_Heifer_ in the wild

[Jonathan Lighter]

Sounds complicated.

JL

On Thu, Feb 16, 2012 at 9:52 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: _Heifer_ in the wild
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> A red heifer, which may or may not turn out to be *the* red heifer, plays a major role in Michael Chabon's _The Yiddish Policemen's Union_, a what-if novel set in an alternate reality in which holocaust-surviving Jews were repatriated to a colony in Sitka, Alaska after the failure of the Jewish State in Palestine, and certain well-connected individuals are planning for the return of the Messiah to coincide with the scheduled reversion of the Sitka enclave to the U.S. on the 40th anniversary of its establishment.  That's all I'll say; it's a very good book.
>
> LH
>
>
> On Feb 16, 2012, at 12:44 AM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
>
>> There is a similar reference in one of the Porky's movies, although I
>> don't have the clip.
>>
>> The most recognized reference to a "heifer" is purification ashes in
>> Judaism, which can only be produced from burning a "red heifer". A few
>> years ago, one such heifer made news when it was purchased by one of the
>> Orthodox sects, just in case the Temple was ever restored. I believe
>> this is the reference that I recall, although I am not certain of that
>> particular date:
>>
>> http://goo.gl/G16hf
>>> **Rabbi Shmaria Shore is not certain that Melody qualifies as a red
>>> heifer, but just in case, he keeps her in a special pen and makes sure
>>> that she's not branded, tagged or mated.
>>> Because if the rabbis and sages eventually proclaim that the outgoing,
>>> 10-month-old heifer meets all the scriptural requirements of a red
>>> heifer, Melody will become only the 10th cow so ordained in all of
>>> Jewish history, and the first in 2,000 years.
>>> That may not be so great for Melody, since it would mean that she has
>>> to be turned to ashes sometime after she turns 3. It could also touch
>>> off a war.
>>
>> Also here (and a bunch of other papers) http://goo.gl/z9EZD
>>
>> A year later, things went south: http://goo.gl/6GAnB
>>
>> A few more years later, it was back in the news again, apparently with
>> another cow. http://goo.gl/1PIfI
>>
>> So these are the most common references to "heifer" that I've heard--the
>> red heifer of Judaism and insulting some unfortunate (usually oversize
>> or fugly) woman. Of course, I rarely deal with farming issues...
>>
>>    VS-)
>>
>> PS: My initial recollection was that the actual red heifer was found in
>> Texas, which would be a big no-no to some orthodox sects, but not
>> others. But I could find no references to back that up.
>>
>> On 2/15/2012 10:28 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>>> "According to Cameron Smith at Prep Rally, an East Texas cheerleading
>>> coach has been removed from her coaching duties after being recorded
>>> calling her cheerleaders 'highfalutin' _heifers_,' in a recording that
>>> was taken and shared via cellphone by a high-school junior. The
>>> student was given two days of detention for breaking the rules by
>>> recording the rant with her phone."
>>>
>>> http://news.yahoo.com/teenage-girl-punished-recording-irate-coach-171600150.html
>>>
>>> --
>>> -Wilson
>>
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