Long before Azazel became known as a demon, ancient traditions described him as a powerful being tied to forbidden knowledge, ...

In the stark, unforgiving wilderness of the ancient Levant, a ritual was performed to cleanse a nation: the sending of a goat to 'Azazel.' But who—or what—was this mysterious entity? We’re delving ...

Rambam says that some rules are “Supra-rational” – these are rules that appear irrational and beyond our logical understanding. He gives as examples three practices regarding animals – the Azazel, the ...

The strangest and most dramatic element of the service on Yom Kippur, set out inAcharei Mot (Lev. 16: 7-22), was the ritual of the two goats, one offered as a sacrifice, the other sent away into the ...