Is the world about to be shocked by the sacrifice of a red heifer in the land of Israel? On Sept. 15, 2022, five perfect red heifers were flown into Israel from the state of Texas. That got a lot of attention, but at that time all of those red heifers were too young to qualify for a red heifer sacrifice. A couple of years have passed since then and now they are all old enough to qualify, and it is being reported that rituals that would be part of a red heifer sacrifice are being practiced. The information that I am about to share with you is quite stunning, but it does not mean that a red heifer sacrifice is about to take place. Ultimately, authorities in Israel will decide when they feel that the time is right.
I think that those that brought the red heifers to Israel were planning to sacrifice one of them once they reached the proper age.
But then the war started and that changed everything. In fact, a spokesperson for Hamas identified the red heifers as one of the reasons why Israel was attacked on Oct. 7, 2023.
Twenty miles north of Jerusalem, five Texas Red Angus cows chew on grass, oblivious to the fact that their mere presence in Israel was cited by Hamas as a reason for its massacre of Israeli civilians on Oct. 7. The terror organization’s spokesperson says the cows were a justification for the attack, stating that bringing them to Israel was “an aggression” based on a “detestable religious myth.”
Apparently Hamas was convinced that if a red heifer was sacrificed Israel would make a move to take control of the Temple Mount so that the rebuilding of the Temple could begin.
Hamas has called the importation of the red cows an act of “aggression” because it falsely believes that the presence of the cows may ignite the rebuilding of the Temple, which the group thinks would end Arab control of the Temple Mount, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located.
Those that are involved in the red heifer project did not want to inflame tensions even more, and so the sacrifice of a red heifer was put off for another time.
But now that Hamas has almost been totally defeated, does that change things?
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Middle East Eye is reporting that some of those involved in the red heifer project have been practicing for the day when a sacrifice will finally be allowed.
A group of religious Israelis have been pictured practicing the ritual of the red heifer, which is meant to herald the building of a new Jewish temple on the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
According to Jewish tradition, the ashes of a perfectly red heifer cow are needed for the ritual purification that would allow a third temple to be built in Jerusalem.
Israeli journalist Yinon Magal was the one who originally broke this story. The following is an English translation of what he posted on Twitter.
“Temple worshipers are now practicing the mitzvah [religious duty] of a red cow in front of the Temple Mount, which will enable the return of purity and the observance of all the temple mitzvahs,” posted journalist Yinon Magal on Tuesday, along with a picture of activists from the Temple Institute.
The photograph that accompanied that post is below.
There are two things that immediately jump out at me from this picture.
Number one, the cow that we see is most certainly not one of the five red heifers.
In fact, it is obviously not anywhere close to being a perfect red heifer.
Number two, this photograph was not taken on the Mount of Olives, because we can see the Mount of Olives in the background.
When they decide that the time has finally come for a red heifer to be sacrificed, it will be sacrificed on the Mount of Olives.
But of course practice for such a ceremony can be conducted anywhere.
Ever since 1921, Jewish people have been prohibited from entering the Temple Mount unless they are ritually clean, and they can’t be ritually clean without the ashes of a red heifer.
The Chief Rabbinate of Jerusalem has also, since 1921, officially banned Jews from entering the Temple Mount. It ruled that Jews are forbidden to enter the site unless “ritually clean”, which is impossible without the ashes of a red heifer.
Many religious leaders are very much looking forward to the day when the ashes of a red heifer are finally available.
But one official from the Temple Institute recently told the Daily Wire that there “is no plan right now for using a kosher red heifer, killing it and turning it into ashes.”
Conducting a red heifer ceremony is controversial in rabbinic circles, and there is far from a consensus over whether it can even be done, according to the Temple Institute, which provides rabbinical supervision for the cows.
“There is no plan right now for using a kosher red heifer, killing it and turning it into ashes,” Yitzchak Reuven, the director of international development for the Temple Institute told The Daily Wire. “Anyone saying this is making it up. We will only do this when the time is right, because there is no point in doing it if the Jewish and rabbinic world won’t accept it.”
That sounds pretty definitive. So even though they may be doing practice runs, we may not see the real thing for a while.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for the five red heifers.
In a previous article, I explained that the Temple Institute has determined that a red heifer does not qualify for a red heifer sacrifice until its third year has begun.
As for the time the red heifer may be used for this commandment – the Sages state that it is valid when it reaches maturity, i.e. from the beginning of its third year. From this age and onward the red heifer is valid without age limitations. Though, ideally, one should not wait till it passes the age of four, lest it grows hairs of colors that deem it invalid.
All of the red heifers that were flown into Israel in 2022 are now old enough to qualify. But as time passes, there is a risk that these red heifers will develop hairs that are not red and be disqualified.
More than half a million dollars has already been spent on these particular red heifers, and if every single one of them is ultimately disqualified those involved in the project will have to start from scratch.
I don’t think they want to do that.
So we shall see what happens. Personally, I have a feeling that there is more going on behind the scenes than we are being told.
Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
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