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'[[File:Red Angus Heifer.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A red cow]] {{Tumah and taharah|expanded=Purification methods}} The '''red heifer''' ({{lang-he-n|פָרָה אֲדֻמָּה}}; ''para adumma''), also known as the '''red cow''', was a cow brought to the priests as a sacrifice according to the [[Torah]], and its ashes were used for the [[ritual purification]] of ''[[Tum'at HaMet]]'' ("the impurity of the dead"), that is, an [[Israelite]] who had come into contact with a corpse.<ref>{{cite book | last =Carmichael | first =Calum | authorlink = | title =The Book of Numbers: a Critique of Genesis | publisher =[[Yale University Press]] | series = | volume = | edition = | date =2012 | location =[[New Haven, Connecticut]] | pages =103–121 | language = | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=6uy6LVXGOxkC&pg=PA106&dq=%22Red+heifer%22+Numbers&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Z422UoPUA8LgoATtroGwBQ&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Red%20heifer%22%20Numbers&f=false | doi = | id = | isbn =9780300179187 | mr = | zbl = | jfm = }}</ref> == Hebrew Bible (Torah) == ===Book of Numbers=== According to: "Speak unto the [[children of Israel]], that they bring thee a red [[:wikt:heifer|heifer]] without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke". ({{bibleverse||Numbers|19:2|HE}}) The [[Book of Numbers]] stipulates that the [[cow]] must be [[Red (color)|red]] in color, without blemish, and it must not have been used to perform work. ({{bible verse||Numbers|19:2|HE}}) The heifer is then [[Shechitah|ritually slaughtered]] ({{bibleverse||Numbers|19:3|HE}}) and burned outside of the camp (Numbers 19:3–6). [[Cedrus libani|Cedar]] wood, [[ezob|hyssop]], and wool or yarn dyed scarlet are added to the fire, and the remaining ashes are placed in a vessel containing pure water. ({{bibleverse||Numbers|19:9|HE}}) In order to purify a person who has become ritually [[Corpse uncleanness|contaminated by contact]] with a corpse, [[water of lustration|water from the vessel]] is sprinkled on him, using a bunch of hyssop, on the third and seventh day of the purification process. (Numbers 19:18-19) The [[Kohen|priest]] who performs the ritual then becomes [[Tumah and taharah|ritually unclean]], and must then wash himself and his clothes in running waters. He is deemed impure until evening. == Mishnah == The [[Mishnah]], the central compilation of Rabbinic [[Oral Law]], the oral component of the written Torah, contains a tractate on the red heifer, tractate parah ("cow") in Seder [[Tohorot]], which explains the procedures involved. The tractate has no existing [[Gemara]], although commentary on key elements of the procedure is found in the Gemarah for other tractates of the Talmud. According to Mishnah Parah, the presence of two black hairs invalidates a red heifer, in addition to the usual requirements of an unblemished animal for [[korban|sacrifice]]. === Details of the commandment === There are various other requirements, such as natural birth.<ref>(Caesarian section renders a Heifer candidate invalid)</ref> The water must be "living" i.e. [[spring (hydrosphere)|spring water]]. This is a stronger requirement than for a [[mikveh|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 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 taharah|tumah]], and implements were made of materials such as stone, which in [[Halakha|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: {{Quote|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 [[kohen|priest]]s would not come in contact with a grave.<ref>''Mishnayoth Seder Taharoth'', translated and annotated by Phillip Blackman, Judaica Press, 2000.</ref> 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 crimson dyed wool, hyssop, and cedar wood. 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.<ref>Y. Adler, "The Site of the Burning of the Red Heifer on the Mount of Olives", Techumin, 22 (2002), pp. 537–542. (Hebrew)</ref> === Jewish tradition === The existence of a red heifer that conforms with all of the rigid requirements imposed by [[halakha]] is a biological anomaly.{{clarify|date=July 2011}} The animal must be entirely of one color, and there is a series of tests listed by the rabbis to ensure this; for instance, the hair of the cow must be absolutely straight (to ensure that the cow had not previously been yoked, as this is 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 Parah recounts them, stating that Moses prepared the first, [[Ezra]] the second, [[Simon the Just]] and [[Yochanan]] the [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]] prepared two each, and [[Elioenai ben HaQayaph]], [[Hanameel the Egyptian]], and Yishmael ben Pi'avi prepared one each ([[Mishna]] ''Parah'' 3:5). 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 prime example of a ''ḥok'', or 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. ===Temple Institute=== {{Main|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.templeinstitute.org/red_heifer/red_heifer_contents.htm |title=The Mystery of the Red Heifer: Divine Promise of Purity |publisher=Templeinstitute.org |date=2008-01-31 |accessdate=2015-06-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = | first = | coauthors = | title =Apocalypse Cow | newspaper =[[The New York Times]] | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =March 30, 1997 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/30/magazine/apocalypse-cow.html | accessdate = December 21, 2013}}</ref> In recent years, the institute thought to have identified two candidates, one in 1997 and another in 2002.