By COLlive reporter
A baby black cow has crushed the hopes and dreams of many Jews around the world when it was born this past Wednesday, 8:00 AM on a New Jersey ranch.
The newborn’s mother is a red colored cow that has gained international attention as a possible qualifying candidate to be a Red Heifer (Parah Aduma) for the third Beis Hamikdash with the coming of Moshiach.
The Red Heifer is an extremely rare creature, Israel Today notes. According to Jewish tradition, during the 2000 years from the time the mitzvah was given until the destruction of the Second Beis Hamikdash in the first century AD, only 9 red cows met the biblical criteria.
This cow was born on April 2, 2013, which fell on Isru Chag Pesach 5773, in Howell Township and has attracted an estimated 37,000 people from around the country over the past few months since it was first reported.
A parah adumah is necessary to produce the ash needed for the ritual purification process, essential to performing the service in the Beis Hamikdash. Many found significance in the finding of this cow.
Its owner Herbert Celler said $1 million was offered for the cow. “But I told him that she’s not for sale. This is a gift from Hashem,” he said. “When he asked me what I’m going to do with her, I told him that I’m going to be the first in line when Moshiach comes.”
2 months ago, Rabbi Dovid Feinstein made a special trip from New York to see the rare red cow. He was visibly impressed with the finding, the Lakewood Scoop reported. He refrained from stating his opinion as to the status of it being a Parah Adumah.
Rabbi Feinstein is the son of the late legendary posek Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem educational institutions. “Maybe you’ll merit when Moshiach will come,” Rabbi Feinstein told Celler.
Herb Celler said he was shocked to learn about the red cow’s giving birth, making it disqualified to be a Parah Adumah according to the Mishneh Torah of the Rambam.
The Torah states that the red heifer needs to be a cow “with which no work was performed.” The Rambam deduces from this in Hilchos Parah Adummah of Sefer Taharah that “If a male mounted it, it is unacceptable. Needless to say, a pregnant heifer is unacceptable.”
“We had no idea it was even pregnant,” Celler, a son of Holocaust survivors who speaks fluent Yiddish, told the Lakewood Scoop. “It had to have become pregnant when it was about a year and a half – it’s very unusual.”
If it was a real “fake out” and herb new then why didnt he just take the 1 million so.. obviously its not a fake out
HASHEM thank you again and again , all what happend is for good ,r,AKIVA : GAM ZU LETOVA ,R.NACHUM EEISH GAMZU ,. now ,right this sconend is the best ,r. nachum MORDECHAY ,now is the best ,all from hashem is the best , all is the best ,whatever when ever ,how ever for ever HAHEM IS THE BEST , KOL TUV LOVE YOU ,SIMPLE JEW .
its sooo sad that the cow was disqualified!
skeptical are you- ask the 31,000 yidden who visited on chol hamoed, including me, yes his real name is herb celler, he is a real baal chesed.such a sweet man. even if the para aduma has been disqualified. thousands were truly priveleged to meet this special yid.
Todays Rambam is HILCHOS PARA ADUMAH.
the story sounded too perfect.
This farmer raises cattle for a living. How is it possible that he didn’t realize his cow was pregnant?
Reb Dovid is the best. We should get him to run CH. WOW!!!
HaShem did a test run to see the ahavas yisroel that would come from this…between a seemingly “secular” Jew and Jews from the Torah world.
Looks like we passed. 🙂
What do u mean to good to be true we r just not ready
Herb seller? Really?! Nobody else see the satire? This whole thing was probably a hoax to get some attention. If he truly believed it was a parah aduma, which it isn’t since it’s brown, not red, why would he keep it in a pen with other cows? I would love to hear who made the “million dollar offer.”
I feel bad for the farmer
Imagine- him going to sleep every night and thinking one day i will bring this to the bes hamikdash now all his hopes are gone Herbert Celler, i wish you a lot of luck and may many more come to your farm my heart is with you and i can just imagine that, my heart is crushed to,
-concerned Jew
A million dollar offer doesn’t mean it was legit. Not to mention that the sale may very well have been revoked retroactively due to being on false pretenses of it being a legit para adumah when apparently it wasn’t. However, the real story is how proud this farmer is in his yiddishkeit. What an inspiring man.
It can be cloned, make 100 of them.
I’m sure it makes Hashem so happy that this precious Yid so badly wanted to do the mitzvah and that he wouldn’t accept any amount in the world. I’m sure Hashem will bless him!! May we all be with Mashiach now in Yerushalayim!!!
I’m #21. When trying to find the actual source, I see that it’s Pesikta Rabbosi (Pesikta 14). This shows that many red heifers can be around but only 9 were made so far, which is also in line with normative understanding of halacha. Jewish news sites have an obligation to check halacha and sources. I’ll probably be posting a more detailed piece on this on the Israeli blogs.
It is interesting that this is found in the days when the Sefer Hamitzvos is about the Parah Adumah. Perhaps we have a message to make sure that Lakewood etc. unite with us and learn the daily Rambam.
with yiddin like this, moshiach could come already!!!
such a warm yiddish nishomeh n’y
Your comment sounds like it came from Amalek ! Why dampen one’s enthuhsiasm in regards with Moshiach?” Moshiach will come” says the Rebbe,”when we wiil speak about him”-‘Moshiach’ are the very same letters of”Maysiach”-from speaking-.When we will speak about him he will come!
When you rely on a Posek not a chasid that’s what you end up with. A heter for cholov akum, shaving your beard and losing out on the parah adumah because no one told the owner to keep it in a separate pen.
Moral of this story.
Listen to our Rebbe
Brown cow ,
I mean Red Cow 🙂
There is probably always one or more red heifers around somewhere for when Moshiach comes. There’s a story in the Gemara about a red heifer that was disqualified and is not listed among the 9. The nine are the ones that were actually made, not all qualifying candidates. There are probably a few red heifers around or at least one other one.
Very disappointed that the cow turned out to be disqualified.
Since everything is from Hashem, it must be that we did not merit for her to be the one that will be used in the Beis HaMikdosh haShlishi. We must all look inside ourselves and consider how to improve, and increase in Torah and mitzvos, especially Ahavas Yisroel.
HOLY COW
UDDER YOR UDDER NISHT
You should of sold it
Missed out on a Jackpot.
Clearly he would have to give back the money as it wouldn’t of been a Para aduma
totally not the point but just cuz u mentioned it im just gonna say thats its a rly good thing he didnt sell it, cuz otherwise he prob wuldve been sued w/ a claim of lying and selling a pregnant red heifer, even if he says he didnt no.
to #10: lol
The hekdesh isn’t supposed to buy it either before the right time which is when the animal is on its third or fourth year of its life
#shouldhavelearnedRambam
I hope you guys find your magic cow someday. Better luck next time! But seriously. Stop wasting your lives.
– Concerned citizen
I feel bad for that farmer who lost his opportunity to $1000000!!!
BS”D
# 4 cannot even make out your point
but you probably missed the portion of kindergarten that deals with being nice and making sense
I was wishing she would be the right one
Exactly right. The Aibertshter can bring Moshiach but He wont be able to find a red cow?
Looks like it was in the pen with that bib black bull. What was the guy thinking?
To good to be true😃
Our belief in moshiachs arrival is not dependent on a silly cow!!
The word is calf. Did you miss that day in kindergarten?
I wish mushiach were here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Awww not this one but
Yesh tikva