Moon. Sun. Goat. Guilt

Ba'Midbar 28:15

Myths are not just fairy tales. Sometimes strange and sacred stories contain the core truth of our existence, hidden layers and secrets that can only be alive for us today through the prism of parable. Such is the case with the obscure legend about the moon, the sun, and the guilt-goat of God that shows up in the margins of today's chapter. It’s as close to  the origins of patriarchy as we got. 

Chapter 28 of the Book of Wilderness steps away from the crises to refocus on the mechanics of religious life - with detailed descriptions of the sacrificial system per each holy day on our calendar. And while we don’t sacrifice food upon the altar anymore - these holy days are still the ones by which we mark sacred time, a robust calendar based on both the solar and the lunar cycles of nature and culture. Food is still a central aspect of our celebration. One specific dish/sacrifice stands out as unusual, leading us to a mega myth about our origins and what’s at stake when it comes to repair of past traumas.

The context is the listing of the new moon ritual sacrifices at the tabernacle and later temple: 2 bulls, 1 ram, 7 lambs, plus side dishes of grain, and wine libations. The standard. 

But then there’s this bonus: 

וּשְׂעִ֨יר עִזִּ֥ים אֶחָ֛ד לְחַטָּ֖את לַיהֹוָ֑ה עַל־עֹלַ֧ת הַתָּמִ֛יד יֵעָשֶׂ֖ה וְנִסְכּֽוֹ׃      

“And there shall be one goat as a sin offering to Adonai, to be offered in addition to the regular burnt offering and its libation.” 

Ba 28:15

What’s with the goat that is a sin/guilt offering for God? And who’s offering/paying for it? 

This is where the myth comes in, likely ancient oral tradition eventually written down in some form in the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Hullin, 60b:

“When God created the sun and the moon, on the fourth day of creation, the two great lights were equal in size. The moon was upset, so she said to the Holy One, “Sovereign of the Universe! Can two rulers wear one crown?” God answered: “Go then and make yourself smaller!”  Simeon ben Lakish declared, “Why is it that the goat offered on the New Moon as a sin offering is distinctive in that there is written concerning it, ‘unto God’?” Because the Holy One said, “Let this goat be atonement for Me and my sin in making the moon smaller.”

The lunar is understood to be the feminine consciousness, connected to the menstrual cycles, waxing and waning. The solar system is often identified with masculinity. The unique goat offering, paid for by the temple, to atone for some primordial lessening of the feminine in favor of the masculine not only hints at some ancient guilt but also shines a light at future repair. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed that at the end of time ““the light of the moon shall become like the light of the sun.” With each new moon honored and celebrated, even without the goat guilt of God - we can elevate the sacred feminine within each one of us and in our culture, slowly turning back the tides, reclaiming balance and restoring light to where patriarchy’s binary patterns obscured the luminousness of life.  

It’s a new moon this coming Sunday - and it’s the new moon of Elul - another opportunity on our sacred calendar time to begin again the annual journey of reflection, repair, and return to center. Skip the goat! (but stay tuned for the mysterious ram’s horn.)

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