- Jul 14, 2014
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This just came to my attention: (I edited it a little from NY Post and others for brevity and did a little bit of my own research)
Last Tuesday an entirely red female calf was born, paving the way for re-establishing the Temple service. (Building the Third Temple) The red heifer is described in the Book of Numbers and according to Jewish tradition there will only be ten red heifers in human history. The tenth heifer will usher in the Messianic era. “This is the ritual law that Hashem has commanded: Instruct B’nei Yisrael to bring you a red cow without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which no yoke has been laid." Numbers 19:2
The elements needed for this ceremony have been lacking since the destruction of the Second Temple which hindered certain Temple services.
The newborn red heifer has been certified by a board of rabbis as fulfilling all the Biblical requirements. The heifer, born from a natural birth must be entirely red and never have been used for labor or have been impregnated. From the time of Moses, who personally prepared the first heifer, until the destruction of the Temple, only nine red heifers were prepared. Nonetheless, this was sufficient to maintain the ritual purity of the entire nation for almost 2,000 years.
“If there has been no red heifer for the past 2,000 years, perhaps it is because the time was not right; Israel was far from being ready. But now… what could it mean for the times we live in, to have the means for purification so close at hand? With the words of Maimonides in mind, we cannot help but wonder and pray: If there are now red heifers… is ours the era that will need them?”
No less stringent than the laws pertaining to the heifer are the laws pertaining to the site where the heifer is to be burned. Almost 30 years ago, Rabbi Yonatan Adler, who is also an archaeologist, performed an in-depth study into the textual references to the site where the red heifer was burned, publishing his results in the Torah journal Techumin. His calculations, based on the Holy of Holies being located where the Dome of the Rock stands today, led him to a spot where Dominus Flevit, a Catholic Church built in 1955, now stands. Archaeological surveys discovered unique characteristics of the site that corresponded to descriptions in the Talmud.
Last Tuesday an entirely red female calf was born, paving the way for re-establishing the Temple service. (Building the Third Temple) The red heifer is described in the Book of Numbers and according to Jewish tradition there will only be ten red heifers in human history. The tenth heifer will usher in the Messianic era. “This is the ritual law that Hashem has commanded: Instruct B’nei Yisrael to bring you a red cow without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which no yoke has been laid." Numbers 19:2
The elements needed for this ceremony have been lacking since the destruction of the Second Temple which hindered certain Temple services.
The newborn red heifer has been certified by a board of rabbis as fulfilling all the Biblical requirements. The heifer, born from a natural birth must be entirely red and never have been used for labor or have been impregnated. From the time of Moses, who personally prepared the first heifer, until the destruction of the Temple, only nine red heifers were prepared. Nonetheless, this was sufficient to maintain the ritual purity of the entire nation for almost 2,000 years.
“If there has been no red heifer for the past 2,000 years, perhaps it is because the time was not right; Israel was far from being ready. But now… what could it mean for the times we live in, to have the means for purification so close at hand? With the words of Maimonides in mind, we cannot help but wonder and pray: If there are now red heifers… is ours the era that will need them?”
No less stringent than the laws pertaining to the heifer are the laws pertaining to the site where the heifer is to be burned. Almost 30 years ago, Rabbi Yonatan Adler, who is also an archaeologist, performed an in-depth study into the textual references to the site where the red heifer was burned, publishing his results in the Torah journal Techumin. His calculations, based on the Holy of Holies being located where the Dome of the Rock stands today, led him to a spot where Dominus Flevit, a Catholic Church built in 1955, now stands. Archaeological surveys discovered unique characteristics of the site that corresponded to descriptions in the Talmud.