FOOTNOTES [1] Maimonides, Book of Commandments, Positive Commandments, Commandment # 113 [2] Mishnah Temurah (2:1); Mishnah Pesachim 7:4-6; Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Admission into the Sanctuary 4: 9-12 [3] Sifrei Chukkat, paragraph 123: “Red, perfect – Complete redness”; Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Red Heifer 1:2 [4] Four colors are mentioned in the …
RESEARCH RAISING A RED HEIFER IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL It is commonly thought that a red heifer is a rare find, according to the account in the Talmud when the Sages requested to buy Dama ben Netina’s red heifer. (Talmud Kiddushin, 31a). The Land of Israel is …
THOSE DEALING WITH THE RED HEIFER – AND THE IMPURITY THEY CONTRACT It is stated in the Torah that those who are involved in preparing the ashes of the red heifer become defiled with a low level of impurity. This impurity can be rid of by immersing in a …
THE LOCATION FOR THE BURNING OF THE RED HEIFER The actual burning of the red heifer needs to be done “outside the camp”. [21] When the red heifer was prepared in Jerusalem, it was slaughtered outside of the walls of the city, an area defined as “outside of the …
Precautions and Preparations The event of burning a new heifer for its ashes, which did not occur too frequently, was an occasion of tremendous significance for the entire nation. Because of this ordinance’s unique status, special precautions were taken and some unusual procedures were employed, during the process of the heifer’s …
From Moshe to the Second Temple: Only Nine Red Heifers The Mishna teaches that up until the destruction of the Second Temple, ashes had been prepared from a total of only nine red heifers. The very first red heifer was processed by Moshe himself – as the verse states, “… have them bring …
Although the ordinance of the red heifer is indeed a chok, a Divine statute which by its very nature defies human understanding, our Creator who is the author of that law enjoins us to expound upon His Torah, and to find as much meaning and explanation as our understanding allows… for the …
“Speak to the Children of Israel, and have them bring you a red heifer… ” These words teach us that G-d told Moshe, “even if all the heifers throughout history are lost, that your will remain forever.” For there is a tradition that all the heifers are sanctified through Moshe’s original …
PASSOVER -THE FESTIVAL OF FREEDOM! Freedom! Israel has been celebrating it, telling its story, teaching it to our children, living it and breathing it, for more than 3,000 years, in good times and bad, in times of light and in times of darkness, in times of exile and in times …
