Temple Institute rabbi not sure any of the red heifers are qualified
Promotional poster from Temple Institute Newsletter July 12, 2024
Israel365 News reported the following:
RABBI ARIEL: “At this moment, we do not have a red heifer suited for the ceremony”
March 7, 2025
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.” https://israel365news.com/400976/rabbi-ariel-at-this-moment-we-do-not-have-a-red-heifer-suited-for-the-ceremony/
Before going further, let me state that the Bible does NOT state that a red heifer can or cannot have one white hair or some hairs that are not red. Jews, however, have various traditions, though. But now, the Temple Institute is not ready to certify any as kosher, but is investigating if perhaps they could.
Now, going to the Bible, here is what the Hebrews scriptures say about a red heifer:
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come. 3 You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; 4 and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. 5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. 8 And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. 9 Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them. (Numbers 19:1-10)
While the red heifer is to have no blemish or defect, the number of possible hairs not being fully “red” is not mentioned. Jews have interpreted Numbers 19:1-10 to mean that another red heifer needs to be sacrificed for sacrifices to be resumed or for the Messiah to return. While that is not directly stated above, it could be implied from that one is again needed for those who do not accept Jesus came as the Messiah. And if those who want to sacrifice will not do so until they have a red heifer, then in that respect a red heifer is important. Certain Jews, like those of the Temple Institute, have added non-biblical requirements for the ‘tenth red heifer’ that while not biblically essential (and Jesus complained that the Jews in His day did that as well as is recorded in Mark 7:9-13), may be humanly necessary for the Jews to accept a particular red heifer as rabbinically valid.
Getting back to the Temple Institute, it posted before:
Promise Of The Red Heifer! …
The red heifer is a cow that is reddish-brown in color. …
The burning of the red heifer is one of the 613 Jewish commandments. In the words of Maimonides, [1] “He commanded us to prepare the red heifer, so that its ashes be ready for one who needs it for purification from the impurity of a corpse.”
The complete renewing of all aspects of the Holy Temple service, and the revival of complete ritual purity among Jews, is contingent upon the preparation of the red heifer. …
In our generation, in which we look forward to the reinstitution of the service in the Holy Temple, …
The heifer must be completely red, meaning, there must be no other colored hairs among the red ones. … The Jewish law pertaining to the red heifer hair color requirement is as follows: If the cow has two white or black hairs next to each other – it is invalid. [5] Even if those hairs are plucked – the heifer is still invalid. [6] The eyes of the heifer, teeth, and tongue do not have to be red. However, if the horns and hooves are black, they must be removed without harming the flesh of the heifer, in order for the red heifer to be valid for this commandment. [7]
Before going further, let me state that the Bible DOES NOT SAY THAT THE HEIFER CANNOT HAVE ANY OTHER COLORED HAIRS NOR ARE ALL THE “613 Jewish commandments” BIBLICAL (see Which Laws were Superceded? Which Remain? What about the 613 regulations (called 613 Mitzvot). The Bible also says nothing about the color of hooves or horns being removed. The references, which can be found at this link: https://templeinstitute.org/para-aduma-the-red-heifer-5/#7 are to Jewish sages and traditions–they are not literal biblical commands, but Jewish interpretations.
Oddly, in the links related to the Promise of the Red Heifer, never once was the word promise used other than a link to another article titled Promise of Purity.
The last page of that post had the following:
The Tenth Red Heifer Will be Prepared by the Messiah
In recounting this historical record in his commentary to the Mishna, the great Maimonides ends with the enigmatic statement: “… and the tenth red heifer will be accomplished by the king, the Messiah; may he be revealed speedily, Amen, May it be G-d’s will.”
With this amazing statement, Maimonides recounts an ancient tradition – that the tenth red heifer is associated with the Messianic era. Does this perhaps mean that the appearance of a red heifer in these waning end times is an indication, a forerunner of the appearance of the Messiah himself, who will officiate at its preparation?
If there has been no red heifer for the past 2,000 years, perhaps it is because the time was not right; Israel was far from being ready. But now… what could it mean for the times we live in, to have the means for purification so close at hand? With the words of Maimonides in mind, we cannot help but wonder and pray: If there are now red heifers… is ours the era that will need them?
On this note, it is fitting that we pay particular attention to a Midrashic teaching:
Each day in the Holy Temple, the Levites sang a special daily song. …
Levites stood atop the platform in that place of sublime inspiration and holiness for the last time, all of a moment they received the most profound flash of prophetic revelation…
And they prophesied, they saw with perfect clarity of vision, that although the terrible destruction now loomed all around them on this Saturday evening, the continuation of their service would most certainly come about as well. The day would come when the Holy Temple would be rebuilt. Though it may be far off in the distance, it would certainly transpire, for it is a Divine promise…
At that moment they could see that it would truly come to be. The rebuilding would happen, even if it happens very slowly, and in stages, one step at a time. For like the morning dawn, “such is the way of Israel’s redemption. In the beginning, it progresses very slowly… but as it continues, it grows brighter and brighter.”
