Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their sins, putting them on the head of the goat; and it shall be sent off to the wilderness through a designated man. Thus the goat shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness. Leviticus 16: 21-22.
The shepherd is an essential motif in Judaism. God is likened to a shepherd, and Israel to God’s flock. The shepherd is responsible for his flock; herding it where it needs to go, looking out for the smallest and weakest members, tending it, attending to its physical needs, watching and aiding each member from birth to death.
The nurturing care of shepherd for his flock is a key attribute found in the leaders of Israel. Moses was tending his father in law Jethro’s flock of goats when God caused a small kid to run away and become separated from the herd. God tested that Moses would follow the kid. Moses proved that he cared for even the smallest member of the flock, and when he did he discovered a bush that burned without being consumed. And at that space and time, God spoke to Moses and told him of his role in God’s plans to free the Israelite people from slavery.
Years later, when Samuel was looking for a new king of Israel, he went to Jesse’s house in Bethlehem. He interviewed Jesse’s seven oldest sons – warriors all -- but recognized that none were the king he was seeking. Jesse announced to Samuel that his youngest son David was tending the sheep. A Midrash about David as a boy tells how he saved a sheep from a lion. As soon as Samuel saw the red headed shepherd, he realized that David was the future king of Israel.
There are two goats in this week’s parasha, Acharei Mot. But there are no shepherds. No shepherds, but two men with unique caprine functions. One of the men is the kohan gadol; the other is the designated man.
The kohan gadol, Aaron, is dressed in linen and sacral clothes, and, with great pageantry and solemnity, his task it is to sacrifice one goat and lay his hands on the other, transferring sin into it. The designated man’s job is to lead the second goat – the living receptacle of all the Israelite misdeeds, sins, and inequities -- through the wilderness. In a reversal of the shepherding motif, the designated man must take the scapegoat into the wilderness, and either abandon it (pshat) or drive it off a cliff (Mishnah).
Who was this designated man? However he was chosen his task is the inverse of a shepherd. Yet, in order to fulfill it properly, he must have been a shepherd. Who else could convince the goat to go beyond his usual grazing spot? Who else would know how to care for the goat on the way to the inaccessible region? Who else would have the knowledge to abandon a domesticated goat in such a way that the goat would be unlikely to follow him back to join the herd? Who else would have the ability to carry the goat if he sickens on the way, as the Mishnah details must be done? And who else could care enough to climb down the precipice and take away what remaining life might be left in the broken bruised body of a goat driven off a cliff, (as the Mishnah insists must be done in the instance of the goat not dieing immediately.)
We can only imagine how difficult abandoning a goat in the wilderness would be for one who spends his life caring for goats. In fact, even those of us whose only experience with caring for animals is limited to opening a can for Spot or Mittens, feel the brutality of the goat’s treatment.
The traditional school of thought says that it is not cruel; the scapegoat is a representation of our sins. We must take our sins seriously; we must turn our backs on our misdeeds and banish them as viciously as possible
I believe otherwise. Although the goat represents all the dark and difficult parts of ourselves, we can learn from the designated man that it shouldn’t be too easy to assign those divisions to "other" and cast them away. When we feel ownership and responsibility for those sins, we can more productively engage in affecting change in ourselves. When we chase down the smallest and weakest element of our self, we might meet God, and discover our role in God’s plans.