Home›Open Questions›How many times was the red heifer rite actually performed, and when was the last performance?Open QuestionsHow many times was the red heifer rite actually performed, and when was the last performance?Citation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "How many times was the red heifer rite actually performed, and when was the last performance?." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/open-questions-index/how-many-times-was-the-red-heifer-rite-actually-performed-and-when-was-the-last-performance.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). How many times was the red heifer rite actually performed, and when was the last performance?. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/open-questions-index/how-many-times-was-the-red-heifer-rite-actually-performed-and-when-was-the-last-performanceCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-how-many-times-was-the-red-heifer-rite-a, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {How many times was the red heifer rite actually performed, and when was the last performance?}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/open-questions-index/how-many-times-was-the-red-heifer-rite-actually-performed-and-when-was-the-last-performance}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXOpen QuestionCross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)Open QuestionMishnah tractate Parah is the only source that supplies a count, and it records a dispute over the total rather than a settled figure. No independent documentary, epigraphic or archaeological attestation of any single performance has been identified, so there is nothing outside that one list against which the number can be checked. Nobody holds a defended position on the true count; the record is simply absent.What would resolve this An independent Second Temple period attestation would settle at least one performance: an ostracon, papyrus or inscription referring to the preparation of the ashes or to the water of lustration, or a securely dated installation on the Mount of Olives identifiable with the rite. Systematic re-reading of the Judaean desert documentary material for purity-water vocabulary is the cheapest place to look.OpenSecond Temple epigraphy and papyrology, archaeology of Roman JudaeaAnonymous (rabbinic compilers), The MishnahCross-Tradition ConnectionsQuestion OnParah Adumah (The Red Heifer), Rituals Well-attested Source The MishnahAnonymous (rabbinic compilers)tier 1SourcesThe Mishnahtier 1Anonymous (rabbinic compilers)ParahView the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year