Israeli journalist Omri Maniv, who has posted to social media multiple times about the red heifers and their meaning, conducted the investigation.
Last month, the journalist tweeted about an experiment conducted by Bar Ilan University Prof. Zohar Amar who attempted to determine how many people could be ritually purified by one red heifer.
In the study, Prof. Amar said that one red heifer would provide enough ashes to purify 660 billion purifications.
The event occurred at a site called “Ancient Shiloh” affiliated with the Temple Institute, and contained explanations of the priestly functions, including sacrifice. The event also featured a “Temple banquet” containing foods from the Second Temple and biblical periods.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of one of the five red heifers.
According to the Book of Numbers, the Tabernacle and the Temple were purified with the ashes of a red heifer.
The Torah commands that a red heifer be without spot or blemish, and never have worn a yoke. Rabbinic law gives several additional stipulations to the requirements of the red heifer, or calf, such as being at least two years of age and having no white hairs.
The use of red heifers for purification has caused consternation for some Palestinians as well as secular Jews.
On the Hamas-owned “Al-Aqsa” program, Dr. Ahmad Shihab said the heifers were proof that “the Israeli government has a plan to cause a religious war in the region, and the settlers state religious claims regarding the Jews' right to al-Aqsa mosque.”
The Palestinian News Network also ran a story last week accusing the Israeli government of plotting with settlers to reconstruct the third Temple and “storm Al-Aqsa.”
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