Why do people get tattoos?
What are some reasons you can think of for why tattoos or body piercings might be forbidden?
Source #1:
(27) And God created man in God's image, in the image of God, God created him; male and female God created them.
In Midrash Leviticus Rabbah (a book of rabbinic interpretations about the Book of Leviticus), we read that the soul is a guest in the body and that care of the body is deemed a commandment by the great sage Hillel the Elder, who cited the idea in the Creation story that God made the human in the divine image.
In the mind of the Sages, sin is not the product of an unruly body asserting itself over a pure soul; on the contrary, the body and soul are seen in a partnership of equal responsibility for actions, in this life as well as the next.
Does having a tattoo or body piercing conflict with the idea of being made in God's image? Why or why not?
If you see someone with a tattoo on their neck or their face, does that impact your impression of who they are?
Rabbi Alan Lucas, Jewish Committee on Laws and Standards (Rabbinical Assembly of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism)
In our day, the prohibition against all forms of tattooing regardless of their intent, should be maintained. In addition to the fact that Judaism has a long history of distaste for tattoos, tattooing becomes even more distasteful in a contemporary secular society that is constantly challenging the Jewish concept that we are created b’tzelem Elokim (in the image of G-d) and that our bodies are to be viewed as a precious gift on loan from G-d, to be entrusted into our care and [are] not our personal property to do with as we choose. Voluntary tattooing even if not done for idolatrous purposes expresses a negation of this fundamental Jewish perspective.
As tattoos become more popular in contemporary society, there is a need to reinforce the prohibition against tattooing in our communities and counterbalance it with education regarding the traditional concept that we are created b’tzelem Elokim. But, however distasteful we may find the practice there is no basis for restricting burial to Jews who violate this prohibition or even limiting their participation in synagogue ritual. The fact that someone may have violated the laws of kashrut at some point in his or her life or violated the laws of Shabbat would not merit such sanctions; the prohibition against tattooing is certainly no worse. It is only because of the permanent nature of the tattoo that the transgression is still visible.
If our bodies are on "loan" from God, at what point is it no longer a question of "my body, my choice?"
Does the permanence of a tattoo matter in this calculus? Does the style, content, or body placement of the tattoo matter?
Or do you think you should have total control over your own bodies and reject the idea of our bodies being on loan from God?
Source #2:
(28) You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, nor incise any marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.
"You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead" - This was the practice of the Amorites (a general term for heathens) to make cuttings in their flesh when someone belonging to them died.
"Or incise any marks on yourselves" - i.e. a writing engraved (more lit., dug into) and sunk into the flesh and which can never be erased because it is pricked in with a needle and remains black forever.
This prohibition is based on the view that tattoos or other marks/piercings are based on fear of idolatry. Does it matter if, today, we get a tattoo for reasons that have nothing to do with idol worship?
Source #3: The Impact of the Holocaust:
Joey Ramona, (Jewish, queer, feminist tattoo artist)
https://www.heyalma.com/joey-ramona-is-the-queer-jewish-tattoo-artist-of-our-dreams/
There are a few aspects to the practice that I think about, one being that our culture is centered around God and existing in the world as we are created, so the job that I do, my career, is part of who I am, and I don’t think that I should have to forgo that because of some archaic rules. Also, tattooing was used [in the Holocaust] to basically reduce the identity of Jews to a number. I think what I’m doing now is an attempt to subvert that, and putting Jewish images on your body permanently is a way of saying, “actually yes, I am Jewish. I’m not a number. I’m a person with all these different faucets, and I’m proud of who I am. And I’m proud of my Jewish identity.”
Do you think getting a tattoo today dishonors those who were forced to have tattoos and recognized as numbers instead of people during the Holocaust? Why or why not?
Now that we have examined these sources, what do you think about the reasons for getting or not getting a tattoo?