Comentário sobre Levítico 16:10

חי ‎יעמד SHALL BE PRESENTED ALIVE — חי‎ יָעֳמַד is the same as חי ‏‎ ‏ יוּעֲמַד (i. e. יָעֳמַד is a regular Hophal-form) — it shall be made to stand by others (i. e. it shall be placed). The Targum also renders it by: יתקם כד חי, “it shall be made to stand in a live state". — Why is it stated that it shall be presented alive; this is already implied in the word יעמד. it shall be made to stand!? But because it continues “to send it forth unto Azazel" and I would not know whether this “sending forth” means to death or to life (in the latter case it would mean “to let it go”; cf. Leviticus 14:7 where ושלח has this meaning), therefore Scripture states “it shall be presented alive” — its presentation must be made whilst it is alive and the animal remains so up to the time when it is being sent forth; it follows therefore that it shall be sent forth to death (Sifra, Acharei Mot, Chapter 2 6).

יעמד חי, shall be set alive, etc. These words need analysis. Yuma 40 and Torat Kohanim offer many explanations. According to our own approach the meaning is simply that Aaron was not to confess the sins of Israel on that animal immediately after the lot had been drawn, but was to leave it "alive" for a while. We have explained on several occasions that sinners are called "dead" even while they are physically still alive. An animal which carries the burden of the sins of the nation would therefore certainly be considered "dead" from the moment it assumed that burden. Consequently, the Torah had to mention that this procedure was not to take place immediately and that in the meantime the scape-goat remained "alive." Our interpretation is confirmed by the Torah as correct as you can see from verse 21. Only then does Aaron place his hands (weight) on the head of the שעיר החי, the "living goat," and confesses the sins of the people and transfers them to the head of that animal. At that point the Torah no longer adds the adjective "the live one," when speaking of the scapegoat. Seeing the animal is considered dead from that point on we can understand why the messenger who took the scapegoat to the place from where it was thrown off the rock had to immerse himself in a ritual bath. He had become ritually defiled by contact with an animal considered dead according to halachah though it had been walking all the time that the איש עתי accompanied it (verse 22).

לשלח אותו לעזאזל המדברה, according to the plain meaning it means to dispatch it “alive” to the goats in the desert, similar to the one bird of the two bird offerings in Leviticus 14,7 being released live into the open spaces. The purpose of the procedure is to ritually purify the afflicted from his ritual contamination. Here in our verse too, the purpose of the procedure is to cleanse the entire Jewish people from the ritual contamination which they have been in by releasing the scape-goat to the desert, to an area where it can find grazing, as we know from Exodus 3,1 where Moses had taken his father-in-law’s sheep into grazing land behind the desert, According to the Talmud (Beytzah 40) the meaning of מדבריות, is בייתות, “domesticated.” [this would support the idea that the word המדברה here does not mean “to a desolate, desert region.” Ed.]

Why does the verse say [this]? Explanation: because it [already] said יעמד, “it shall stand,” and “standing” implies that it is alive. If so, why does the verse say “alive?”

'יעמד חי לפני ה, “shall be standing alive before the Lord;” initially it will remain standing alive before the Lord, whereas its death will be caused by the rock from which it will be thrown. How long will it have to remain standing alive? According to Rabbi Yehudah, until the High Priest has completed all the procedures resulting in the atonement for the Jewish people, something hinted at in verse 20. (Sifra)

To achieve atonement with it. This means to confess, for the main understanding of confession and atonement is throwing away and abandoning the sin. Similarly, every language of atonement (כפרה) is a connotation of removing, as in (Yishayahu 28:18): “And your treaty with death shall be removed” (HaKesav veHaKabbalah).

לכפר עליו THAT HE MAY MAKE AN EXPIATION WITH IT — i. e. that he (the High-Priest) shall confess upon it (upon its head) Israel’s sins, as it is said (v. 21) “And Aaron shall confess upon it [the iniquities of the children of Israel]” (cf. Yoma 40b).

לעזאזל. The letter ל at the beginning is not an integral part of the word. It is like the letter ל in ארבאל בית in Hoseah 10,14 where the word is really derived from ארב as in Deuteronomy 19,11 וארב לו “and he prepared an ambush for him.” The letter we are speaking about is similar to the letter ם which sometimes appears at the end of the word ריקם, empty, instead of ריק, but which does not add to the meaning of the word. Similar examples of apparently redundant letters are the letter ן in words such as עשרון, עצבון, and שגעון, In verse 22 the place called המדברה in our verse is called ארץ גזרה, a totally arid land, one that cannot produce a crop. It is literally “cut off,” גזורה, from all goodness.

That he shall confess over it. But not atonement of blood, because this goat was not sacrificed and its blood is not received [in a vessel], as it is sent to Azazel. In addition, this cannot be [referring to the] blood atonement [of his bullock], because his bullock was not yet slaughtered.