So too, the Levites perceived that the long process of Israel’s redemption, hinging on the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, would begin again on a Wednesday… thus they sang the song of Wednesday, for they sang not of destruction, or revenge, but of promise continuation, renewal and rebirth:
The Levites saw that Jerusalem and the Temple Mount would stand desolate for nearly two millennia… but they would be regathered by Israel once again on a Wednesday: Wednesday, June 7th, 1967 was the day they saw. https://templeinstitute.org/red-heifer-the-tenth-red-heifer/
It should be noted that the Jews, of course, should accept Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus is not going to sacrifice a red heifer upon His return. Nor does the Old Testament, the Hebrew scriptures, teach that. This is another Jewish tradition that is not from the Bible. A Midrashic teaching is a Jewish tradition, not a biblical command.
However, there is actually support in Jewish traditions, as well as from the Hebrew Bible, that Jesus is the Messiah. Related to that, the Continuing Church of God put out this sermon on its ContinuingCOG channel:
Jesus for Jews?
Since there are at least 200 scriptures in the Hebrew Bible that Jesus fulfilled, why do most Jews not accept Jesus as the prophesied Messiah? Is the claim in the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906 that “there appears to be no evidence of any Jewish conception of a Messiah suffering through and for his people” true or misleading? What do Jewish writings, including those in the Babylonian Talmud (Mishnah and Gemara) and various Targums reveal? What about the Dead Sea Scrolls? Was the timing of Jesus’ arrival and death consistent with any Jewish writings or records? Do any Jewish writings point to Jesus miraculously healing the sick? Do ancient Jewish writings tell of the Messiah who would offer Himself to take away the sins of Israel? Do Jewish writings tell of Messiah son of Joseph dying to later be resurrected? Do any Jewish writings point to Messiah son of David coming in the clouds, like 1 Thessalonians 4 does? Are there Jewish writings claimed to be related to the archangel Gabriel which tells of a resurrection after three days? If the Jews believed the Old Testament and certain of their writings, shouldn’t they accept Jesus as the prophesied Messiah? Dr. Thiel addresses these matters.
Here is a link to our sermon: Jesus for Jews?
Getting back to red heifer matters, it is a fact that certain Jews believe that a red heifer must be sacrificed before daily sacrifices can be started.
It is likely that IF the government of Israel would give permission for daily sacrifices in a place that is agreeable to the Temple Institute and Sanhedrin, that it may be relatively quickly determined that one of the remaining red heifers is acceptable.
Let me state that we know that the daily sacrifices will be re-implemented by certain Jews as the prophet Daniel was inspired to write numerous times that they would be stopped:
13 And I hear a certain holy one speaking, and a certain holy one says to the wonderful numberer who is speaking: Until when [is] the vision of the continual [sacrifice], and of the transgression, an astonishment, to make a treading down of both sanctuary and host? 14 And he says to me, Until evening—morning two thousand and three hundred, then is the holy place declared right. (Daniel 8:13-14, LSV)
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering … (Daniel 9:27)31 And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. (Daniel 11:31)
11 “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. (Daniel 12:11)
So, we see that after a deal is made, 3 1/2 years later, sacrifices will be stopped. By who? Well, the “he” above was called a “prince” in Daniel 9:26 and will become the King of the North Beast leader as discussed in Daniel 11:31,40. Since those that wait the 1335 days are then blessed–this looks to be a reference to Jesus returning and establishing the Kingdom of God a little less than four years after the daily sacrifices are stopped by the Beast.
Since the sacrifices will be stopped, they must start. And that is something that the Temple Institute and Sanhedrin are working towards.
The fact is that certain Jews (and others) have put a lot of time and money into red heifer projects. They likely have other potential reddish heifers in the works.
That said, the Temple Institute wants the area known as the Temple Mount to be cleared of all Islamic structures in order for it to construct a temple as they believe that Muslim structures are where their temple needs to be. Hamas knows this and claimed that because of that and the fact that the Temple Institute claimed to have several red heifer candidates, that was one reason they attacked on October 7, 2023.
Here is some information from two webpages of the Temple Institute related to clearing the area called the Temple Mount:
In our own times, the commandment of the red heifer takes on more and more significance. For without it, the Divine service of the Holy Temple cannot be resumed. There is a spiritual renaissance today in Israel; after almost 2,000 years, Israel is clearly moving towards the time when the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah – the prophesied Third Temple – will be rebuilt. https://templeinstitute.org/red-heifer-introduction/ accessed 03/11/24
Geo-politically, the Temple Mount has to be cleared of the Dome of the Rock and the mosques which are presently located upon it before the physical rebuilding of the Holy Temple can begin. Many scenarios can be imagined which would accomplish this, the most promising, and not necessarily the most far-fetched, would entail Moslem recognition of the Mount as the intended location for the rebuilt Temple. With the acquiescence of the Moslem world the Moslem structures currently on the Mount would be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere. …
As for the ashes of the red heifer, while these are essential, the possibility to temporarily proceed with the Divine service at the Holy Temple, when the majority of the nation of Israel is ritually impure, as is the case today, exists according to Torah. This is in order to assist the nation to begin, or continue, the service, even during extreme situations.
