Translation:Mishnah/Seder Nezikin/Tractate Shevuot/Chapter 1/4

Hebrew Text

 * על שאין בה ידיעה לא בתחילה, ולא בסוף –
 * שעירי רגלים ושעירי ראשי חודשים מכפרין; דברי רבי יהודה.
 * רבי שמעון אומר: שעירי רגלים מכפרין, אבל לא שעירי ראשי חודשים;
 * ועל מה שעירי ראשי חודשים מכפרין? על טהור שאכל טמא.
 * רבי מאיר אומר: כל השעירים כפרתן שווה, על טומאת מקדש וקודשיו.


 * שהיה רבי שמעון אומר:
 * שעירי ראשי חודשים מכפרין על טהור שאכל טמא,
 * ושל רגלים מכפרין על שאין בה ידיעה לא בתחילה ולא בסוף;
 * ושל יום הכיפורים מכפרין על שאין בה ידיעה בתחילה, אבל יש בה ידיעה בסוף.


 * אמרו לו: מה הן שיקרבו זה בזה.
 * אמר להן: יקרבו.
 * אמרו לו: הואיל ואין כפרתן שווה, היאך הן קרבין.
 * אמר להן: כולם באים לכפר על טומאת מקדש וקודשיו.

English Translation

 * For [a sin while impure] that has no recognition either at the beginning or at the end –
 * the he-goats of the Pilgrimage Festivals and the he-goats of the New Months atone; these are the words of Rabbi Yehudah.
 * Rabbi Shimon says: The he-goats of the Pilgrimage Festivals atone [for it], but not the he-goats of the Pilgrimage Festivals.
 * And for what do the he-goats of the New Months atone? For a pure person who ate an impure [food] item.
 * Rabi Meir says: All the he-goats have equivalent atonements, for the impurity of the Temple and its sacred objects.


 * For Rabbi Shimon would say:
 * The he-goats of the New Months atone for a pure person that ate an impure [food] item,
 * and those of the Pilgrimage Festivals atone for that which has no recognition either at the beginning or at the end,
 * and those of the Day of Atonement atone for that which has no recognition at the beginning, but has recognition at the end.


 * [The rabbis] said to him: What is [the law as to] whether they may be offered one for the other?
 * He said to them: They may be offered.
 * They said to him: Since their atonements are not equivalent, how can they be offered [one for the other]?
 * He said to them: They all come to atone for the impurity of the Temple and its sacred objects.



Explanation
the he-goats of the Festivals and the he-goats of the New Months: On each holiday, excepting the Sabbath, a he-goat is sacrificed as a public sin-offering. (See Numbers 28-29) a pure person who ate an impure [food] item: The "impure food" referred to is a sacred object (otherwise there would be no sin). They all come to atone for the impurity of the Temple and its sacred objects: Apparently Rabbi Shimon means that this basic similarity allows them to be used interchangeably, and to effect whichever atonement is desired.