Pinchas: Chapter 102

A he-goat to Azazel

Synopsis

Moses says that the goat for Azazel is a bribe to assuage Samael's anger and to prevent him from drawing near the Temple and making accusations against Yisrael. He also tells us why the goat is sent by the hand of a crippled man, and how the goat bears all of Yisrael's iniquities.

[Verse 682] We hear that were it not for the monthly contraction of the moon no offering would ever be given to Samael.