5 RED HEIFER CANDIDATES ARRIVE IN ISRAEL

posted in: English Divrei Torah | 0
From https://www.facebook.com/templeinstitute/
As reported live last week, five perfectly red, unblemished red heifers arrived Thursday on a direct flight from New York’s Kennedy Airport to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport. The five heifers were originally raised on ranches in Texas. They were inspected and hand selected by a team of rabbis under the auspices of the Temple Institute, and with the invaluable help of Byron Stinson, head of the Boneh Israel organization, the project’s point man in Texas.
The five heifers are each just under one-year-old. Providing that they maintain their 100% red coats, (two non-red hairs can disqualify them), and stay injury free, they will each be eligible to be slaughtered and rendered into the longed for ashes of the red heifer which can be used to obtain the highest level of Torah purity, a must for kohanim (priests) to work in the future Holy Temple.
According to Mishnah Para the heifer can be slaughtered and rendered into ashes no earlier than its third year, which, according to one opinion, begins when it is two years and one day. According to another opinion, it must be two years and one month old.
The five heifers which arrived last Thursday were immediately transported to Haifa in northern Israel, where, by requirement of the Israel Veterinary Authority, they must remain in quarantine for no less than seven days.
From there they will be released, hopefully before Rosh HaShana, (which begins next Sunday evening), to two separate locations in Israel. In the near future one of the locations will be made known and the public will be invited to visit.
The trans-Atlantic effort to locate and bring red heifers to Israel has been two years in the making. A small cadre of extremely dedicated and determined people, both from Israel and America, invested a tremendous amount of their time, energy and resources into making it happen. Logistical challenges had to be met and overcome. Bureaucratic challenges, likewise had to be dealt with and solved before the cows could be approved for international transport.
Now that the heifers are in Israel they must be fed and cared for. We welcome all who wish to play an active part in this great undertaking, literally of biblical proportions, by helping to support the continued care of the heifers. Donations can be made to the Temple Institute. Please designate Red Heifer when you make your donation, or send us an email with your instructions. https://templeinstitute.org/donate/
Note: We are aware that the sound quality of last week’s live coverage of the heifer’s arrival was insufficient. Video footage of the ceremony with proper audio is currently being edited and will be made available soon.

RED HEIFERS