<ref name=numbers19>{{cite web|url=http://www.templeinstitute.org/archive/red_heifer_born.htm |title=News Flash: Red Heifer Born in Israel! |publisher=Templeinstitute.org |date= |accessdate=2015-06-03}}</ref> 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]].<ref>http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/The-quest-for-the-red-heifer-An-ancient-commandment-meets-modern-technology-412065 accessdate= August 15, 2015</ref>. 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."<ref>[https://nypost.com/2018/09/09/prophecy-fulfilled-after-red-cow-is-born-at-temple-of-israel/ Prophecy fulfilled after red cow is born at Temple of Israel], NY Post, 9 September 2018</ref><ref>[https://news.walla.co.il/item/3187260 Apocalyptic cow: Does the first ref heifer born in Israel portend bad news for us all? (Hebrew)], Walla!, 15 September 2018</ref> ==Quran== The second and the longest [[Surah|sura]] (chapter) in the [[Quran]] is named "''[[al-Baqara]]''" ({{lang-ar|البقرة}} "the cow" or "the heifer") after the heifer as the commandment is related in the sura. {{Quote|And when Moses said unto his people: Lo!Allah (God) commandeth you that ye sacrifice a cow, they said: Dost thou make game of us? He answered: Allah forbid that I should be among the foolish! They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us what (cow) she is. (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith, Verily she is a cow neither with calf nor immature; (she is) between the two conditions; so do that which ye are commanded. They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us of what colour she is. (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith: Verily she is a yellow cow. Bright is her colour, gladdening beholders. They said: Pray for us unto thy Lord that He make clear to us what (cow) she is. Lo! cows are much alike to us; and Lo! if Allah wills, we may be led aright. (Moses) answered: Lo! He saith: Verily she is a cow unyoked; she plougheth not the soil nor watereth the tilth; whole and without mark. They said: Now thou bringest the truth. So they sacrificed her, though almost they did not.|Quran (translation by [[Pickthall]]), sura 2 (al-Baqara), [[ayah|ayat]] 67-71<ref>{{Cite quran|2|67-71|s=ns}}</ref>}} [[Ibn Kathir]] explains that according to [[Ibn Abbas]] and Ubaydah, 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir - The Stubbornness of the Jews regarding the Cow; Allah made the Matter difficult for Them |url=http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=363 |website=www.qtafsir.com |accessdate=1 February 2019}}</ref> == Christian tradition == The non-canonical [[Epistle of Barnabas]] (8:1) explicitly equates the red heifer with [[Jesus]]. In the [[New Testament]], the phrases "without the gate" ({{bibleverse||Hebrews|13:12|9}}) and "without the camp" ({{bibleverse||Numbers|19:3|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Hebrews|13:13|9}}) 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]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Secrets of Golgotha: The Forgotten History of Christ's Crucifixion|last=Martin|first=Ernest L.|publisher=ASK Publications|year=1988|isbn=978-0945657774|location=|pages=}}</ref> Some [[Fundamentalist Christianity|Fundamentalist Christians]] believe that the [[Second Coming]] of Jesus Christ cannot occur until the Third Temple is constructed in Jerusalem, which requires the appearance of a red heifer born in Israel. Clyde Lott, a cattle breeder, is attempting to systematically breed red heifers and export them to Israel to establish a breeding line of red heifers in Israel in the hope that this will bring about the construction of the Third Temple and ultimately the Second Coming of Jesus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/readings/forcing.html |title=Readings &#124; Apocalypse! Frontline |publisher=Pbs.org |date= |accessdate=2015-06-03}}</ref> <br /> == Ancient Greek mythology == The red heifer was also considered sacred to the Greek god [[Apollo]].{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} They are featured in many myths, including that of the creation of the [[lyre]]. In it Hermes steals Apollo's red heifers and then hides them. To escape Apollo's rage, Hermes creates the lyre. [[Geryon]], the mythical three-bodied creature slain by [[Heracles]], had red cattle, according to [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Pseudo-Apollodorus]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5|website=Perseus Encyclopedia|accessdate=28 January 2015|title=Library of Apollodoros}}</ref> which Heracles stole as his tenth labor. ==Modern-day usage== The red heifer is the official mascot of [[Gann Academy]], a Jewish high school located in [[Waltham, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gannacademy.org/gann-teams |title=Teams |publisher=Gannacademy.com |date= |accessdate=2015-06-03}}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1504/jewish/Ashes-and-Water.htm "Ashes and Water - From the Chassidic Masters"] *[http://www.neirot.com/weekly-parshah/parshat-chukat-the-statute-of-the-torah The Statute of the Torah] [[Category:Jewish ritual purity law]] [[Category:Jewish animal sacrifice]] [[Category:Positive Mitzvoth]]'