Insight
I
f Clyde Lott has his way, sev-
eral hundred cows will fly to
Israel this December. And the
Mississippi preacher has some
unlikely allies in his quest: Jews liv-
ing in Israel and the West Bank.
The cows, the first of what Lott
hopes will be 50,000 sent to the
Jewish state, are part of his plan to
fulfill a biblical prophecy that a red
- heifer be born in Israel to bring
about the "Second Coming" of
Jesus. The return of
Jesus is part of a
Christian apocalyptic
vision of the end of
time, which includes
the slaughter of those
who don't accept the
Christian messiah as
their savior.
A cattle rancher
and ordained minister
with the National
Pentecostal Assemblies
of Jesus Christ, Lott
believes, like most
fundamentalist
Christians, that three
preconditions men-
tioned in the Bible are
necessary for the corn-
ing of the Messiah:
the state of Israel must
be restored; Jerusalem
must be in Jewish
hands; and the
Temple, last destroyed
in 70 A.D., must be
rebuilt.
The modern state
of Israel, of course,
was established in
1948, and since 1967,
the Jewish state has con-
trolled all of Jerusalem.
That leaves the rebuild-
ing of the Temple, and since a red
heifer was part of the sacrificial ritual
in the Temple — mentioned several
times in the Bible, including in the
Book of Numbers, chapters19-22 —
many believe the birth of a red heifer
in Israel will signal the Temple's
return.
Many Jews believe that the same
preconditions will bring about the
coming of the Jewish Messiah.
Lott's quest began 10 years ago,
when he heard from a preacher that
This could have disastrous political
implications because rebuilding the
Temple on Jerusalem's Temple Mount,
which contains several Muslim holy
sites, could antagonize the entire Arab
world.
At least two other American
Christians are breeding similar cows in
the United States in hopes of bringing
them to Israel, according to Gershon
Solomon, the leader of the Temple
Mount Faithful, another group dedi-
cated to rebuilding the Temple.
But Lott's project, which he esti-
mates could cost millions of dollars if
the 50,000 Red Angus
cows are indeed sent, is by
far the most ambitious.
The Temple Institute,
which is no longer work-
ing on the project and
declined to say why,
helped connect Lott with
cattle ranchers both in
Israel and the West Bank.
Lott admits that there
are differences between
•
▪ his group and the Israelis
they work with. He does-
n't focus on the apoca-
lypse, saying his goal is to
create a "stable and
friendly relationship
between apostolic
Christians and Israel in
which the barriers that
have separated the two
for 2,000 years will be
3)
torn clown.
"The common denom-
inator between us is
cows," he acids.
The theological differ-
ences also don t bother
Haim Dayan, president
Rabbi Chaim Richman, left, of the Temple
of Ambal, Israel's main
Institute in Jerusalem stands with Rev. Clyde
cattle organization, who
Lott of Mississippi next to a red heifer.
is working with Lott.
The types of cows
Lott is breeding can
flourish in Israel, he says, and we
Temple Institute, which is headed by
can make a profit with them." If
Rabbi Chaim Richman, didn't talk
Lott and his friends think the cows
about their religious differences, pre-
"will make the Messiah come faster,
ferring to focus on their common
that's OK with us."
desires to help Israel prosper and see a
Lott has given up his family's live-
red heifer born in the Jewish state.
stock business to focus on the red
The birth of a red heifer would
heifer project full time.
unquestionably be seen as a sign from
It become a lifelong goal," he
God to take further steps in rebuild-
says. "I don't do anything else. I will
ing the Temple," says Dr. Richard
be consumed with this" until the
Landes, the head of Boston
church is taken to heaven "or I go to
University's Center for Millennial
my grave." P1
Studies.
the apocalypse might be approaching.
"A seed was planted in me, and once
there, that seed didn't leave me alone,"
says Lott, 43.
In 1989, Lott sought state help
and, through the state's agriculture
minister, eventually contacted the
Temple Institute, a private organiza-
tion in Jerusalem dedicated to rebuild-
ing the Temple. The institute invited
him to come to Israel, which started a
relationship that has since brought
Lott to Israel and the West Bank more
than a dozen times.
Lott and the members of the
PETER EPHROSS .
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Sacrifices
*ssippz preacher devotes life
hing red heifer in Israel
9/10
1999
t
'
((
Remember
When •
From the pages of the Jewish News
for this week 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50
years ago.
so'
Detroiter Leslie Miller signed on to
spend 10 months in Morocco as a
Jewish Service Corps volunteer for
the American Joint Distribution
Committee.
El Al, Israel's government-owned
airline, made plans to go public to
raise cash for modernization.
Congregation Mishkan Israel Nusach
H'Ari-Lubavitcher Center acquired
the Labor Zionist Institute building
on Middlebelt between 12 and 13
Mile roads in Farmington Hills.
Governor William Milliken was
named an honorary fellow of
Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Another victim of the soaring
Israeli inflation is the famous Israeli
hotel breakfast. The eat-as-much-
as-you-can challenge for tourists is
no more.
1969
A blind Greek Orthodox priest
from Cyprus, who had been serving
in the Old City of Jerusalem for
four years, had his vision returned
through an operation at Hadassah-
Hebrew University Medical Center.
Rabbi Israel I. Halpern became
the first clergyman to open a meet-
ing of the Wayne County Board of
Supervisors with an invocation.
1959
A testimonial was planned to honor
Mrs. Charles D. Solovich, new nation-
al president of B'nai B'rith Women.
Rita Koenig of Winthrop Street
in Detroit won the first prize of a
fitted sewing case in a sewing con-
test for teenagers sponsored by
Singer Sewing Center at Northland.
1949
Dan Frohman, singer and choir
conductor, has been appointed
choir director for Congregation
Shaarey Zedek.
Harry J. Kozlow became a candi-
date for the Detroit Common
Council.
— Compiled by Sy Manello,
editorial assistant