Of Goats and Gods. It s well known Moses was fond of Yiddish aphorisms. One of his favorite

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1 RabbiJonathanCrane OfGoatsandGods ShabbatShalom. It swellknownmoseswasfondofyiddishaphorisms.oneofhisfavorite was, Don tapproachagoatfromthefront,ahorsefromtheback,orafoolfromany side. 1 TodayI mgoingtotellasmalldavaraboutmosesperhapsfoolishly approachingagoatfromthefront,side,topandbottom. Inthisweek sparashahmosesinstructsaarontocleanthetabernacle. Includedinthisthanklesstaskisaritualinvolvingtwogoats.Oneofthegoats Aaronhadtoslaughter.Theother,Mosessaid,wastobeearmarkedasanazazel andwouldbesentoffintothewildernessasascapegoat.butmystorydoesnot reallyinvolvethesetwogoatsbutanother.lateronintheparashahmosesinstructs Aaron,hissonsandallofIsraeltobringtheirsacrificiallivestocktotheTabernacle toworshipadonaiproperly.thisisbecausetheyshouldnot,asmosessays explicitly, offertheirsacrificesanymoretothegoatsafterwhomtheystray. 2 In Moses view,sacrificinganimalsoutintheopenawayfromthetabernaclewas tantamounttohomicide,andanyonewhodidsowastobecutofffromthe Leviticus17:7. 1

2 communityorworse. 3 IthinkthatMoseswasnotmerelycentralizingthesacrificial cult,hewassayingsomethingmoremysterious,devious ifnotdevilish withthis statement. For,yousee,Moseschuckledtohimself.Hethoughthewassocleversaying thattheisraelitesshouldnolongermakesacrificestothegoats(la se irim)after whomtheystray. Hekneweveryonewasfamiliarwiththewordforgoat,sa ir,buthewantedtomake aplayonwordsbyusingtheextremelyrarepluralformoftheword,se irim.he buffedhisfingernailswithpridewhenhethoughtaboutthefivedifferentways se irimcouldbeunderstood. 3 Leviticus17:4. 2

3 First,Mosesknewthatthewordsa iralsomeanshairy.perhapshemeant thattheisraelitesshouldnolongermakesacrificestothehairyonesafterwhom theyhanker.mosesrecalledthatmostfamoushairypersoninthebiblewasesau, Jacob sbrotherandisaac sson. 4 NotonlywasEsauhairy,hewasabelligerent fellow. MosesalsorecalledthattheTalmudicrabbisenvisionthatfromEsaucame theedomitekingdomandfromedomcamerome.mosesraisedhiseyebrowashe contemplatedthepoliticalimplicationsofhisphrase:donotmakesacrificesany moretothelong haired,marauding,anduncontrollableromans. Second,Moses,beingtheencyclopedicknow it allprophetthathewas,read whatisaiah,hispropheticcolleague,saysaboutse irim.inisaiah sview,se irim 4 Genesis25:25. 3

4 dwellinthewildernessamongsleepingbeasts,owlsandostriches.itisthereamong theseslumberinganimalsthatse irimdance. 5 Andlateronwhenhedescribesthe wastelandthatedombecomes,isaiahsays, wildcatsshallmeethyenas,these irwill greeteachother,andthelilithwillliedownandfindherselfarestingplace. 6 Soto Isaiahse irimaresomesortofwildcreaturewholikestopartyitupandsocialize, butdoessoinarespectfulmannerthatneighboringbeasts,fowlandevendemons likethatmysteriouslilith,cansleepundisturbed. 7 Moseslikedthatperhapsthe Israeliteswouldgetthemessagetobemoreaustere,lessfrivolousandwildintheir sacrificialpractices. Butthenagain,Mosesrecalledreadingtheearliesttranslationofthebible intoaramaic,thetargumonkelos,wherethehebrewse irimbecomesthearamaic shedim.moseschortledinaself satisfyingway,forhecertainlyknewaboutshedim, becausehementionsthemindeuteronomy.shedim,mosessays,weresacrificedto, buttheyaregodsofnoutilityanddonotinspirefear. 8 Healsoknewthatthe psalmistlamentsthatpeoplesacrificechildrentoshedim. 9 HealsoknewthatIbn Ezra,the12 th CenturySpanishexegete,saysthatthepersonwhoseesshedim becomesbodilyagitatedandshakeslikeastorm.moreover,thesepeoplearecalled 5 Isaiah13:21. 6 Isaiah34:14. 7 SeealsoRashiatLeviticus17:7. 8 Deuteronomy32:17. 9 Psalms106:37. 4

