorded in Bechorot 8b. 

Rabi Yehoshua vs. the Athens' Wise Men

Bechorot 8b records that the great Tanna Rabi Yehoshua had a conversation with the Roman emperor regarding the gestation period of a snake, in which Rabi Yehoshua disagreed with the conclusion reached by the "Wise Men of Athens." The following exchange occurred between the emperor and the great Tanna: 

The emperor said to him: But how can you disagree with the sages of Athens? Aren't they wise? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya responded: We are wiser than they. The emperor said: If you are wiser than they, then defeat them in debate and bring them to me.

The Gemara proceeds to record many of the exchanges that ensued between Rabi Yehoshua and the Greek sages. However, we shall focus on the one we feel has relevance to Yom Kippur.  

They brought him two eggs and said to him: Which is the egg of a black hen and which is the egg of a white hen? Rabbi Yehoshua brought them two cheeses and said to them: Which is the cheese from the black goat and which is from the white goat?

This interchange seems nonsensical.  We shall follow in the footsteps of the Maharsha , who understands this and the other arguments between the Athenian sages and Rabi Yehoshua as a profound debate reflecting fundamental differences between Hellenistic and Jewish thought.  

The Hellenistic Perspective

We suggest that the light hen represents a life lived well and morally while the dark hen signifies an immoral and evil-ridden life.  Both argue the Greeks result in the same state.  The fact that an egg from a dark hen and a white hen like identical is that no matter how one lives, in the end, there is no difference.  Shlomo HaMelech presents this cynical view in Kohelet (9:2):

“הַכֹּל כַּאֲשֶׁר לַכֹּל, מִקְרֶה אֶחָד לַצַּדִּיק וְלָרָשָׁע לַטּוֹב וְלַטָּהוֹר וְלַטָּמֵא, וְלַזֹּבֵחַ, וְלַאֲשֶׁר אֵינֶנּוּ זֹבֵחַ:  כַּטּוֹב, כַּחֹטֶא”

“All things come alike to all; there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean and to the unclean; to him that sacrifices and to him that sacrifices not; as is the good, so is the sinner.”

This pessimistic view of life permeated Greek culture.  The famous Greek Tragedies reflect this gloomy outlook.

My son Binyamin Jachter and son-in-law Yisroel Perton both add that Greek wise people use an egg as their Mashal for life since it is a natural product symbolizing the cycle of life.  For the Greeks, nature is perfect and in no need of improvement or redemption.  

The Torah Perspective

In dramatic contrast, the Torah embraces a far more optimistic outlook on life.  All, especially the Jewish people, are headed for Kapparah, redemption.  Rabi Yehoshua's two goats represent the two goats of Yom Kippur.  The light goat represents the Sa'ir LaHashem, the goat whose blood we sprinkle on the Mizbei'ach HaPenimi, the inner altar.  The dark goat signifies the goat that is brought to the desert and thrown off a cliff.  

Both goats produce identical cheese, meaning that both goats of Yom Kippur lead to the identical product – redemption.  However, a choice is involved.  Hence, Rabi Yehoshua chooses cheese for his allegory.  Cheese is a product of human intervention and ingenuity.  Judaism utterly rejects the Greek adoration of nature and their demand that it be left untouched.   

Judaism insists that the world as a whole and each individual within it need redemption. All are flawed and need much improvement, similar to raw milk, which is improved to cheese.  Raw milk remains fresh for a minimal time, but the cheese lasts.  Thus, turning milk into cheese redeems, so to speak, the milk.   

Yom Kippur's Two Goats

The two goats of Yom Kippur represent Teshuvah Mei'Ahava (Teshuvah driven by the love of Hashem) and Teshuvah Mei'Yirah (Teshuvah triggered by fear).  Teshuvah Mei'ahava can elevate us to previously unattainable heights just as the Sa'ir LaHashem reaches the part of the Beit HaMikdash not ordinarily accessible to most Korbanot.  

The Sa'ir thrown off the cliff represents Teshuvah Mei'yirah, returning to Hashem but "kicking and screaming" throughout the entire trip.  This Sa'ir's turbulent journey to the desert and even more turbulent end represents the repentant's tempestuous path that changes because he feels he must and not due to introspection.  

Two Choices for Yom Kippur

The dramatically different paths of the two goats to redemption represent two different ways one may experience Yom Kippur.  For many, their Yom Kippur experience is comparable to a colonoscopy.  This procedure is not particularly pleasant, but we endure it since it is necessary to maintain our health. But, on the other hand, many, sadly, view Yom Kippur as drudgery and repeatedly are peeking ahead to see how many pages are remaining until we are at long last finished.  

However, others embrace Yom Kippur and love Yom Kippur.  For one, Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik was effusive about his love for Yom Kippur.  His family recounts how the Rav would not eat on Motza'ei Yom Kippur since he was so enthralled with Yom Kippur that he would continue singing the Yom Kippur melodies hours after the fast was over.  

His grandson Rav Moshe Twersky HY”D also enthusiastically embraced Yom Kippur.  A Talmid at Rav Twersky's Yeshiva tells of how he sat next to Rav Twersky one Yom Kippur, and soon before the Tefilla began, the latter introduced himself.  Rav Twersky explained that it is customary for people sitting next to each other to introduce themselves before a long plane ride. Then, Rav Twersky told the Talmid that they were about to take a ride to heaven!!  

For some, Yom Kippur is as pleasant as our dragging a goat to the desert and cast off a cliff.  For others, Yom Kippur is an unparalleled and unequaled opportunity to reach closer to Hashem.  The two goats of Yom Kippur thus symbolize the stark choice that Yom Kippur presents for the Jew.  

The path of the two goats is determined by lottery, forces not under their control.  However, we have a choice.  Our choice is to choose our way to the resultant Kapparah of Yom Kippur.  We can model ourselves after the route of the Sa'ir LaHashem or the Sa'ir LaAzazeil.

A Model for Geihinom

On a darker note, the Sa'ir LaAzazeil and the Sa'ir LaHashem also symbolize the two routes to Gan Eden.  Ultimately, Kol Yisrael Yeish Lahem Cheilek Le'Olam HaBa, as Chazal teach (Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10:1).  However, there are two paths to attain this goal.  One is to merit proceeding straight to Gan Eden, and the other is to arrive there after a year-long stint in Geihinom (Mishna, Eduyot 2:10).  Ultimately, the result is redemption, but the road is similar to that of the goat pushed off the cliff for some. The searing trip through the boiling hot desert and the tumble down the rocky cliff are appropriate symbols of Geihinom.  

Conclusion - We are Destined for Teshuvah

The Rambam (Hilchot Teshuvah 7:5) follows Rabi Eliezer (Sanhedrin 97b) that the Jewish People are redeemed only through Teshuvah.  The Rambam, though, in his following statement, proclaims that eventually, the Jewish people will do Teshuvah.  

Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik concludes that just as it is an article of faith to believe in the Mashi'ach eventual arrival, so too it is an article of faith that the Jewish people will eventually return.  We rigorously reject the Greek surrender to nature and the Greek capitulation to tragedy.  The Greek ethos is most definitely not the Torah way!  Our Hashkafah, as Rabi Yehoshua insists, is dramatically superior to Greek wisdom.  Not that we are superior, but our knowledge stems from a Superior Source.  

With its abstentions from worldly indulgence and exclusive focus on Avodat Hashem, Yom Kippur symbolizes Gan Eden. Therefore, training and preparing ourselves to embrace Yom Kippur ultimately prepares us to embrace Gan Eden and the pleasant and direct path to its gates.