ויקרא, פרק ט״ז, פסוק ט׳

The Day of Atonement service reaches a crucial turning point when the destiny of the goat dedicated to God is established. This defining moment is not merely a procedural step, but a complex process that blends physical movement, heavenly determination, and clear intention. The selection is finalized the exact moment the lot is drawn from the box. Because the focus is on the lot coming up rather than being placed on the animal, the goat's sacred purpose is sealed immediately upon the draw. Once this happens, its fate is permanent, and it does not matter if the physical lot remains resting on the animal until the time of the sacrifice [תורה תמימה, מלבי״ם, אדרת אליהו, רש ר הירש]. The priest then prepares and dedicates the goat, presenting and shifting it toward the west to visually confirm that it is entirely set apart for God [ביאור שטיינזלץ, רד צ הופמן, רלב״ג].

Once the goat is selected, it must be established as a sin offering. Because the actual physical sacrifice happens later in the service, the primary approach among commentators is that this establishment is a verbal declaration. As the priest places the lot, he calls out its name, officially declaring it as a sin offering to God [רש״י, מזרחי, שפתי חכמים, גור אריה, ביאור יש״ר, תורה תמימה]. Since both goats involved in the day's service are technically considered sin offerings, this explicit verbal announcement is necessary to clearly define which specific animal is dedicated to God [רלב״ג].

However, an alternative perspective suggests that human speech plays no role in this transformation. Instead, the lot itself is what establishes the animal as a sin offering. Under this view, the heavenly decree revealed by the lot carries absolute authority. Even if the priest were to declare the goat a sin offering before the lottery, his words would be meaningless, as only the lot has the power to dictate the animal's status [ספורנו, תורה תמימה, חזקוני, רש ר הירש]. The selection is an immediate, completed action in the past, emphasizing that the lot has already permanently and absolutely transformed the goat's purpose [מלבי״ם, אילת השחר].

Contrasting with both the verbal and the heavenly approaches, some commentators understand the instruction in its most literal, practical sense. From this viewpoint, establishing the goat as a sin offering refers directly to the physical acts of slaughter and sacrifice [אבן עזרא]. It requires the priest to perform all the practical steps associated with an inner offering, creating a sharp distinction from the scapegoat sent into the wilderness. While the scapegoat is also called a sin offering, only the goat dedicated to God undergoes these actual, physical sacrificial procedures [העמק דבר].