5 meshugayim,abitwhacky,andmoreovertheshedimtheyseetaketheformsof goats. 10 MosesalsoknewthatNachmanides,the13 th Centurykabbalistsage,thinks thatshediminhabitonlydevastatedwastelandslikethedesert,thefurthestcorners oftheearth,andtheextremecoldnorth.particularlyfascinatingtomoseswas Nachaminides invocationofaristotle sfourelements earth,water,windandfire todescribetheshedim.unlikehumanswhoarecomposedofallfourelements,only twoarefoundinshedim:fireandwind.moreover,theshedimhavesixfeatures,half ofwhichtheysharewithhumans,andtheotherhalftheysharewiththeministering angels.whatshedimhaveincommonwithhumansisthattheyeatanddrink,they procreate,andtheydie.theirsimilaritiestoministeringangelsincludeshaving wings,flyingfromoneendoftheworldtothenext,andknowingwhatthefuture holds. 11 Wow,thoughtMoses.Shedim,orse irim,arepart humanandpart divine. Couldtheybewingeddemi gods?mosespausedforamomenttothink.itcouldbe argued,hereasoned,thatshedimwereliketheakkadiandemi godssedu.sedu werewingedhouseholdprotectivedeities,andtheywerehalfhumanandhalfbull orlion.mosesshookhisheadsadly,recallingthatse irimweremorebillythanbully orfeline.butperhaps,likeibnezraandnachmanides,othersmightlinkse irimwith shedim,andhelikedtheambiguityofitall. 10 IbnEzraatLeviticus17:7. 11 RambanatLeviticus17:7;seealsoBTChagigah16a. 5

6 YetMosescouldnotshakehimselfoftheideathatse irimaredemi gods,halfhumanandhalf divine,andtheytakegoatform.familiarashewaswithallkindsof theologies,mosesrecalledhearingingreekmythologyaboutsatyrs.ahah,hecried! Asatyrhasahumanface,armsandtorso,anditstwolegsarethoseofagoat.When mature,asatyrhashornsandanerectphallus.andhere sthecincher,asatyris coveredinhair! Moseswaselated.Satyrs,heremembered,aredemonsfamousfortheir lasciviousnessandlustforpartyinghard.justlookatfaunus,theboy satyrgodof festivities,andhiswings.hey,justlookatallthefaunsinancientandrenaissance art. 6

7 ButMosesscratchedhischin.Whataboutcentaurs?Couldse irimbe centaurs?acentauralsohasahumanface,armsandtorso,butinsteadoftwo,ithas fourlegs muchlikeahorseor,inrarecases,agoat. MosesrememberedreadingintheNYT,theNewYavnehTimes,thatcentaurs areknowntoliveeverywherebetweenbabylonandmountpelioningreeceduring thattime.itisreportedthatthesecentaurcommunitiesarewarlikeand rambunctious,andtheychasewomen,and,accordingtothestylesection,theyare notablyifnotroguishlyshaggy. NowMoseswasfamiliarthatbothsatyrsandcentaurspopulateJewishlaw andmidrashim.indeed,heknewthatthetalmudicrabbisdebatewhetheranentity borneofawomanthathasahumanfaceandthebodyofagoatistrulyhuman. 12 He 12 BTNiddah23b. 7

