Red Heifer [OFFICIAL THREAD]

[Eddie Mecca]

"I think I was the first Muslim (to my knowledge) to bring the red heifer story to social media 2 years ago. Right now people are talking about an imminent rise of Dajjal. Just remember that the Hour is in Allah’s hands. No Muslim, Jew or Christian can bring forth Christ or Antichrist, because that is not the remit of man." - Bilal Muhammad

"In September, 5 red heifers arrived in Jerusalem. Are we living in Biblical times?

For those who don't know, a red heifer is a cow with special qualities that is mentioned in Surat al-Baqara, the longest chapter in the Quran. There has not been a red heifer brought to the holy land that fit rabbinical standards since ancient times.

A red heifer is needed to build a Third Temple. The Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. Since the capture of Jerusalem in 1967, some religious Jews and Christians have been actively seeking a red heifer. It is widely believed that the Third Temple would coincide with the Messianic Age, and Maimonides even believed that the next red heifer would be brought by the Messiah himself. Pre-modern Jews had no idea that Zionism would succeed in establishing a state in historical Palestine, and so it was thought that only divine intervention could bring about a Third Temple and a Messianic Age.

But here we are. A month ago, 5 red heifers arrived in Jerusalem. They technically only need 1. Once a red heifer turns 3 years old, it will then be sacrificed, and its ashes will be used for ritual purity (tahara) purposes. Many religious Jews believe that this third Temple will be built prior to or in tandem with the Messianic Age.

So what will happen? Jews and Israelis will need to debate whether they'd like a Third Temple or not. A Third Temple would effectively turn Israel into a theocracy, and likely bring back the Sanhedrin too. Then, the ground will be fertile for a Jewish Messiah and a Jewish Kingdom. Some religious Jews will prefer that the Messiah come first to give exact instructions on how to build the Temple. Perhaps most secular Jews will prefer no Temple to keep Israel secular.

A Third Temple will probably require the dismantling of the Dome of the Rock, where it is said that Prophet Muhammad (s) ascended to heaven during the mi`raj. That is most likely the location of the historical Second Temple (unless our biblical geography is completely wrong, which isn't impossible either).

What kind of Messiah might we see in our lifetime? Bar Kochba or Sabbatai Zevi, Christ or Antichrist?

If most Jews in the world are secular, then what kind of "Messianic Kingdom" do you expect? An Israeli strongman with some religious symbolism might suffice. It would be the coronation of Israel as a state, and it would be unlike anything we've seen in history." - Bilal Muhammad

Edited May 1, 2024 by Eddie Mecca

[Eddie Mecca]

When I originally discovered this topic (circa 2016) there were only a few articles online and 3 or 4 YouTube videos I could find on the subject...since autumn of last year (2023) the internet has been flooded with news items and videos...this thread was made to discuss the Red Heifer project specially...naturally other related topics will arise but let's try to keep it mainly focused on all things related to the Red Heifer project (i.e. probable building of the Third Temple, possible destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel v. Gaza War, return of the Mashiach, Dajjal, Mahdi etc. etc.

[Eddie Mecca]

Anti-Zionist rabbi: Sacrificing red cows to hasten the messiah is “crazy” | UNAPOLOGETIC | Middle East Eye | 3 minutes 9 seconds | Rabbi Elhanan Beck has lived outside of Israel since he was three years old, this is despite the fact that his family lineage in what he calls “Palestine” goes back seven generations. Beck stands with what he says are the vast majority of Orthodox Jews who strongly oppose Israel. Their reason: the Jewish religious principle that Jews need to live in exile until the “peaceful” arrival of the messiah, and because of the “oppression” and “brutality” that Israel is built upon. In this in-depth interview Rabbi Elhanan speaks about Judaism, Israel and Zionism and reacts to what he openly calls Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.

