Metzitzah b’Peh: Why It Matters

“Either way, they are My children” [Talmud].
Blood is thicker than water, they say. The bonds of family are the anchor of an emotionally and spiritually healthy life. But what happens to these relationships after one passes on? Do we “meet again on the other side”? Do families stick together in the hereafter? What about teachers and their pupils? Is this contingent on whether the two are buried in close proximity?
Do the souls of the departed maintain a relationship with those left behind? Do they relate to and empathize with the trivialities of our corporeal existence? Does prayer at their grave-site invoke merit on their behalf?

Were Jews historically buried in their own cemeteries? Why may
gentiles not be buried in a Jewish cemetery? This paper includes a review of a
number of ancient Jewish cemeteries around the world.

Why reducing the sanctuary of the soul to a pound of ashes is an unforgivable sin.

Ancient Jewish sources indicate that Jews would bury their dead twice. What was the reason for this?

A comprehensive examination of the ancient promise that those who attend a bris are forgiven of all their sins. Where did the legend start? To whom does it apply? And how seriously do we take it today?