Sifra 9.0.3

Acharei Mot, Section 2

1) (Vayikra 16:5) ("And from the congregation of the children of Israel he shall take two he-goats for a sin-offering and one ram for a burnt-offering.") "And from the congregation of the children of Israel": They must be from (i.e., are funded by) the community. "he shall take two he-goats": The minimum of he-goats is two. Why, then, is it written "two"? That they be alike (in all respects). And whence is it derived that even if they are not alike, they are (nevertheless) valid? From "he-goat" (Vayikra 16:9); "he-goat" (Vayikra 16:10), (connoting de facto validity with) any he-goat.

2) "and one ram for a burnt-offering": Rebbi said: The "one ram" mentioned here is the same as that mentioned in Bamidbar (Bamidbar 29:9). R. Elazar b. R. Shimon says: They are two rams, one mentioned here, and one in Bamidbar. (Vayikra 16:6) "And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering which is his.": He shall not bring it from community (funds). I might think that he does not bring it from the community because it does not atone for the community, but that he may bring it from his fellow Cohanim, whom it does atone for. It is, therefore, written again "which is his" (Vayikra 16:11). I might think he should not bring it ab initio, but if he did, it is valid. It is, therefore, written again (Vayikra 16:11) "which is his." (Vayikra 16:6) "and he shall make atonement for himself and for his household. This is verbal atonement. But perhaps (it is speaking of) atonement through (the sprinkling of) the blood. (This cannot be, for) it "atonement" is written here, and it is written in respect to the (sent-away) he-goat. Just as the "atonement" there is verbal confession, so the "atonement" of the bullock is verbal.

3) Or, if you wish, this can be derived from "And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering which is his, and he shall make atonement for himself and for his household" — and the bullock has not yet been slaughtered. (It is obvious, then, that verbal atonement is intended.)

4) (viz. Yoma 36b) How did he (the high-priest) confess? "Ana Hashem" ("I beseech You, O L–rd") — "I have transgressed, I have offended, I have sinned before You — I and my house — Ana Hashem, atone, I beseech You, for the transgressions, and the offerings, and the sins that I have transgressed, and offended, and sinned before You — I and my house, as it is written in the Torah of Moses Your servant (Vayikra 16:30) 'For on this day He shall atone for you to cleanse you of all your sins; before the L–rd you shall be clean.'" And thus (i.e., in this order) is it written (in respect to the scape-goat, (Vayikra 16:21) "And he shall confess over it all the transgressions of the children of Israel and all their offenses of all of their sins." These are the words of R. Meir. And the sages say: "Transgressions" — these are the deliberate sins. "their offenses" — these are (the sins of) rebellion. "their sins" — these are the unwitting sins. Now if he already confessed for deliberate sins and sins of rebellion, does he now go back and confess for unwitting sins! Rather, the formula for confession is: "Ana Hashem, I have sinned, I have transgressed, I have offended before You, I and my household. Ana Hashem, atone I beseech You, for the sins and the transgressions, and the offenses, that I have sinned, and transgressed, and offended before You, I and my household, as it is written in the Torah of Moses, Your servant 'For on this day He shall atone for you to cleanse you.'" And they answer after him: "Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever."

5) And thus do we find with all the "confessors." David said (Tehillim 106:6) "We have sinned with our fathers; we have transgressed, and we have been wicked" (i.e., offended). Solomon, his son, said (I Melachim 8:47) "We have sinned, and we have transgressed, and we have been wicked." Daniel said (Daniel 9:5) "We have sinned, and we have transgressed, and we have been wicked and rebelled." He, too, confessed thus: "I have sinned, and I have transgressed, and I have offended before You."

6) As to Moses' saying (in different order) (Shemoth 34:7) "He forgives transgression, offense, and sin, and absolves" and (Vayikra 16:21) "And he shall confess over it all the transgressions of the children of Israel, and all their offenses of all of their sins" — Once he confesses his transgressions and sins of rebellion, they are regarded as unwitting sins before Him.