 

[Eddie Mecca]

The Return of the Red Heifer to Israel | Dr. Ali Ataie | Muslim Community Center  | 2 minutes 40 seconds

 

[Haji 2003]

Could you do a TL:DR for this?

[Eddie Mecca]

1 minute ago, Haji 2003 said:

TL:DR

What does this mean?

 

[Guest Rolando]

7 hours ago, Eddie Mecca said:

What does this mean?

 

TL;DR One of the many Internet Acronyms that stands for "Too Long; Didn't Read"

It is used as a jab at someone posting such a long and convoluted wall of text or source to such a point that what they post is not worth the read nor time.

You're free to convey your points again, but instead be short and straight to the point.

[Eddie Mecca]

Red heifer Wikipedia page

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_heifer

Red heifer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

A red Angus cow which is grown by the Temple Institute for the red heifer sacrifice in the reconstruction of the Third Temple of Jerusalem in Jerusalem, Israel.

Part of Judaic series of articles on
Ritual purity in Judaism
Tumah and taharah Mikveh
hide Purification methods Netilat yadayim Mikveh Red heifer Hefsek taharah Hagalah Tevilat Kelim
show Hierarchy
show Sources of Impurity
v t e

The red heifer (Hebrew: פָּרָה אֲדֻמָּה, romanized: parah adumah), a heifer which is never pregnant, milked, or yoked, also known as the red cow, is a heifer sacrificed by the priests as a sacrifice to God in the Book of Numbers (Torah, Old Testament). Its ashes after being sacrificed and burned were used for the ritual purification of corpse uncleanness caused by an Israelite coming into contact with a human corpse, a human bone, or a human grave. ^[1]

Hebrew Bible[edit]

The red heifer offering instructions are described in Numbers 19. The Israelites were commanded to obtain "a red heifer without spots, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came a yoke". The heifer is then slaughtered and burned outside of the camp. Cedar wood, an herb called ezov, and wool dyed scarlet are added to the fire, and the remaining ashes are placed in a vessel containing pure spring water.

To purify a person, water from the vessel is sprinkled on them using a bunch of ezov, on the third and seventh day of the purification process.^[2] The Kohen who performs the ritual then becomes ritually impure and must then wash himself and his clothes in spring waters. He remains impure until the evening of the day he sprinkled the water of lustration.

Mishnah[edit]

The Mishnah, the central compilation of the Oral Torah in Rabbinic Judaism, the oral component of the Written Torah, contains a tractate on the red heifer, which is the tractate Parah ("cow") in Seder Tohorot, which explains the procedures involved. The tractate has no existing Gemara, although commentary on the procedure appears in the Gemara for other tractates of the Talmud.

Details of the commandment[edit]

According to Mishnah's tractate Parah, the presence of two black hairs invalidates a red heifer, in addition to the usual requirements of an unblemished animal for sacrifice. There are various other requirements, such as natural birth (The caesarian section renders a heifer candidate invalid).^[3] The water must be "living" (ie., spring water). This is a stronger requirement than for a mikveh or ritual bath; rainwater accumulated in a cistern is permitted for a mikveh but cannot be used in the red heifer ceremony.

The Mishnah reports that in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, water for the ritual came from the Pool of Siloam. The ceremony involved was complex and detailed. To ensure the complete ritual purity of those involved, care was taken to ensure that no one involved in the red heifer ceremony could have had any contact with the dead or any form of tumah, and implements were made of materials such as stone, which in Jewish law do not act as carriers for ritual impurities. The Mishnah recounts that children were used to draw and carry the water for the ceremony, children born and reared in isolation for the specific purpose of ensuring that they never came into contact with a corpse:

There were courtyards in Jerusalem built over [the virgin] rock and below them a hollow [was made] lest there might be a grave in the depths, and pregnant women were brought and bore their children there, and there they reared them. And oxen were brought, and on their backs were laid doors on top of which sat the children with cups of stone in their hands. When they arrived in Shiloah [the children] alighted, and filled [the cups with water], and mounted, and again sat on the doors.

— Mishna Parah 3:2

Various other devices were used, including a causeway from the Temple Mount to the Mount of Olives so that the heifer and accompanying priests would not come into contact with a grave.^[4]

According to the Mishnah, the ceremony of the burning of the red heifer took place on the Mount of Olives. A ritually pure kohen slaughtered the heifer and sprinkled its blood in the direction of the Temple seven times. The red heifer was then burned on a pyre, together with scarlet dyed wool, hyssop, and cedarwood. In recent years, the site of the burning of the red heifer on the Mount of Olives has been tentatively located by archaeologist Yonatan Adler.^[5]

Color[edit]

The heifer's color is described in the Torah as adumah (אדומה‎), which is "red". However, Saadia Gaon translates this word as Judeo-Arabic: صفرا, romanized: ṣafrā, a word translated to English as "yellow".^[6] In addition, the Quran describes Moses being commanded about a "yellow" cow (al-Baqara 2:69).

To explain this discrepancy, Yosef Qafih in his Hebrew translation and commentary on Saadia's work argues that the Bible requires the cow to have a ruddy light-brown color, which he says is the normal color of a cow. He says this color is in general described as אדום‎ in Hebrew and "yellow" in Arabic, resolving the discrepancy in the color words. He explains the Biblical requirement to mean that the cow be entirely of this color, and not have blotches or blemishes of a different color.^[7]

Jewish tradition[edit]

A red heifer that conforms with all of the requirements imposed by halakha is practically a biological anomaly. For example, the animal must be entirely of one color (a series of tests listed by the sages must be performed to ensure this) and the hair of the cow must be absolutely straight (to ensure that the cow had not previously been yoked, as this would be a disqualifier). According to Jewish tradition, only nine red heifers were actually slaughtered in the period extending from Moses to the destruction of the Second Temple. Mishnah's tractate Parah recounts them, stating that Moses prepared the first, Ezra the second, Simeon the Just and Johanan the High Priest prepared two each, and Elioenai ben HaQayaph, Ananelus, and Ishmael ben Fabus prepared one each.^[8]

The extreme rarity of the animal, combined with the detailed ritual in which it is used, have given the red heifer special status in Jewish tradition. It is cited as the paradigm of a ḥoq, a biblical law for which there is no apparent logic. Because the state of ritual purity obtained through the ashes of a red heifer is a necessary prerequisite for participating in Temple service, efforts have been made in modern times by Jews wishing for biblical ritual purity (see tumah and taharah) and in anticipation of the building of the Third Temple to locate a red heifer and recreate the ritual. However, multiple candidates have been disqualified and multiple candidates were found at the same time also.

Also, all red heifer ashes were still in use as late as the time of Jeremiah (III) in the fourth century CE and then were exhausted completely.^[9]

Quran[edit]

The second and the longest surah (chapter) in the Quran is named "al-Baqara" (Arabic: البقرة "the heifer") after the heifer as the commandment is related in the surah.

Surah Al Baqarah Ayah 67-71

Remember when Moses said to his people, “Allah commands you to sacrifice a heifer.” They replied, “Are you mocking us?” Moses responded, “I seek refuge in Allah from acting foolishly!”

They said, “Call upon Allah to clarify for us what type of heifer it should be!” He replied, “Allah says, ‘The heifer should neither be old nor young but in between. So do as you are commanded!’” They said, “Call upon Allah to specify for us its color.” He replied, “Allah says, ‘It should be a bright yellow heifer—pleasant to see.’” Again they said, “Call upon Allah so that he may make clear to us which cow, for all cows look the same to us. Then, Allah willing, we will be guided to the correct one.”

He replied, “Allah says, ‘It should have been used neither to till the soil nor water the fields; wholesome and without blemish.’” They said, “Now you have come with the truth.” Yet they still slaughtered it hesitantly!

