Dramatic arrival in Israel of long-prophesied ‘Red Heifer’

The war between Israel and the Middle East’s Iranian proxies has dragged on for nearly one and a half years. Now, a new book explores a seemingly obscure event that both Hamas and Hezbollah have claimed sparked their attacks on the Jewish state: the arrival of five red calves, brought to Israel by a cooperative effort of Orthodox Jews and devout Evangelical Christians.

On a sweltering day in September 2022, Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz stood at the cargo terminal of Ben Gurion International Airport, awaiting a very special arrival. Boneh Israel, a cooperative effort of Christians and Jews, had succeeded in airlifting five young cows to Israel from Texas. Christians had gone to great effort and expense to find a red cow that fit the exacting requirements to fulfill a commandment required to prepare Jews to serve in the prophesied Third Temple in Jerusalem. Berkowitz, an Orthodox Jew, had been writing articles about news and politics in Israel since 2013, specializing in a biblical and prophetic perspective that appealed to Orthodox Jews and Zionist Christians alike, so the event was his area of expertise.

But the arrival of the red heifers was a watershed, marking a significant step in reviving the Temple service the likes of which had not been seen in living memory. While much of the Christian and Jewish worlds overlooked the significance, the Islamists in the region did not.

Last year, on the 100th day of the Oct. 7 Swords of Iron war, Abu Obeida, the military spokesman for the Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas terrorist organization, made a rare televised appearance in which he listed the motives for the Hamas attack on Israel.

In his speech, he referred to the attack as “the Al Aqsa flood,” a reference to the Muslim mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Arab-language media covered Abu Abeidah’s speech extensively, focusing on the arrival of five red heifers to Israel as a prelude to constructing the Third Jewish Temple. As an indication of the significance of the Temple Mount to the Gazans, IDF soldiers reported that almost every home they entered in the Strip featured an image of the Dome of the Rock. Indeed, Hamas’ emblem of the terror organization features the Dome of the Rock behind crossed swords.

Hezbollah also cited the arrival of the red heifers as the motive for attacking Israel, as more Iranian proxies joined in the war against the Jewish state.

Meanwhile, YouTubers who were ignorant of the true nature of the red heifers went viral, spreading misinformation. Documentaries and articles misrepresented the red heifers, claiming that it was an attempt by Jewish fanatics to incite the Arabs.

Berkowitz realized he had no choice but to write a book about the red heifers. The book, titled “The Return of the Red Heifers: Paving the Road to Redemption,” covers every aspect of what the Jewish sages have described as “the most enigmatic Biblical commandment.” Berkowitz explains the Biblical and Talmudic sources in plain language, from the exacting requirements to the complex ritual that produces ashes required to purify Jews to serve in the Temple. The cow must be perfectly red with no more than one non-red hair on its entire body. It must be unblemished and never have carried a yoke or a burden of any kind.

While these requirements sound simple, they are complex, and finding a suitable heifer is rare. Berkowitz explains that according to Jewish tradition, only nine red heifers were found from the time of Mount Sinai until the destruction of the Second Temple 2,000 years later. The tenth red heifer will be used to purify the Jewish nation for serving in the Third Temple.

The heifer is taken to the Mount of Olives, where a precisely constructed wood pyre is placed at a specific site. A pure Kohen (male descendant of Aaron the High Priest) slaughters the cow and ignites the pyre, adding hyssop and scarlet wool. The ashes are collected, and a speck of ash is added to a large amount of spring water. Jews who have become ritually impure by proximity to a dead body are sprinkled with the water and may now ascend to the Temple.

The Biblical sources and the rituals of the red heifer are myriad, and Berkowitz explains them clearly. The ritual has not been performed in 2,000 years, and the Temple Institute is working to revive it. Much research is required, including aspects that did not exist when the Temple stood. For example, most countries require calves to be tagged upon birth. But ear tags, essentially numbered earrings, leave a hole and constitute a disqualifying blemish. Transporting the young red cows required some form of ID. The rabbis determined that an RFID chip could be inserted under the flesh at a specific spot on the cow’s body without leaving a mark.

Even as the war appears to be nearing its end, the political implications of the red heifer ceremony remain. Talk of reinstating the Temple service is hotly debated. The Temple service is explicitly described throughout the Bible, and the Temples stood in the same spot in Jerusalem for over 1,000 years. Jerusalem and the Temple are at the heart of Judaism, with prayers structured on the sacrifices and Jews around the world turning to face the Temple Mount when they pray.

Nonetheless, consternation arises from politicians when Jews demand to be allowed free practice of their religion at their holiest site, lest the Muslims object.

Berkowitz explains that the red heifer sidesteps this issue. It may be performed only on the Mount of Olives at a specific site that has already been purchased. There can be no objections based on inciting Muslims on the Temple Mount.

Some Christians have also objected, believing that the revival of the Temple service contradicts Christian theology. The book brings the perspectives of Christians who believe it is their service to aid the Jewish nation in this endeavor.

“The Return of the Red Heifers: Paving the Road to Redemption” is available from Israel365, Amazon, and on Kindle.

NOTE: Palestinians incorrectly refer to the gold dome on the Temple Mount as Al Aqsa Mosque. The gold dome, referred to in Arabic as Qubbat aṣ-Ṣaḵra, is a shrine, not a mosque. Al Aqsa Mosque (the further mosque), referring to a myth created by the Umayyad Caliph in 682 CE, 50 years after Muhammad’s death, is the dark gray domed structure on the Temple Mount. According to most Sunni, the Aqsa Mosque referred to in the Koran is located in Al Juraina, Saudi Arabia, but the myth was revived by the Palestinian leadership in the 1960s to fuel violence against Israel.