I'm new here... I don't have any ink, but I have been a tattoo enthusiast for 15+ years. I have watched hours and hours of gorgeous tattoos being done and have always been enchanted by the art and the mystique. I have been informed (misinformed?) of the laws regarding graven images and pagan symbols under the skin and not being allowed to be buried in Jewish cemeteries; so far I have been dissuaded from getting any artwork done myself. Now I understand the laws are being relaxed? But only in Reform Judaism? What is the current standing in Jewish law regarding tattoos (I didn't see any postings in the tribe yet...)
WP
WP
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Unsu...
Re: So, what is the actual halacha...
Thu, August 18, 2005 - 1:35 AMHi WP,
I'll post here what I was saying to you the other day, not because I think it's the One Right Answer, but because it will be interesting to see how it jives (or doesn't) with other peoples' answers.
I asked my family's rabbi about the "rule" that you can't be buried in a Jewish cemetery if you have a tattoo. He replied that there is no such rule, and that there is only one thing a person can do that will bar them from being buried in a Jewish cemetery, and that is apostasy- to abandon the Jewish faith.
Now, this doesn't address whether a tattoo would be considered disrespectful of tradition, or disrespectful of Holocaust tattooees. But disrespect won't get you barred from the cemetery. Unless, I suppose, the body-washers and the officiating rabbi or beadle decided to draw their own hard-line interpretation and bar a person from being buried in their particular cemetery. Maybe this has happened, I don't know, does anyone here have first-hand knowledge of someone being barred from burial?
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Re: So, what is the actual halacha...
Fri, August 19, 2005 - 10:23 AMAccording to my Rabbi, from a progressive synagogue, the tattoo ban is based on a misinterpretation. Now don't quote me, because this was a conversation we had like, 10 years ago. Basically he told me that back in the old days, people (Arabs I think he said) used to cut/slash themselves when they were in mourning. I guess to dissuade this practice the "Old Jew Boys club" said something to the effect of "thou shall not mutilate thyself". And we began to slash our clothing when in mourning instead. Some how that got corrupted into "Thou shalt not get tattoos".
How I look at it, if people can alter the body God gave them with nose jobs other plastic surgery, I don't see why we can't have tattoos which actually celebrated and decorates the "temple".
My biggest conflict when getting a tat was I didn't want to offend my Bubbe. Also it does seem like a bit of a slap in the face to holocaust survivors, but I guess they've survived a lot worse then having to see Jews with tattoos.
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