Pinchas / Torah teaches not to sin

Parshat Pinchas contains the maftir readings for all of the Biblical holidays. Every holiday had a specific set of korbanot (offerings) that were brought in its honor. A similarity running across all of the holidays is a single goat which was brought as a chatat (sin offering) to atone for the sins of the people.

However, when it comes to the holiday of Shavuot, the Torah does not label the goat as a chatat. That word is missing from the description, when it says, “A single goat, to atone for you.” (28:30) The Minchat Shai notes that the way the goat is presented here is as a s’ir izim and not with a vov to say u’s’ir izim. As only Yom Kippur has a similar formulation (every other holiday says “u’s’ir” AND a goat), he suggests that Yom Kippur and Shavuot have in common that they are days when the Torah was given. The Tablets were finally presented to the people on Yom Kippur, and the contents of the Tablets were declared to the people on Shavuot.

In order to contradict the Sadducees who suggested the Torah was not given on Shavuot, the Torah made the S’ir to S’ir comparison to make it clear that Shavuot is a day when the Torah was given.

A number of commentaries point to the Yerushalmi in Rosh Hashana 4:8 which explains the phenomenon as follows: Rabbi Mesharshia explained that the chatat not being mentioned in the context of Atzeret (Shavuot) was G-d’s way of saying to Israel, “Since you accepted the yoke of My Torah, I am considering you as if you never sinned [and therefore don’t need a “sin offering.”]” This, concludes the Torah Temimah, is the proof that the Torah was actually given on the same date as Shavuot.

Of course, in Mishpatim (chapter 24, note 36), the Torah Temimah explains that Shavuot is on the 50th day of the Omer – which can either fall on the 5th, 6th, or 7th of Sivan (Rosh Hashana 6b). This is why when we describe the holiday, we call it zman matan torateinu (the time period of the giving of the Torah) and not yom matan torateinu (the actual day of the giving of the Torah).

Rashi notes in Shmot 19:1 and Devarim 26:16 that we must view the Torah as if it was given every day.