Unleashing the Beast

138 / U NLEASHING THE B EAST

was first noticed after Tisha b'Av (the fast commemorating the first two Temples) last year immediately after the Temple Mount Faithful had carried the cornerstone for the Third Temple to the area in front of the southern wall of the Temple Mount, has become much larger. Last year the bulge was 70 cm (29") and was 30 metres (99') long. The bulge has now increased to over 1 metre (39") and is much longer. Israel's Antiquity Authority is not permitted to go inside and examine the bulge. Should any earthquake movement cause the wall to collapse, Israel will be blamed for the problem, though they had nothing to do with it. The clearing out of the underground chambers for an underground mosque and the Islamic fears that a future Jewish Temple will be erected are causing a flurry of activity at the most controversial property on earth. H OLY C OW , H OLY W AR The controversy continues with the birth of a red heifer. No one would believe that the birth of a red cow could cause a holy war. According to Torah teaching (Numbers 19), in the time of Moses a pure red heifer was burnt and its ashes were gathered in a clean place. These ashes were mingled with water, symbolically becoming a “water of separation” for the purification of the unclean (v. 9). Some Jewish sources teach that seven and perhaps 10 red heifers were sacrificed in Israel's history. These ashes