Rabbi Niles Goldstein of The New Shul in New York City says that while the law can be looked at as a literal translation, b'tzelem Elokim is not in itself a justification for staying tattoo-free. "Being born in the image of G-d -- if we are shadows or images or reflections of the divine -- has much more to do with our inner selves, our souls. I don't think piercings or tattoos have anything to do with that," Rabbi Goldstein says. "G-d is not material and we are absolutely material. To tamper with that, flesh and blood, is not problematic and wouldn't have any bearing on being born in the image of G-d."
As Israelites moved among idolatrous nations, Goldstein explains, they were prohibited from following the pagan custom of tattoos that symbolized idolatry. Maimonides, one of the greatest Torah scholars of all time, ties the Leviticus prohibition to this issue but says that regardless of intent, the act of tattooing is prohibited (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Idolatry 12:11). Many Jews -- religious or not -- still follow this prohibition because it is ingrained in Jewish custom. And although Goldstein says many Jews are getting tattooed as a form of self-expression, not idolatry, if asked, he would still recommend a Jew not get a tattoo because of this history. But now a new generation has started expressing their Jewish identity by turning the law on its head -- though not without some reluctance.
Rabbi Lewis, a campus rabbi at Rutgers University, believes that despite the justifications around getting tattoos, there is something deeper going on when Jews get tattooed. "Screaming at someone, shouting at the top of your lungs, is a loss of self-control," says Lewis. "If you have a message you want to say, you don't have to scream it. If you're secure in yourself, you don't have to scream it. That's the way I see a tattoo. You can't hear it, but it's screaming something even louder than you can raise your voice to. You're taking a message and putting it on your body in a permanent way. Shows you're not so secure in that message."
Israeli citizen Simona Kogen, 26, says, "I'm actually against tattoos because I just think it conjures up images of the Holocaust when Jews were forcibly marked. Also, I feel that Jewish thought is against marking your body in that way. However, I know many Jews, and Israeli Jews, that have tattoos and obviously to each his own. It's your choice," she says.
Though not everyone expresses Jewishness in the same way, the divide over tattoos as a form of expression still remains passionately split. But as the trend rises, it may not be long before we see tattoos become the norm among Jews, perhaps even in place of a Star of David charm or a yarmulke on one's head. The fear has come to center not on the tattoo itself, but on a split between old tradition and new. How will the next generation of Jews express their Judaism? What other laws will be altered?
-Monica Rozenfeld
Monica Rozenfeld is a freelance writer living in NYC. She is founder of the edgy, Jewish-culture blog The Jew Spot and works for a non-profit committed to innovation and best practices in Jewish education. She originally wrote this as an article for Busted Halo. Click here to read the entire article.
Twitter Responses -
@StealthWarp - @thdpr I pref my art on a canvas
@sdrosenb - @thdpr not a woman, but I'll give my opinion. I'm not down with tattoos. Not for religious reasons, its just that i don't find them attractive
@ltrexler - @thdpr i say its fine ...
@dizzyroselove - @thdpr love some, hate some... if someone wants to get one, go for it...
@itsdlevy - @thdpr I think they're generally a bad idea even when they're kinda hot. Because what's kinda hot on a 30 year old isn't on a 70 year old.
@itsdlevy - @thdpr Of course, one might wonder if this is simply another manifestation of my own issues with commitment. :)
@jchicksrock - @thdpr while i know they're technically halachickly ok more or less, i still can't bring myself to ink myself. guilt?
@LizPW - @thdpr @itsdlevy I am the Queen of Tattooed Jews. Just saying.
@MendyTV - @thdpr the coolest sight is a hard-core baal teshuva with tattoos from their wild days...
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