Service of the Kohen Gadol: Scapegoat

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On Yom Kippur we offer a sacrifice to a being other than God, usually the worst of sins, yet on Yom Kippur it is a Mitzvah. We offer a goat to Azazel. The Ramban explains that the idea of Azazel, one of two goats chosen by lottery, one for God and one for Azazel, represent Yaacov and Eisav. It was chance that God chose one over the other. It could have gone either way with the two brothers or with the two goats.

Our actions could have gone either way; for good or for evil. God will still take us where we need to go. When we accept God’s ultimate control over our lives and do Teshuva with that realization, we can transform what was for Azazel into a gift for God. We can change our sins into merit.

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Copyright © 2008 Rabbi Simcha L. Weinberg. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this material via the Internet or via any other means without prior permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.

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