Bible Belt Balabusta provides inspiration to explore a complicated ritual:
"Boy, did I hesitate posting this one. “Scapegoat” seems to be one of those code words that bring out the religiously, um, fervent faster than you can say “proselytize.” Context and intention are everything. I just want to help introduce the bizarre concept of the Yom Kippur scapegoat to appropriately aged children and to tweak the idea to be a useful tool for teshuvah. (What’s teshuvah? My working definition is “turning” toward the right path and good behavior as we assess our deeds of the past year. The goal is to be the best [insert own name here] we can be.)
Consider this an enrichment activity for kids who are exploring Yom Kippur liturgy or studying the parsha Acharei Mot.
Basically, we stick our leftover mistakes* onto a goat which will be “sent away.” Sure, we could just write something on a post-it note and press it on a goat poster, but little “Al Chet” slips slapped onto sticky, sticky Con-Tact paper are far more satisfying, and private as well. Don’t nobody know what’s written on the opposite side: not even the goat.
The scapegoat in the liturgy isn’t a individual thing, it’s a community thing. So, this would be a good activity for a school meeting or a classroom. Participants write at least one way they “missed the mark” in the last year."
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