Red Heifer Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

No território corrediço e intervalar das teotopias, um encontro utópico entre paisagens simbólicas, verbo sagrado e poesia demiúrgica poderia abrir extensas linhas de mútua fecundação entre literatura e teologia. É o que se apresenta na... more

No território corrediço e intervalar das teotopias, um encontro utópico entre paisagens simbólicas, verbo sagrado e poesia demiúrgica poderia abrir extensas linhas de mútua fecundação entre literatura e teologia. É o que se apresenta na hipótese que norteia este ensaio interpretativo do conto “Sequência” (1962), de João Guimarães Rosa (1908-1967). Partimos do pressuposto hermenêutico de que essa narrativa se ambienta no entrelugar de convergência de práticas culturais oriundas de diferentes tradições religiosas, sobretudo do judaísmo e cristianismo, para traçarmos possíveis linhas de interpretação, no que se refere às relações de seres humanos com suas divindades e o Além, mas também com os demais entes da Natureza. O percurso dos signos religiosos espelha-se metaforicamente, em palimpsesto, por sob outro percurso — agora para dentro do sertão, do país e de suas conflitivas paisagens culturais. Por esses caminhos concomitantes e sobrepostos, o leitor é conduzido para muito além da escrita, é levado para a urgente necessidade de decidir no decurso da própria indecidibilidade dos signos, da própria indizibilidade de fenômenos como vida e morte, essa sutil matéria com que se levanta, feito uma esfinge, o irrecusável Mistério da existência, na figura de uma mistagógica “Novilha Pitanga”.

The sacrifice of the Red Heifer was of utmost importance for the Israelite nation. Nobody was permitted to enter the inner court or the temple without first undergoing the seven-day cleansing procedure involving the living water mixed... more

The sacrifice of the Red Heifer was of utmost importance for the Israelite nation. Nobody was permitted to enter the inner court or the temple without first undergoing the seven-day cleansing procedure involving the living water mixed with the ashes of the Red Heifer. Whoever was not sprinkled the third and seventh day with the purification water and then completely immersed on the seventh day after washing their clothes would be refused entrance by the temple gate keepers to pass into the holy part of the temple grounds, excluding them from the Passover sacrifice or any of the other sacrifices as mentioned in the book of Leviticus. What does God wish to tell us through this very strange statute?

This article discusses various Rabbinic positions regarding whether Ezra the Scribe—who was a Kohen—served as the High Priest in the Holy Temple after returning to Jerusalem from the Babylonian Exile. In doing so, the article explains the... more

This article discusses various Rabbinic positions regarding whether Ezra the Scribe—who was a Kohen—served as the High Priest in the Holy Temple after returning to Jerusalem from the Babylonian Exile. In doing so, the article explains the relationship between Ezra and Joshua ben Jehozedek and traces the history of the returnees from Babylonian Exile. Several proofs from Mishnaic and Midrashic sources are considered and some are rejected. Special attention is given to the stance of Maimonides on this issue. In attempting to reconcile these sources, the article proposes a difference between the terms “High Priest” and “Chief Priest”.

The Lukan authorship of Hebrews has recently been posited by scholars such as David Allen. In this investigation into the issue we will look at the linguistic evidence, noting that argument for Lukan authorship also shows a marked... more

The Lukan authorship of Hebrews has recently been posited by scholars such as David Allen. In this investigation into the issue we will look at the linguistic evidence, noting that argument for Lukan authorship also shows a marked influence from the Epistle of Barnabas on the text. In light of the overall evidence, our conclusion is that Hebrews was written with the Pauline letters and the Epistle of Barnabas in hand. More specifically, Hebrews is an updated, Lukan version of Barnabas.

The Second Temple constituted the center of Jewish life in the Hasmonean and Roman periods, but the various aspects of Jewish culture were not equally connected to the Temple site in terms of power. With the Temple as an unavoidable... more

The Second Temple constituted the center of Jewish life in the Hasmonean and Roman periods, but the various aspects of Jewish culture were not equally connected to the Temple site in terms of power. With the Temple as an unavoidable anchor during the years of occupation, the proto-rabbinic Pharisees and the early Christians needed to distinguish themselves from the religious aristocracy while still paying token honor to the cultic site. This paper focuses on one aspect of cultic thought, namely the Yom Kippur and Red Heifer rites, which both communities re-deployed for their followers. Selections from the Epistle to the Hebrews, Sifra, and Sifre Bamidbar are used as the source texts for this study. Both the tannaim and the author of Hebrews shift the rites away from a Jerusalem-centered activity to the realm of spiritual fulfillment. This paper would argue that such a conceptual shift is a response to both the exclusion of the two communities and to the destruction of the cultic center itself.

This paper offers analyses of the "Red Heifer" known in Hebrew as the פרה אדומה (Parah Adumah) from a theological point of view. The sacred cow is burned and its ashes mixed with water to be sprinkled on the ritually impure in order to... more

This paper offers analyses of the "Red Heifer" known in Hebrew as the פרה אדומה (Parah Adumah) from a theological point of view. The sacred cow is burned and its ashes mixed with water to be sprinkled on the ritually impure in order to achieve purification. This paper also briefly discusses the history of the red cow and when it ceased to exist.