Shevuot 10 – For What Each Specific Goat Atones

According to Rabbi Yehudah, the goats brought on Festivals and the goats brought on the New Moon atone for violations of ritual purity laws, of which one never becomes aware.

Rabbi Shimon disagrees about the goats of the New Moon and says that they atone specifically for cases when one, while being pure, inadvertently eats impure sacrifices.

Rabbi Meir says that the atonement of all he-goats is the same: they atone for inadvertent purity violations of the Temple and its offerings.

Rabbi Shimon Ben Yehuda has a different version of what Rabbi Shimon said: that the goats atone for a progressively wider range of infringements, from New Moon to Festivals to Yom Kippur. Said the Sages to him, "If they are so similar, can a goat designated for the New Moon be brought on Yom Kippur ?" He said, "Yes. Even though they are not the same, they have that in common: they deal with the purity of the Temple and its offerings.”

Art: Landscape with Two Goats by Paul Gauguin