Shevuot 7 – Awareness of Impurity

If one knew that he was ritually impure, forgot about it, and then visited the Temple or ate sacrifices, once he remembers his impurity, he is obligated to bring a “variable” sacrifice, the nature of which depends on his means.

If, however, he never recalls that he was impure, the goat that is brought as a sacrifice on Yom Kippur, and the day of Yom Kippur itself, suspends his punishment. When he finally finds out about his past impurity, he brings a “variable sacrifice.”

But maybe the goat of Yom Kippur atones even for idol worship, prohibited relations, and bloodshed, because these are also characterized as “impure”? - No! Yom Kippur atones only “from impurities of the Children of Israel,” but not all impurities – these are the words of Rabbi Yehudah. Rabbi Shimon derives the same answer from the context of Yom Kippur – it atones only for matters related to the Temple service.

Art: Girl with a goat by Theodore Robinson