Ritual purity and impurity dominate this week’s Torah portion of Tazria, but after the destruction of the Second Temple these religious institutions have been discontinued in Jewish life. Nor do many ...

At your typical bris, the guest of honor arrives on a white pillow. He’s not exactly in fighting condition: 8 days old, spreadeagled, diaperless, still adjusting to non-liquid environments. He cries ...

My first real experience of the patriarch Abraham’s crossover appeal came on the splendid sun-spangled day in June when I took a crosstown cab to arrange my son’s circumcision. Jews have circumcised ...

Across Jewish culture, customs vary greatly—but not regarding circumcision. The ritual, which forms the covenant between infant Jewish boys and God, is essentially the same everywhere: Eight days ...

For many couples, having a baby is a spiritual experience. For Jews, there's another, religious, element that is intrinsic to the Jewish identity. Nearly all Jewish parents have their baby boys ...

Abraham H. Foxman is the national director of the Anti-Defamation League. July 10, 2012 For Jews throughout the world, there is no “room for debate” on the issue of ritual circumcision, a fundamental ...