Mishnah/Seder Nezikin/Tractate Shevuot/Chapter 1/6

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Mishnah Seder Nezikin, Tractate Shevuot Chapter 1, Mishnah 6

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Hebrew Text

ועל זדון טומאת מקדש וקודשיו,

שעיר הנעשה בפנים ויום הכיפורים מכפר;

ועל שאר עבירות שבתורה –

הקלות והחמורות,

הזדונות והשגגות,

הודע ולא הודע,

עשה ולא תעשה,

כרתות ומיתות בית דין –

שעיר המשתלח מכפר.

English Translation

For an intentional sin involving the impurity of the Temple and its sacred objects,

the he-goat which [has its blood service] performed Inside and the Day of Atonement atone;

For the other transgressions in the Torah –

minor ones and major ones,

intentional ones and unintentional ones,

where one found out [about it] [later] or did not find out,

a positive commandment or a negative commandment,

ones [punishable by] excision and ones [punishable by] capital punishment –

the Sent He-goat atones.

Explanation

excision: The punishment of excision, or karet, is the subject of some dispute among rabbinic authorities. It either represents an early death, childlessness, or a post-mortem spiritual punishment.

Sent He-goat: A unique service performed on Yom Kippur, the Sent He-goat is selected out of a pair by lottery, after which it is sent off to "carry the sins" of Israel to the wilderness; there it is killed by a fall from a cliff. The other of the pair is, at the same time, designated as the he-goat whose service is performed in the Holy of Holies. (See Leviticus 16:5–22)