An excerpt from Swami Beyondananda's essays:
According to Jewish tradition, in order for the Messiah to come, the
Third Temple must be built. And what's holding back building the Third
Temple-aside from those pesky Muslims having claimed the area for their
temple-is that in order to set foot on the site, Jews must first be ritually
purified, and in order for this purification to take place, not just any
calf-but a red calf-must be sacrificed. Now a pure red heifer is apparently
as rare as a purple cow, and no fair using artificial coloring. After all,
how can you kill a calf that's already dyed?
Throughout history, the Jews have tended to be fatalistic about the
Messiah thing. Not so some fundamentalist Christians. They say, "Hey, if we
can breed a red calf, we can make the Messiah come!" Never mind that it
sounds like the young child vigorously wagging his dog's tail saying, "I
want my dog to be happy." These folks are serious, and it has led to a "holy
alliance" between a Catholic rancher in Nebraska, a Pentecostal minister
from Mississippi, and an Orthodox rabbi in Israel to breed a literal sacred
cow. No kidding. They've all become friends, and it is certainly heartening
to see a Protestant, a Catholic and a Jew working together to bring about
the end of the world.
~~~
So, what ever happened to this holy cow?
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