Acharei Mot (After the death): Verse 353
אִשְׁתָּטַּח קָמֵיהּ, אַיְיתֵיהּ לְבֵיתֵיהּ, אַתְקִין קָמֵיהּ טְרַטִיסָאֵי דְּנַהֲמָא, וּבִשְׂרָא דְּעֶגְלָא תְּלִיתָאָה. בָּתַר דְּאָכְלוּ, א”ל הַהוּא גַּבְרָא, ר,’ אֵימָא לִי חַד מִלָּה, חָדָּא תּוֹרָתָא סוּמָקָא אִית לִי, אִימָּא דְּעֶגְלָא דְּבִישְׂרָא דָּא דַּאֲכִילְנָא, וְיוֹמָא חַד עַד לָא אִתְעַבְּרַת וְאוֹלִידַת, אֲזִילְנָא בַּתְרָאָה לְמַרְעָא לְמַדְבְּרָא, עַד דְּדָבַּרְנָא לָהּ אַעְבָּר קָמַאי חַד גַּבְרָא, א”ל, מַה שְׁמָהּ דְּתוֹרָתָא דָּא. אֲמֵינָא, מִן יוֹמָא דְּאִתְיְילִידַת לָא קָרֵינָּא לָהּ בִּשְׁמָא. א”ל, בַּת שֶׁבַע אֵם שְׁלֹמֺה אִתְקְרֵי, אִי תִּזְכֶּה לְכַפָּרָה. וַאֲנָא בְּעוֹד דְּאָהָדַרְנָא רֵישָׁאי, לָא חֲמֵינָא לֵיהּ, וְחָיִיכְנָא מֵהַהוּא מִלָּה

THIS MAN ELAZAR prostrated himself before him. He brought him home, prepared three measures of bread and a three year old calf. After eating, the man said to him: Rabbi, tell me one thing. I had a red cow, the mother of this calf whose flesh we are eating. One day, before she became pregnant and gave birth, I followed her to her pasture in the desert. As I led her, a man came by and asked me for the name of the cow. I replied that from the day she was born, I never called her by name. He said to me: Batsheba, mother of Solomon, is she called if you merit forgiveness FOR YOUR SINS. When I turned around, I saw him no more. I laughed at this thing.

The Zohar passage here offers rich symbolic material for interpreting the connection between the red cow (parah adumah), the Third Temple, and the Messianic era. Below is an organized synthesis of possible interpretations and commentary:

1. The Red Cow (Parah Adumah) and Purification

• Ritual Significance: The red cow’s ashes (Numbers 19) purify from ritual impurity, a prerequisite for Temple service. Its rarity and paradoxical nature (purifying the impure while defiling the pure) symbolize divine mysteries beyond human logic.
• Messianic Link: The passage’s red cow, called “Batsheva, mother of Solomon,” ties the ritual to the Messianic era. Just as Solomon built the First Temple, the Messiah will oversee the Third Temple’s construction, requiring the red cow’s ashes for purification. The unnamed cow gaining a name (“Batsheva”) suggests hidden wisdom revealed only in the End Times.

2. Batsheva and Symbolic Resonance

• Historical Context: Batsheva’s story involves repentance (David’s sin and Solomon’s birth). Her name (“daughter of seven”) invokes completion (seven symbolizes divine perfection). This links to the idea of the seventh millennium in Jewish eschatology—a Messianic age of rest and renewal.
• Temple Connection: As Solomon’s mother, Batsheva represents the Temple’s foundation. The Zohar implies that the red cow ritual, like Batsheva, bridges sin (impurity) and redemption (purification), mirroring the Messiah’s role in reconciling humanity with God.

3. The Threefold Symbolism

• Three Measures of Bread/Three-Year-Old Calf: The number three may signify the Third Temple, the tripartite structure of time (past, present, future), or the three stages of redemption (Exodus, return from Babylon, Messianic age). The calf’s consumption after being led to the desert echoes Israel’s wanderings and ultimate redemption.

4. The Mysterious Stranger and Revelation

• Divine Messenger: The unnamed man who names the cow may represent Elijah (herald of the Messiah) or a celestial teacher. His disappearance underscores the transient nature of prophetic insight—truths about the End Times remain elusive until their appointed moment.
• Laughter as Paradox: Elazar’s laughter reflects the human struggle to grasp divine paradoxes (e.g., purity from ashes, a redeemer born of suffering). This mirrors Talmudic debates about the red cow’s inexplicable laws and Kabbalistic teachings about hidden (nistar) wisdom.

5. Repentance and Forgiveness

• “If You Merit Forgiveness”: The stranger’s statement ties the red cow to atonement. Just as Batsheva’s story involved repentance leading to Solomon’s reign, the red cow’s ritual anticipates the Messiah’s role in achieving ultimate forgiveness. The Third Temple thus becomes both a physical and spiritual restoration.

6. Contemporary and Eschatological Implications

• Modern Red Cow Preparations: Some Jewish groups today breed red heifers, viewing them as precursors to the Third Temple. The Zohar’s narrative fuels this expectation, framing the cow as a harbinger of the Messiah.
• Mystical Resolution: The passage suggests that the Messiah will resolve the red cow’s paradoxes, unveiling the “why” behind rituals that even Solomon, the wisest king, could not fully comprehend (Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 6).

Conclusion

The Zohar intertwines the red cow, Batsheva, and the Messianic era to illustrate that redemption hinges on reconciling impurity with purity, human action with divine grace, and hidden wisdom with revealed truth. The laughter signifies the limitations of human understanding, while the Third Temple symbolizes the ultimate synthesis of these mysteries—a world restored through the Messiah’s coming.

