Are Tattoos Allowed in Judaism?
Many have written to me regarding whether tattoos are allowed in Judaism. Some, especially young adults, have tattooed the concentration camp numbers of their parents, grandparents or other relatives.
My father who had the numbers would always tell me how proud he was that he survived and that we should always defend the Jewish people and Israel.
He said there was no life in Auschwitz; therefore, he told people to subtract the number of years he was there from his real age. Some survivors were embarrassed having numbers on their arm, and some had the numbers removed.
Having just returned from Israel, I noticed many young people with various tattoos.
QUESTION: “Do tattoos violate Jewish law?”
Most rabbis say yes. Their objection traces to Leviticus 19.28, which states: “You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves: I am the LORD.” The Hebrew phrase k’tovet ka’aka here rendered as incision, is also sometimes translated as “tattoo.”
According to the biblical commentator Rashi, the phrase refers to a kind of permanent, un-erasable writing engraved on the skin.
I must tell you that as a rabbi I have never prohibited a person with a tattoo to lead and participate in ritual nor would I differentiate them from any other friends. As an adjunct professor I can tell you many students adorn themselves with tattoos. If tattooing was allowed I might have considered my father’s number being tattooed on my left arm, but being religious I can not do so.
QUESTION: “Can I be buried in a Jewish cemetery if I have a tattoo?”
There is nothing in Jewish law that calls for denying a Jewish burial to an individual with a tattoo, but some private burial societies may deny burial. I for one judge people on their merits, with or without tattoos.
What's Your Reaction?
With all due respect Rabbi Bernhard, Rosenberb
My education, albeit through homeschooling, regarding tattoos refers to the principle that our physicality, that is our flesh, should not be marked in any way by humans. I was taught, that these markings represent an intervention in the image of humans that only G-D is capable of making and the permanence of tattoos are a further insult to the injury against the image. As we are made in the image of G-D natural marks such as birthmarks are distinct from those created by humans because they are inherently the way our image was intended, on earth. Beyond this factor, we know from anthropological studies, that most tattoos have a significance relating to the categorization of people, either about crimes that they have served prison time for, as in convict culture, and or gangs that they are a member of, as in street crime culture. The permanence of these types of marks on human skin, symbolises the permanence of this category or class, another serious transgression in the eyes of the Jewish G-D. Because our image changes with natural ageing as does our level of spiritual understanding. So our skin should never be permanently marked to prevent the concept of stagnation as a social class. I was taught outside of the formal rabbinical institutions so I may be wrong, as my family have been forced into clandestine jewish life for many centuries. Please correct me if I am wrong!
I know from personal experience that if you are public about your Judaism, regardless of your level of religious observance, you will encounter prejudice, assumptions about your character and mistrust. It makes no difference how much or how little money you have, how hard you work and how professional you present yourself. People are trained to be prejudiced by a range of institutions and they will err on the side of caution when dealing with Jews. This means that the default belief is to believe the worst when it comes to Jews. The only way to combat this prejudice is to ensure our advocacy is Jewish-centric and focused on negating antisemitic beliefs and myths. The state of Israel is only one of the many fronts in this battle.