8 knewthatduringthetimeofenosh,adam sgrandson,peoplewerenolongermade ingod simageonaccountoftheiridolatrouspractices.rather,theyweremorelike centaursthananythingelse thoughthisdidnotstopthemfrominterbreedingwith truehumans. 13 AndMosesknewthestoryoftheAfricanmilitaryking,Zepho,who failedtooustjacobfromegyptandfledtothelandofkittim.whileinkittimzepho wentinsearchofastrayoxonbehalfofthepeople.outinthewildernesshe discoveredacaveinwhichabeastthatwashalf manhalf goatanditwasdevouring theveryoxhesought.hekilledthatbeastandreceivedahero swelcomeuponhis returntokittim. 14 So,thoughtMoses,se irimcouldrefertosatyrsandcentaurs,creaturesthat sharethehumandrivetoprocreate,andareultimatelymortal.buthowpersuasive woulditbetosay donotsacrificeanymoretothesatyrsafterwhomyoustray?it wouldbebettertosaythatsatyrsandcentaurspursuehumans,andnottheother wayaround.nonetheless,heshruggedbecausehelikedtheassociation. Nowfinally,MosesrecalledreadingintheTalmudaboutRabbiEleazar,afirst centurypalestiniansage,whoasksthequestionseveraltimes, howdoweknow thatwhensomeonemakesasacrificetomarkolisthatheisliableforaheinous crime? EleazaranswershisownquestionbyreferringtoMoses words, theyshall notsacrificeanymoretothesi irim. 15 Mosespausedforamoment:whatis 13 Genesis5:6;BereshitRabbah23.6.SeeTheLegendsoftheJews,I:123.Seealso page423foranotherdiscussionofhybridspecies. 14 TheLegendsoftheJews,2: BTAvodahZarah51a;BTSanhedrin61a;BTZevachim106a.SeealsoMAvodah Zarah4.1. 8

9 Markolis?Heruffledaroundamonghismythologybooksanddiscoveredthat MarkolisisnoneotherthantheRomangodMercury,ortheGreekgodHermes. Moreover,MercuryandHermesarefast movingfellows,whocangetfromoneend oftheworldtotheotherbecauseoftheirwingedhatsandwingedsandals. Moseslookedupintothedistancerecallingwhenhesawstatuesand paintingsofthesegods,didn ttheyhavegoatsnearby?soitmakessense,moses criedout.worshippingse irimislikeworshippingafull fledgedpagangod! 9

10 Slammingthebooksshut,Mosesfeltjustifiedbyhisbeliefthatworshippingse irim outintheopenisakindofidolatryandthustantamounttohomicidebecauseit murdersproperworshipofadonai,andthusitwarrantsexcommunicationoreven execution. LestIgetyourgoatbyroamingtoofarafield,letmeconcludehere. WhileIamconvincedthatMosessaidtotheIsraelitesthattheyshouldnot offertheirsacrificesanymoretothesi irimafterwhomtheystray, andthathesaid thistocentralizethesacrificialimpulseamongtheancientisraelites.yetiremain uncertainwhatmosesmeant. Didhemeanthatse irimaremerelyfurryandbleetinggoats? Orisse irimapoliticalreferencetobelligerentesau,edomandrome? Orarese irimsomesortofcreaturethatpartiesanddancesinthe wilderness? Orarese irimshedim,demi gods,part humanandpart ministeringangel? Orarese irimsatyrsandcentaurs? Orarese irimanotherformofmercuryandhermesandhencemembersof thepaganpantheon?coulditbethatse irimisbutanothernameforcapricornus? 10

11 Icannotrightlysaywhichiscorrect.ButIcanenvisageMosessmugly watchingusasweruminatethispuzzle,saying, So,Nu!Whatdoyouthink? ShabbatShalom. 11