The Zohar’s commentary on Acharei Mot (Verse 355) deepens the symbolic connection between the red cow (parah adumah), the Messianic era, and the Third Temple by weaving together numerology, cosmic archetypes, and biblical figures. Here’s an organized interpretation:

Acharei Mot (After the death): Verse 355
אֲבָל ת”ח, בַּת שֶׁבַע אִתְקְרֵי מַמָּשׁ בְּרָזָא דְּחָכְמְתָא. בְּג”כ כְּתִיב בָּהּ כֺּלָּא בִּשְׁבַע. ז’ פָּרוֹת. ז’ שְׂרֵפוֹת. ז’ הֲזָאוֹת. ז’ כִּבּוּסִים. ז’ טְמֵאִים. ז’ טְהוֹרִים. ז’ כֺּהֲנִים. וּמֺשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֺן בְּחוּשְׁבְּנָא דְּהָא כְּתִיב, וַיְדַבֵּר יְיָ’ אֶל מֺשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֺן וְגוֹ.’ וְשַׁפִּיר קָאָמַר הַהוּא גַּבְרָא, דְּאָמַר בַּת שֶׁבַע, וְכֺלָּא רָזָא דְּחָכְמְתָא הִיא

Come and see: SHE, THE RED COW, is actually called Batsheba according to the secret of wisdom, DENOTING MALCHUT NAMED COW FROM HER LEFT ASPECT, AS THE MALE IS CALLED AN OX AND THE FEMALE A COW. SHE IS RED DUE TO GVUROT. That is why everything referring to her is in sevens, FOR IN THE CHAPTER THERE IS MENTION OF cow seven TIMES; ALSO, seven burnings, seven sprinkles, seven washings, seven unclean, seven clean and seven priests with Moses and Aaron included in the count of seven. THEY ARE ALSO CALLED PRIESTS, as it is written IN THE CHAPTER, “And Hashem spoke to Moses and Aaron…” (Bemidbar 19:2). That man that spoke of Batsheba (lit. ‘daughter of seven’) spoke very well. All this pertains to the secret of wisdom.

1. The Sevenfold Structure and Cosmic Completion

• Seven as Perfection: The seven elements (cows, burnings, sprinklings, washings, unclean/clean states, priests, and the inclusion of Moses and Aaron) mirror the seven days of Creation. This repetition signifies cosmic order and divine completeness. The red cow ritual, structured around seven, becomes a microcosm of restoring cosmic harmony, essential for the Third Temple’s sanctity.
• Priestly Symbolism: Moses and Aaron are counted among the seven priests, transcending their usual roles. This elevates the red cow ritual beyond a mere physical act to a cosmic realignment, linking the Exodus (Moses) and priesthood (Aaron) to the future Messianic redemption. Their inclusion suggests that the Torah’s foundational laws will underpin the Messianic age.

2. Batsheva and the Red Cow: Bridging Judgment and Mercy

• Malchut and Gevurah: The red cow is identified with Malchut (Kingship), the divine feminine principle, but specifically its left (judgmental) aspect, Gevurah. Its redness symbolizes the severity of divine justice. Batsheva (“daughter of seven”) embodies this duality: as Solomon’s mother, she represents the Temple’s establishment (mercy), yet her name ties her to the sevenfold severity of the ritual.
• Transmuting Judgment: Just as Batsheva’s story (associated with David’s repentance and Solomon’s reign) transforms sin into redemption, the red cow ritual transforms Gevurah’s harshness into purification. This duality reflects the Messiah’s role: to reconcile divine justice with mercy, enabling the Third Temple’s construction.

3. The Secret of Wisdom (Raza deChokhmah)

• Hidden Torah and Messianic Revelation: The Zohar calls the red cow’s sevenfold process a “secret of wisdom,” referencing the sod (mystical) level of Torah. The ritual’s paradoxes—purifying through ashes, cleansing through contamination—mirror the Messiah’s role to resolve esoteric mysteries. The Third Temple will actualize these secrets, revealing their full meaning.
• Batsheva as Archetype: By naming the cow “Batsheva,” the Zohar ties the ritual to Solomon’s wisdom and Temple-building. The Messiah, as a “new Solomon,” will restore the Temple by unlocking the red cow’s hidden wisdom, fulfilling the sevenfold pattern of creation and redemption.

4. From Ritual to Redemption: The Third Temple

• Purification and Preparation: The seven sprinklings, washings, and burnings prefigure the Messianic era’s total purification. Just as the red cow’s ashes cleanse impurity, the Messiah will cleanse Israel’s spiritual “impurities,” preparing them for the Temple’s restoration.
• Priestly Continuity: The inclusion of Moses and Aaron among the seven priests signifies that the Messianic age will not abolish Torah law but fulfill it. The Third Temple’s rituals will renew and elevate the original covenant, blending past revelation with future redemption.

5. Contemporary and Mystical Implications

• Eschatological Blueprint: The sevenfold structure serves as a template for the Messianic process—each “seven” corresponds to stages of purification (e.g., the seven millennia of creation, with the seventh being the Sabbath of redemption).
• Human-Divine Partnership: The red cow ritual requires human action (priests performing rites) and divine grace (acceptance of the offering). Similarly, the Messiah’s coming depends on both human repentance (teshuvah) and heavenly intervention.

Conclusion

The Zohar’s teaching in Verse 355 reveals the red cow as a nexus of cosmic judgment, priestly continuity, and Messianic hope. By framing the ritual through Batsheva and the number seven, it portrays the Third Temple as the culmination of a divine blueprint, where severity is alchemized into mercy, and hidden wisdom becomes manifest. The Messiah, embodying Solomon’s wisdom and David’s penitence, will actualize this sevenfold process, restoring the Temple as the dwelling place of Malchut—a perfected world unified under divine sovereignty.

About The Author