וְאֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל תְּדַבֵּר לֵאמֹר קְחוּ שְׂעִיר־עִזִּים לְחַטָּאת וְעֵגֶל וָכֶבֶשׂ בְּנֵי־שָׁנָה תְּמִימִם לְעֹלָה׃

And speak to the Children of Israel, saying: Take a he-goat for a sin offering; a calf and a lamb, yearlings without blemish, for a burnt offering. (Vayikra 9:3)

At the conclusion of the dedication of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) a goat was brought as one of the communal sacrifices of the day. This was one of the differences between the set of sacrifices Aharon, the kohen Gadol brought personally on that day and the sacrifices brought by the community.

The Midrash of Torat Kohanim states that Hashem commanded the nation as a whole to bring a goat as a Chatat (Sin Offering) and a calf for an Olah (Burnt Offering) because these animals were reminiscent of the sins they were atoning for. The goat represents the sale of Joseph by his brothers. To cover up their deed the Torah states, “Then they took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a kid, and dipped the tunic in the blood.” (Bereshit 37:31), to make it appear as if Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. The calf represents the sin of the Golden calf. The kid goat would atone for the sin committed with a kid goat and let the calf would atone for the sin committed with a calf.

Why was now the time to atone for the sin of the sale of Joseph?

Yalkut Yehuda answers that the sale of Joseph was caused by his brothers’ jealousy of him due to the special status he held in the eyes of their father Jacob and especially when he dreamed of ruling over them , as the Torah states וַיְקַנְאוּ־בוֹ אֶחָיו, “his brothers were jealous of him” (Bereshit 37:11). Aharon and his family’s elevation as Kohanim had the potential of causing the Jewish nation to become jealous of him. Therefore Hashem had them bring a sacrifice representing the sale of Josef to remind the Jewish people of the danger of jealousy and to uproot it from their hearts.

Contrast this to the attitudes of Moshe and Aharon towards each other. Midrash Tanchuma states that when Moshe told Aharon that Hashem has appointed him to be Kohein Gadol (the High Priest) Aharon responded in shock. “You’ve toiled to create the Mishkan and I should become Kohein Gadol?” Moshe responded, “I consider you being the Kohein Gadol as if I am the Kohein Gadol! Just as you rejoiced in the greatness that I attained, I rejoice in the greatness you have attained!” Moshe was referring to how he didn’t want to accept the position of leader of the Jewish people when Hashem appeared to him at the Burning Bush because he didn’t want to take the position ahead of his older brother. Hashem told him not to fear. “הִנֵּה־הוּא יֹצֵא לִקְרָאתֶךָ וְרָאֲךָ וְשָׂמַח בְּלִבּוֹ׃, he is setting out to meet you, and he will be happy to see you (Shemot 4:14).” Aharon will rejoice in your elevated status.

Yalkut Yehudah adds another reason for the offering of the goat. The Midrash states that the Beit HaMikdash (the Holy Temple) was located primarily in the portion of Israel belonging to the tribe of Binyamin (Benjamin) because the only brother not present at the sale of Joseph was his brother Binyamin. Hashem was conveying that he can’t have mercy on the Jewish people when they seek it through the Divine worship of the Beit HaMikdash when they showed no mercy for their brother! Therefore, writes Yalkut Yehudah, it was necessary at the establishment of the Mishkan to atone for the sin of the sale of Joseph if they wanted to have the Shechina, the Divine presence of Hashem, in their midst. That atonement could only come if the Jewish people contemplated the cause for that sin and committed to avoid it. They had to work on not being jealous of one another and to rejoice in another person’s success as they saw by their leaders, Moshe and Aharon.

The key to this is our emunah (faith) that everything comes to us from Hashem and our bitachon (trust) that He always has our best in mind. This is a life’s challenge but one that will bring the blessings of the Shechina into our lives.

Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak