Rabbi Azariah Ariel, the head of the Temple Institute’s Red Heifer Project, recently gave a Hebrew language interview, answering many of the questions concerning the project’s recent developments.
“At this moment, we don’t have in our possession in Israel a red heifer that is verifiably kosher and suited for the ceremony. About two years ago, five excellent red calves were brought to Israel. They had been checked and certified in America as perfectly red but several months after they arrived, they began to grow white hairs. There is an ongoing discussion in the Temple Institute regarding their suitability about whether the proximity of the hairs to each other disqualifies the cows or not.”
A red heifer is an entirely red female cow with no more than one non-red hair on its entire body. In the language of the Bible, red is not exclusively what we know today as red. It also includes brown and other similar shades of red. This excludes black. All of the hairs on its body must be the same color. The animal must also be two years and one month old. There can be no blemish, no holes in the ear, and it may never have carried a burden.
While all the cows were once entirely red and later grew non-white hairs, they are occasionally inspected to determine whether the non-white hairs remain.
“The question now is how to proceed. There are several essential questions that must be addressed regarding the cows themselves and other issues surrounding the issue of the Temple and the Temple service,” Rabbi Ariel said. “We are speaking with a wide range of rabbis and professionals about these issues we haven’t dealt with in over 2,000 years.”
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“At this moment, we don’t have in our possession in Israel a red heifer that is verifiably kosher and suited for the ceremony. About two years ago, five excellent red calves were brought to Israel. They had been checked and certified in America as perfectly red but several months after they arrived, they began to grow white hairs. There is an ongoing discussion in the Temple Institute regarding their suitability about whether the proximity of the hairs to each other disqualifies the cows or not.”
A red heifer is an entirely red female cow with no more than one non-red hair on its entire body. In the language of the Bible, red is not exclusively what we know today as red. It also includes brown and other similar shades of red. This excludes black. All of the hairs on its body must be the same color. The animal must also be two years and one month old. There can be no blemish, no holes in the ear, and it may never have carried a burden.
While all the cows were once entirely red and later grew non-white hairs, they are occasionally inspected to determine whether the non-white hairs remain.
“The question now is how to proceed. There are several essential questions that must be addressed regarding the cows themselves and other issues surrounding the issue of the Temple and the Temple service,” Rabbi Ariel said. “We are speaking with a wide range of rabbis and professionals about these issues we haven’t dealt with in over 2,000 years.”
More
RABBI ARIEL: “At this moment, we do not have a red heifer suited for the ceremony”
Rabbi Azariah Ariel, the head of the Temple Institute’s Red Heifer Project, recently gave a Hebrew language interview, answering many of the questions concerning the project’s recent developments.
israel365news.com
