Daily Zohar # 1314 – Pinchas – Don’t look for a ‘scapegoat’
Zohar Pinchas, Vol. 20 (English)/Vol 15 (Hebrew)
Hebrew translation:
682. וּשְׁלֹשָׁה עֶשְׂרֹנִים – שָׁלֹשׁ מַדְרֵגוֹת רִאשׁוֹנוֹת שֶׁלָּהּ, שֶׁכָּל אַחַת וְאַחַת – עֶשֶׂר, כְּדֻגְמָא שֶׁל מַעְלָה – עֶשְׂרֹנִים, אֶחָד מֵעֲשָׂרָה. וּשְׂעִיר חַטָּאת אֶחָד, מַדּוּעַ נִקְרָא חַטָּאת? מִשּׁוּם שֶׁהוּא חַטָּאת, וּמִצַּד הַחַטָּאת הוּא. אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר, וַהֲרֵי כָּתוּב לַה’. אֶלָּא לְשֵׁם ה’ מֻקְרָב בְּוַדַּאי, שֶׁכָּתוּב לְכַפֵּר. לְשַׁבֵּר פָּנִים, וְהַכֹּל יִתְקָרֵב לַמִּקְדָּשׁ, אֶלָּא נוֹתְנִים חֵלֶק אֶחָד לְסָמָאֵל, וְאוֹכֵל אוֹתוֹ, וְלֹא אוֹחֵז בִּשְׁאָר הַקָּרְבָּנוֹת. וְזֶהוּ לְבַדּוֹ, שֶׁלֹּא יִשְׁתַּתֵּף אַחֵר עִמּוֹ לֶאֱכֹל בּוֹ.
Pinchas 681-682
(Continued from previous Daily Zohar)
After the High Priest made the selection by lottery, the scapegoat was sent out to the desert by a person from the Erev Rav who had flaws in his body.
Leviticus 16:22
“וְנָשָׂא הַשָּׂעִיר עָלָיו אֶת-כָּל-עֲוֹנֹתָם, אֶל-אֶרֶץ גְּזֵרָה; וְשִׁלַּח אֶת-הַשָּׂעִיר, בַּמִּדְבָּר”
“And the goat carry upon him all their iniquities unto a land which is cut off; and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness”
Exodus 34:7 list some of the 13 attributes of God and we read that God is
“נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן וָפֶשַׁע וְחַטָּאָה; וְנַקֵּה”
“Carry iniquity and transgression and sin ”
The Zohar asks about the difference between the two types of ‘carry’ and answers that the scapegoat simply carries the weight of the sins but God removes from us and cleanses them.
Connecting to the Creator gives us continuous protection and cleansing of the 13 attributes but when we fail and accumulate all kinds of impurities we need Yom Kippur and a scapegoat to do the work for us.
Rav Berg of blessed memory once said that if a person keeps himself pure during the year he doesn’t have to worry about Rosh Hashanah, but then such a person won’t miss any opportunity of cleansing and keeping away from judgment.
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