Evergreen

Shifting views and philosophies about the Jewish practice of circumcising baby boys on the eighth day of life.

Acknowledging sins allows for individual purification.

Each and every holiday in the Jewish calendar comes with its own unique set of insertions into the prayers intended to celebrate the special character of that festival.

The five minor Jewish fasts like Tzom Gedaliah, 10 Tevet, 17 Tammuz commemorate tragedies in Jewish history.

The link Maimonides found between confession and repentance.

There are exceptions to the Yom Kippur fast.

After the destruction of the second Temple, the focus of the holiday changes.

We must be cleansed from the polluting effects of sin.

The message to the one who is circumcised: The covenant involves pain and sacrifice as well as honor and sanctity. And it is part of who you are, branded into your flesh at birth.

From biblical to contemporary times, how Jews have practiced this ceremony of redemption of the first-born.