Pensamiento judío sobre Génesis 32:21

This did not satisfy the moon, since it originally possessed a superior quality and had lost it. Therefore, God said that kaparah, translated as “an atonement offering,” should be brought for Him. Here, however, the intent of the term kaparah is not “atonement for sin,” i.e., that a person becomes aware that he has sinned, feels regret, and brings an offering so that the one against whom he has sinned will forgive him. All of this is not appropriate when speaking about God. In this context, the term kaparah means to wash away and remove, as Rashi explains in his commentary to the verse,⁸⁰Bereishis 32:21. אולי אכפרה פניו “Perhaps I will cause his mien to change.” Moreover, even the fundamental meaning of the term chatas, “sin,” is “lack,” as in the verses,⁸¹ I Melachim 1:21. אני ובני שלמה חטאים, “I and Shlomoh my son will be lacking,” and אנכי אחטנה, “I would compensate for the lack.”⁸²Bereishis 31:39. Similarly, a sin-offering is called a chatas because of the deficiency created, for every sin is due to a lack. On this basis, the passage can be understood as stating that God asked that a kaparah – i.e., a cleansing and a removal of the complaints – be brought to appease the moon because of the lack brought about by its diminishment.