— Quran (translation by Dr. Mustafa Khattab), Surah 2 (Al-Baqarah), ayat 67–71]]

^[10]

Ibn Kathir explains that according to ibn Abbas and Ubayda ibn al-Harith, it displayed the stubbornness of the Children of Israel, who asked unnecessary questions to the prophets without readily following any commandment from God; had they slaughtered a cow, any cow, it would have been sufficient for them - but instead, as they made the matter more difficult, God made it even more difficult for them.^{[11] [obsolete source]}

Christian[edit]

The non-canonical Epistle of Barnabas (8:1) explicitly equates the red heifer with Jesus. In the New Testament, the phrases "without the gate" (Hebrews 13:12) and "without the camp" (Numbers 19:3, Hebrews 13:13) have been taken to be not only an identification of Jesus with the red heifer, but an indication as to the location of the crucifixion.^[12]

Modern day[edit]

Main article: Temple Institute

The Temple Institute, an organization dedicated to preparing the reconstruction of a Third Temple in Jerusalem, has been attempting to identify red heifer candidates consistent with the requirements of Numbers 19:1–22 and Mishnah Tractate Parah.^[13][14] In recent years, the institute thought to have identified two candidates, one in 1997 and another in 2002.^[15] The Temple Institute had initially declared both kosher but later found each to be unsuitable. The institute has been raising funds in order to use modern technology to produce a red heifer that is genetically based on the Red Angus.^[16] In September 2018, the institute announced a red heifer candidate was born saying "the heifer is currently a viable candidate and will be examined [to see] whether it possess[es] the necessary qualifications for the red heifer."^[17][18] In September 2022, five red cows were imported from the United States and transferred to a breeding farm in a West Bank settlement.^[19] Rabbis consider the cows kosher for sacrifice.^[20]

[Eddie Mecca]

Upper hierarchy in Iran as well as their comrades and brethren in Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis etc. know something we don't...We must look deeply, deeply, deeply at the statements made by Hamas spokesman (i.e. Abu Ubaydah) and stop looking to modern-day geopolitics through a narrow, stringent secularist lens... Abu Ubaydah began his speech commemorating the 100th day of the war in Gaza...He made a staggering and confounding (and simultaneously astonishing) proclamation...An announcement that was purposely suppressed and glossed over by the Zionist mainstream media...Listing the motives behind Hamas's October 7th military operation in Israel...HE ACCUSED JEWS...OF THE CRIME...OF "BRINGING RED COWS" TO THE HOLY LAND. 

Edited May 2, 2024 by Eddie Mecca

[Eddie Mecca]

Brand New!!! Streamed 6 hours ago - Red Heifers and the Third Temple - Blogging Theology - Unveiling The Truth w/ Paul Williams and Shaykh Hamza Karamali - 46 minutes 27 seconds

 

[Eddie Mecca]

Here's what we can be confident in regarding the End Times based on Sunni and Shi'i aḥadīth...both Sunni and Shi'i narrations agree and state that: 1.) The Jews will rise and assume a very special status with regard to cosmopolitan influence and world power...2.) These particular Jews won't be the pious and practicing type but the opposite...3.) There will be a prevailing and permeating Satanic authority that gains momentum in the world...this demonic sway becomes more-and-more obvious to spiritually-centered people as time continues to pass

[Eddie Mecca]

On 5/2/2024 at 11:18 PM, Eddie Mecca said:

The Jews will rise and assume a very special status with regard to cosmopolitan influence and world power

This is absolutely unique in the history of the Jewish people...historically, the Jews have always been persecuted and oppressed...this has always been the case since time immemorial...this is an absolute departure from the norm...this can't be overstated...from Babylon, Ancient Egypt, Roman Empire, Seleucid Empire, Medieval Europe, Nazi Germany etc....persecution of the Jews was the norm...Jewish/Zionist prominence during the modern era is a radical departure from this history

[Eddie Mecca]