In short, it is not “technical” issues that are holding up the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, as these can be worked out. What is need is the will of the people of Israel, and the nations, to do what is necessary and build the house of G-d. https://templeinstitute.org/frequently-asked-questions/ accessed 03/17/24
Having a Temple Institute-connected group sacrificing a red heifer could well be perceived as a sign that the Jews intend to remove those Islamic structures. A red heifer sacrifice could enrage certain Muslims and could result in an expanded war. The sacrifice of a red heifer could also be perceived as a another reason, by the government of Iran, for it to launch an attack against Israel.
In January of 2024, a Hamas spokesperson confirmed that the red heifers were a reason it launched its October 7th attack (see I365: Hamas Spokesman: Oct 7 attack launched to stop the red heifers). Let me add that in January 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the statement, “Hamas and its backer Iran” (https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-vows-no-palestinian-state-attacks-israeli-media-denies-blindsiding-gallant/ 01/18/24)–so it would seem that Iran itself could have concerns about the red heifer sacrifice.
The sacrifice of a red heifer may become a factor in an expanded regional war that could ultimately result in the confirmation of the deal of Daniel 9:27 and the countdown to the start of the Great Tribulation approximately 3 1/2 years later, as well as the return of Jesus seven years after the deal is confirmed by someone that the Bible refers to as a prince in Daniel 9:26.
Now, it should be pointed out the Jews do not need a massive temple in order to re-implement animal sacrifices. All they need is an altar and possibly a tent, which they have. And I was told this personally by a member of the Temple Institute when I was in Jerusalem, plus was also so told in an email from a representative of the reconstituted Sanhedrin (see also Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required?).
We have a video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel related to that:
Temple Institute, Heifers, Hamas, and a Tent
In March 2024, the Temple Institute recently pointed out that how God blessed the Sabbath, He also blessed the construction of a tent tabernacle. They pointed out progress from the ancient Israelites. Should Christians be making spiritual progress each year before Passover? The Temple institute has stated that the area called ‘the Temple Mount’ needs to be cleared of Muslim mosques, etc. so that a ‘third temple’ can be built. It also claims that it has four thriving red heifers, one of which it want to sacrifice before the implementation of regular animal sacrifices. Has Hamas claimed that the existence and possible use of a red heifer was a factor in its attack in Israel on October 7, 2023? Does the Temple Institute believe it must have a massive temple in order for sacrifices to resume? Or is having a priesthood, an altar, and a tent enough? What does the Sanhedrin say about that? Did Ezra write that animal sacrifices were made after the first temple was destroyed, but before the second temple was started? Is that believed by numerous modern Jewish rabbis and scholars? Does the Bible teach that regular animal sacrifices will be resumed? Could there be any relationship to the stopping of them and the return of Jesus? Is the day of Jesus coming getting much closer? Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie address these issues.
Here is a link to our video: Temple Institute, Heifers, Hamas, and a Tent.
While the Temple Institute remains confused about whether or not any of the red heifers it has access to are “qualified,” the red heifer matter remains something to “Watch” as Jesus indicated in Mark 13:37.
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
The Red Heifer, Jewish Beliefs, and the End of the World The Temple Institute is watching a ‘red heifer.’ Why might this be important in the sequence of end time events? Here is a related link in the Spanish language Novilla roja descubierta en EE.UU. e Instituto del Templo está interesado en ella. Here are links to three related videos in English: Red Heifers and the Fate of the World and The Red Heifer and the End of the World and Red Heifers and Antichrist? and Temple Institute, Heifers, Hamas, and a Tent. Here is a link to two videos in the Spanish language: Novillas rojas and La novilla roja y su posible implicación profetica.
The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27 This prophecy could give up to 3 1/2 years advance notice of the coming Great Tribulation. Will most ignore or misunderstand its fulfillment? Here is a link to a related sermon video Daniel 9:27 and the Start of the Great Tribulation. A short video is also available titled Trump’s Deal of the Century and Daniel 9 27? Here is a link to something related in the Spanish language: Estados Árabes emiratos unidos y el tratado de paz en el medio este.
Iran in Prophecy Is Iran in Bible prophecy? If so, what does the Bible teach? What names, other than Persia, may be used to describe Iran? There are also two related videos: Iran In Prophecy and Iran and Israel Conflict.
Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required? Although people like Timothy LaHaye teach a third Jewish temple is required, who is ‘the temple of God” in the New Testament? Does the Bible require a rebuilt Jewish Temple? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Por qué no se requiere un templo judío en Jerusalén? Here is a link to two sermons The Temple, Prophecy, and the Work and God’s Temple in Prophecy. And here is a version of the latter one in the Spanish: El templo de Dios en profecía.
Which Laws were Superceded? Which Remain? What about the Ten Commandments? What about the 613 regulations (called 613 Mitzvot) in the Old Testament? Which were ‘done away’? Here is a link to a related sermon video: ‘What was ‘Nailed to the Cross’? About about the 613 Mitzvot?
Nascent Sanhedrin and Prophecy The reconstituted Sanhedrin wants the reimplementation of animal sacrifices. A related video is titled Sanhedrin pushing animal sacrifices. And a newer one is: Sanhedrin makes burnt offering to dedicate altar!
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