Study Shevuot folio 9B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
הא גמרינן ראש חדש מדיום הכפורים ולא פרכינן; התם – כפרה מיכתב כתיבא, גלויי מילתא בעלמא הוא; אבל הכא – איכא למימר כולה מילתא לא גמרינן!
Don’t we derive the atonement of the goat of Rosh Chodesh through a comparison to the goat of Yom Kippur and we did not refute it by saying that the atonement of the goat of Yom Kippur is more extensive, that is not relevant: There, with regard to the goat of Rosh Chodesh, the basic fact that it provides atonement is written in the verse, as Rav Yehuda explains above, and the comparison to the goat of Yom Kippur is merely revealing a matter, i.e., it teaches in what way its atonement is limited. But here, with regard to the goats of the Festivals, the verse does not mention any details about atonement, so it is valid to say that we do not derive the entire matter from the comparison to the goat of Yom Kippur, as it provides a more extensive atonement.
אלא כדאמר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא: ״שעיר״–״ושעיר״; הכא נמי ״שעיר״–״ושעיר״, ואיתקוש שעירי רגלים לשעירי ראשי חדשים; מה שעירי ראשי חדשים אינן מכפרין אלא על שאין בה ידיעה לא בתחלה ולא בסוף, אף שעירי הרגלים אינן מכפרין אלא על שאין בה ידיעה לא בתחלה ולא בסוף.
Rather, the atonement of the goats of the Festivals is derived just as R' Ḥama, son of R' Ḥanina, says in explanation of the opinion of R' Meir (10a): The matter is derived from the fact that with regard to the goat of the Festivals (see Numbers, chapters 28–29) the verses that mention the goat could have simply stated: A goat, but instead state: “And a goat.” Here too, the fact that the verse could have simply stated: A goat, but instead states: “And a goat,” indicates that the goats of the Festivals are juxtaposed with the goat of Rosh Chodesh, which are mentioned at the beginning of that passage, and teaches that they all effect a similar atonement. Just as the goats of Rosh Chodesh atone only for cases in which one did not have awareness, neither at the beginning nor at the end, so too, the goats of the Festivals atone only for cases in which one did not have awareness, neither at the beginning nor at the end.