Credit: Yinon Magal, X
According to an article on Charisma, Israeli journalist, Yinon Magal suggested in an X post, that a recent photo indicates that Orthodox Jews had just initiated a practice run of the red heifer sacrifice.
Middle East Eye provided an English translation of Magal’s X post:
“Temple worshipers are now practising the mitzvah [religious duty] of a red cow in front of the Temple Mount, which will enable the return of purity and the observance of all the temple mitzvahs.”
The ashes from the red heifer are necessary for temple service, as they are mixed with water and sprinkled on the priests, purifying them and allowing them to perform the sacrifices.
The water is also sprinkled on anyone entering the temple grounds who is considered unpure.
It is generally believed that the red heifer sacrifice is only necessary for those participating in the sacrifices (priests and participants) and is not required for the Jews who even today visit the Temple Mount for non-ritual reasons.
However, not all agree with this. In 1921, the Chief Rabbinate of Jerusalem banned visits to the Temple Mount by those considered ritually unpure.
The main cause of this impurity happens through direct or indirect contact with a corpse. Anything that touches a dead body, including humans and objects, is contaminated and spreads uncleanness. Subsequently, anyone who attended a funeral or visited a hospital is automatically considered unclean.
It’s estimated that one sacrifice could potentially purify hundreds of thousands of people. Since the ashes can also be stored, Israel has only needed to sacrifice nine red heifers over the past centuries.
The X image is quite telling because it had the outward appearance of the sacrifice, including what appeared to be a heifer and priests. However, a closer look at the photo revealed that many things were not as they seem.
First, the animal appears to be a cut-out and secondly, it is of a bull or steer, not the required heifer. Thirdly, it also has white splotches on its body, making it unsuitable, as the animal to be sacrificed has to be pure red with a maximum of three discolored hairs.
In other words, this cut-out was not even a replication of one of the five perfectly all-red heifers initially brought to Israel from Texas in September 2022 in preparation for the sacrifice.
Fourthly, you can see Mount Olives in the background. It is generally believed that the sacrifice would take place at that sacred location. However, it does appear that the practice round took place within Old Jerusalem.
All the red heifers brought to Israel by the Temple Institute in 2022 are of age to be sacrificed. According to reports, one of the five has since developed discolored hairs, removing it from consideration for the sacrifice.
As the remaining four mature, the chances of them developing off-colored hairs significantly increase, so the pressure is on to make a sacrifice sooner rather than later.
The red heifer sacrifice is a necessary preliminary step if the Jews ever plan to rebuild the Jewish temple and restore the sacrifices.
There are currently two Islamic buildings on the Temple Mount. This includes the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and some Orthodox Jews believe the mosque stands on the site of the Jewish temple that was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
According to reports, Hamas’ brutal invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was sparked at least in part by the arrival of the red heifers in Israel and fears it indicated plans were afoot to build a Jewish temple.
OpentheWord.org 
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