Yoma 65 - If the goat's blood spilled

In discussing the two goats - the subject of our last four pages - Rabbi Yehudah adds a rule: if the blood of the goat "for the Name" spilled, the goat that is sent away is left to die, and another one should be brought instead. The Talmud understands why this is: if the blood is spilled, new blood must be brought. This is impossible without drawing lots for the two new goats. Therefore, the goat "for Azazel" is rejected.

Suddenly, the Talmud finds a contradiction between this opinion of Rabbi Yehudah and another, in a completely different situation. In the laws of Shekalim, coin donations, if the coins from a certain city were lost and then found, they did not count for the next year. Rabbi Yehudah there thought that they could. So, Rabbi Yehudah, why can't we use the goat for Azazel for the next year's lottery, just as the Shekalim money could be used for the next year?

The Talmud tries a few answers and rejects them until it decides that it would be too dangerous to keep a sacrificial animal for a year because of the possibility of committing misappropriation (Meilah) with it.

Art: A trompe l'oeil of paper money and coins - French School



Don't understand a point? Ask MosesAI about it.