Comentário sobre Números 28:30

In connection with the festival of Sh’vuot, although the line: שעיר עזים אחד לכפר עליכם, “one male goat to atone for you,” appears, the customary word: לחטאת, “as a sin offering “ is absent. Presumably this is in honour of the Torah which had been given to the people on that date. This is also why the author of the liturgical poem recited in many congregations on that day, writes that: “sin is not mentioned on that day so that the Lord can enjoy a day of rest.” An alternate explanation. Seeing that on that day, at least, the entire congregation was free from sin, [when the Ten Commandments were given at Mount Sinai. Ed.] According to the Midrash, their status was like as if they had never sinned, as on that day they had unanimously accepted the yoke of the Torah. We find also the line: מלבד עולת התמיד, “apart from the daily burnt offering,” immediately following this verse and it is strange that these words do not appear in connection with the two wave-breads that were offered up only on that day of the year. This was the pattern of the Torah in chapter 29,6,as well as in chapter 29,11, in connection with the mussaph offerings on New Year’s Day as well as on the Day of Atonement.
Perhaps we can answer this question by suggesting that this statement had already been included in the description of the mussaph offerings on that day commencing in verse 26 of our chapter. We also find that in connection with the details of the mussaph offerings on New Year’s Day, (29,2) it is written specifically: ועשיתם עולה, “you are to prepare a burnt offering, etc;” Why was this expression different in any way from the usual formula of והקרבתם עולה, “you are to sacrifice (bring to the altar) that the Torah employs everywhere else when discussing the burnt offering? We may understand that the reason is that that day is the day when all of mankind is being judged, and from the moment we enter the New Year, we are all considered as if we had only been created on that day. The author of the liturgical poems for that day probably had this in mind when he wrote: הבוראם בריאה חדשה, “Who had created them as a new creature.” According to the Midrash, these words in the liturgy for the Days of awe should be read only on the Day of Atonement. (based on the Midrash on Psalms 102,19 where the psalmist speaks of a new people having been created.) [There are several disagreements quoted by the Midrash as to who precisely the psalmist referred to, at any rate all are agreed that he referred to people not yet created at the time when the psalmist composed this hymn. I am therefore not continuing with this part of the author’s commentary. The reader interested can read the Midrash Tehillim Ed.]
The reason why on Sukkot we recite the entire Hallel as opposed to the festival of Passover is that on each of the days of Sukkot, the composition of the offering is different from every other day, thereby giving each day a special significance. On Passover, the mussaph offering is exactly the same on all of the seven days. The reason why on the eighth day, sh’mini ha-atzeret, only a single bullock is part of the mussaph offering, is to show that it is not the Lord Who is in need of these offerings, but they are presented as a sign of honour by G–d to the Jewish people to the gentile nations. It would have been appropriate that this day occur on the 50th day after the end of the Sukkot festival, just as the festival of Sh’vuot occurs on the fiftieth day after the first day of Passover. It has been shifted as the climate at that time makes a pilgrimage to Jerusalem a hardship during the rainy season. (Tanchuma section 15 on this portion) Our author quotes another liturgical poem for these days referring to this point. [We, especially in the land of Israel, where these festivals are part of the everyday atmosphere on these days, do not recite most of these poems anymore, as we do not need them as a reminder of the significance of the days. Ed.]

שעיר עזים אחד, “one male goat;” we have a statement recorded near the end of the Babylonian Talmud tractate Rosh Hashanah, that in the land of Israel the scholars quoting Rabbi Mesharshia in the name of Rabbi Acha, draws attention to the fact that whereas with all the other such sacrifices the term used is חטאת, “sinoffering,” whereas here the reference to sin is omitted. He explains by quoting the Lord saying to the Israelites: “seeing that this is the anniversary of the day on which you voluntarily accepted the yoke of My Torah, I consider this as if you had not committed any sins to be atoned for prior to this day.” (Jerusalem Talmud Rosh Hashanah chapter 4, halachah 10)