Guide
Confession of the High Priest
1st–4th Centuries
Leviticus 16:21, in which the high priest confesses the sins of the community and transfers them onto the head of the goat that is then banished to the wilderness, is elaborated on by the rabbis in tractate Yoma (called Kippurim in the Tosefta). Here they specify a wording for this confession. The biblical verse also serves as the basis for their requirement to make verbal confession of sins on Yom Kippur even after the destruction of the Temple.
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
The Mishnah on the High Priest’s Confession
3:8. He [the high priest] would come to his bullock. [ . . . ] And he would place his two hands upon it and make confession. And thus would he say:
Please, O God!…
Primary Source
The Tosefta on the High Priest’s Confession
2:1. How does he confess? “Please, God, I have transgressed, I have rebelled, I have sinned before You, I and my family. Please, God, please atone for the transgressions, and for the rebellions, and…
Primary Source
The Palestinian Talmud on the High Priest’s Confession
The high priest would mention the name [of God] ten times on Yom Kippur: six times involving the bull, three involving the goat, and…