A Jewish Third Temple group has announced that it is planning a ceremony to sacrifice a red heifer in late April.
Jewish tradition has marked red cows or heifers as a crucial element for to the construction of the Third Temple in Jerusalem.
The Third Temple group, Uvne Jerusalem member Rabbi Yitzchak Mamo, interviewed with Christian Broadcasting Network, hinting at a planned ceremony for Passover this year in late April.
On Wednesday, many Israelis met for a conference on the outskirts of Shilo, which is an illegal Israeli settlement near the city of Nablus, to converse about the religious significance of the cows.
This conference also delved into Torah explanations as people nodded in the dark.
“Hezbollah found out about this event and has been talking about it on Telegram,” the head of the ancient Shiloh archaeological site, Kobi Mamo, said.
On the top of the hill in the occupied West Bank, there are five heifers; however, Israelis need this animal to perform purification rituals to construct the Third Temple in Jerusalem, as per Jewish traditions.
“These cows were brought all the way from Texas and were reared in special conditions to maintain their purity,” the Mitzpe Yericho settlement and the translator of a pamphlet on red heifers, Yahuda Singer, said.
In 2022, five of these cows arrived in Israel from a Texas ranch.
Some Jewish groups highlighted that the establishment of the Third Temple should be done on the raised plateau where Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine stand today.
Since the Romans destroyed the Second Jewish Temple, which was believed to be situated at the top of the Temple Mount in AD 70, this was the first time a perfect red cow has been sighted. However, for 2,000, the perfect cow has not been found.
Some Jewish activists and US evangelical Christians have believed that the building of the Third Temple symbolizes the arrival of Jesus and Armageddon, which is possible by creating their own temple.
Some speculations highlight a red heifer linked with Zionist agendas or a heifer on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives.
The Palestinian group Hamas has raised worries about the cattle.
A senior member that was in contact with Middle East Eye (MEE) said that they are looking for the safety of the Al-Aqsa Mosque through monitoring.
Many people are looking towards the plan, as a Los Angeles student from Shilo said to MEE that he has heard about red heifers and the First and Second Temples. However, he thinks that the construction of the Third Temple, replacing the Al-Aqsa site, is controversial.
The leader of the leader of the Third Temple movement, Boruch Fishman, said to MEE that the path is regarded as long to implement the plan of killing red heifers and building a Third Temple.
The Third Temple community hopes the slaughter of Shilo’s red cows will purify them to perform rites and worship in the mosque’s courtyards.
Bar Ilan University researchers concluded that the ashes from one cow can be used for cleansing water for 660 billion purifications.
Israeli soldiers have turned away the Third Temple activists, and rabbis seeking to do sacrifice rituals in Al-Aqsa’s courtyards in the past.
“Perhaps the Waqf could be persuaded to help collect offerings and raise money that way. Of course, not everyone could come with something to sacrifice; it would be a bloodbath. But I believe there is a difference between what the Waqf says in public and private, and it could be convinced,” Fishman said.
The members of the members of the Third Temple community organize a conference to search for red heifers that fit their tradition and description. The heifers they want should not have marks, white or black hair, be placed under a yoke, or be put to work.
