Jewish activists launch appeal to breed perfect red heifer | World news | The Guardian

A Jewish activist group dedicated to the controversial project of building a Third Temple in Jerusalem has launched a crowdfunding appeal to scientifically breed the “perfect red heifer”.

The creation of a Third Temple as a permanent house in which God will reside was prophesied by Ezekiel, and most orthodox Jewish authorities regard it as something that will be a miraculous event. A minority, however, believe that humans can build the temple.

An obstacle for the latter group is the belief that because the world is impure, individuals wishing to ascend to the Temple must be cleansed with water mixed with the ashes of a pure red heifer that has been ritually sacrificed.

For decades Jews subscribing to this belief have been engaged in a painstaking and unsuccessful search for the miraculous red cow, known in Hebrew as the para aduma. The most recent candidate was suggested and discounted last year.

Now, however, the Jerusalem-based Temple Institute has announced it plans to breed its own red heifer using surrogacy techniques.
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The cow is mentioned in Numbers and other religious texts and has significance to strands of both messianic Christianity and Judaism.

Jewish religious teaching holds that between the time of Moses until the destruction of the Second Temple, only nine perfect red heifers were discovered. The 10th – according to the Jewish philosopher Maimonides, whose writings in this case the group adheres to – will herald the coming of the messiah.

The cow’s ashes, burned with fragrant wood and scarlet wool, are used to produce mei niddah – purifying water that allows people access to the temple’s most sacred places.

For messianic Christians, the red cow is also regarded as a precursor to the building of the Third Temple, an act itself that would herald the “end times”.

Jewish activists launch appeal to breed perfect red heifer | World news | The Guardian