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RITUAL
3.1 "Mones apowered, He saith, it is a cow neither old nor young,
of a middle age between that: do ye therefore that
which ye are commanded. 4.1 " They said, Pray for us outo thy Lord, that he would show
us what colour she is of. 5. "Moges answered, He saith, she is a red cow, intengely red,
ber colour rejoiceth the beholders. "They said, Pray for as upto thy Lord, that he would show
us what it is, verily cows are alike to 18, and we, if
God please, will be directed. 7. Moges answered, He saith, sbe is a cow not broken to
plough the earth, or water the field, a sound one there is
po blemish jd her.
They gaid, now thou hast brought the truth. 9. « Then they gacrificed her, yet they were near not doing it. " And when ye slew a man and contended ainong yourselves
concerning him, God brought forth to light that which -
ye concealed. "For we said, Strike the dead body with part of the sac
rificed cow: 80 God raised the dead to life, and 14. rishoweth yon his signs, that perad-venture ye may under15. stand."
Such is the legend of the sacrifice of the red heifer, and it is a truly remarkable story, ingenious, well-conceived and inystic to its core. I have underlined the most remarkable portions of it, and numbered them on the margin.
(1) Our item No. 1 is a surprise. The God with
whom the Jews are familiar wants the sacrifice of a cow, yet is his command received
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