What Does Judaism Say About Tattoos and Piercings?
Judaism follows very strict guidelines based on the Torah and other religious texts. One of the regulations in these texts prohibits followers from defacing or deforming their bodies via tattoos, piercings and other forms of body modification. But with the recent upswing in popularity of tattoos and piercings, more followers of Judaism are wondering what their religion actually says about these adornments. Even those outside the religion are curious as to the beliefs and what Judaism says about tattoos and piercings.
Other People Are Reading
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Significance
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According to Judaism and the Old Testament, God did not want the Jewish people to mark their bodies. Tattoos were used in Pagan rituals and worship, and they were also used to mark slaves. In Leviticus 19:28, we find the following verse: "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD." Many people take this to refer to piercings ("cuttings in your flesh") and tattoos ("print any marks upon you"). This is the main verse and one of the only ones in the Old Testament that refer to committing such acts on one's body. However, another reason many Jewish people despise tattoos is because the victims of the Holocaust were marked by tattoos to identify them. As a result, many Jews feel that tattoos are a reminder of this horrific time in the culture's history.
Misconceptions
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There is a popular belief that having a tattoo or piercing will make you ineligible to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. There was an episode of the TV series "Curb Your Enthusiasm" in which the main character's Jewish mother died and was buried in a special section of the Jewish cemetery where tattooed bodies were laid to rest. However, according to Rabbi Jeffrey Wolfson Goldwasser, this is an unfounded belief. He says that this would violate the religion's principle to give honor to the dead. There may be, however, some orthodox Jewish cemeteries that have special sections for tattooed and pierced Jewish people. It is more of a policy of certain burial associations and cemeteries, rather than a religious restriction.
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Identification
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One of the main texts Judaism follows is the Torah, or the first five books of the Old Testament. The Torah does not spend much time acknowledging tattoos and piercings, but is very clear on what it says. According to Leviticus 19:28, it says, "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD." Orthodox, Reformed and Conservative Jews all follow this very closely. The Torah was very clear on any piercings and tattoos in Exodus 21:6, Genesis 35:4, Deuteronomy 14;1-2 and 1 Kings 18:28. All these versus specifically state that the Lord God did not approve of any type of markings for his chosen people.
Considerations
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In modern times, it has become permissible for Western Jewish women to pierce their ears. Jewish men cannot pierce their ears, as it is still frowned upon by strict followers of the Jewish faith. There are also several sects of Judaism that will allow Jewish people to be buried in the cemeteries and even follow the Jewish religion with tattoos and piercings. One of these sects is called the Modern Day Jews. This sect and others have embraced the belief that tattoos and piercings are acceptable, and followers often choose to display the marks on their skin for all to see.
Warning
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Piercings are not as permanent as tattoos. If you don't use the piercings for a long time, they often heal over, and they are undetectable to the naked eye. Tattoos, however, are nearly impossible to remove from your body, and depending on their location, they can also be difficult to hide. If you are a follower of Judaism, make sure you want to get a tattoo or piercing before you go through with it. Consider the pros and the cons realistically and carefully, but do not get one as an impulse act of rebellion. In the case of tattoos, a momentary lapse in judgment could lead to a lifetime of problems.
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Comments
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On tattoos, you're being misled by a very poor translation; the literal translation of Lev 19:28 is (YLT ~ Young's Literal Translation, so you don't even need to trust my knowledge of Hebrew): “And a cutting for the soul yee do not put in your flesh; and a writing, a cross-mark, yee do not put on you”..... but various English translations often take liberties & add the word “tattoos” (and/or twist --or omit very important parts of-- the original Classical Hebrew in other ways)........ Case-in-point: You TWICE cited Lev 19:28, once w/ the word "tattoos" quoted, & the other time saying that many just "take this to mean" tattoos/piercings (but the latter example is also a bad translation b/c Lev 19:28 doesn't use the word "all" writings on the skin). Tattoos are a writing but NOT usually of the “cross-mark” as Lev 19:28 speaks against........ Western tattoo also aren't necessarily "for the soul" AND Western tattooists do not cut flesh, they puncture it (yes, there is a separate word in Ancient/Biblical Hebrew for "puncture".); only Maori tribes, in the East, do "cuttings" to insert the ink into the skin, and these cuts leave bas-relief lines and undulations in the skin of ancient Maoris, a much different process, health-risks, and end result from modern Western tattooing; but even then Maoris didn't cut their skin "for the soul" as the Bible warns against. It's fairly obvious from the above literal translation that Lev 19:28 DESCRIBES ONLY SPECIFIC TYPES OF MARKS, and does not mention marks that were made using needles & ink. (N.B.: one Levant practice was to make marks [not with needles/ink...] to mourn souls of the dead; just one of many possibilities of what Lev 19:28 was intended to prohibit.) So is every Jew who pierces her ears or a man or woman who gets surgery going to be punished in hell, because piercings and surgery both leave "a mark"? I'm incredibly doubtful of that, because piercings and surgery, and tattooing, are not the TYPE of mark that Lev 19:28 refers to; what was prohibited is a specific type of mark, for the purpose to celebrate or mourn a specific aspect of the soul, and cross-shaped.. ON PIERCINGS: Rivka was given a nose ring and other jewelry by Eliezer/Isaac.. (See also Isaiah 44:5, Isaiah 49:16, and Job 37:7 which may advocate marking oneself with TYPES of marks to revere the Almighty, and Gen 4:15 which speaks of the Almighty placing "a mark upon Cain" to protect him....... You bring up: Exo 21:6 which only speaks of a non-voluntary type of piercing used to mark slaves; this is not a prohibition, and when you consider the Bible mentions Rivka the Jew's nose-ring positively (for beauty/decoratively) but this negatively (slave-markings), it's as senseless as comparing non-voluntary holocaust tattoos (horrific as slavery) to a girl who voluntarily gets a "chai" tattoo (for beauty/decorative); 1 Kings also says nothing about tattoos nor piercings for decorative purposes, it's a bunch of guys trying to summon their false gods by mutilating themselves w/swords; Gen 35:2 which says to reject the false gods (and "garments" nothing about tattoos) of the SYRIANS who Jews lived amongst at that point: show me tattoos in ancient Syrian religious practices for this to at least MAYBE to be stretched to include tattoos/other "outwardly-Syrian" things besides garments (i.e. garments are an outward expression of their culture,? perhaps even of their religion for ancient Syrians?); for Deu 14:1 to be anti-tattoo/piercing is contradicted by the several paragraphs above.) Many Rabbis in the older generation twist the words of the Almighty in Lev 19:28 (and other passages) to further an anti-tattoo agenda, despite that the first mistake which caused humans to condemn themselves is that Eve changed the words of the Almighty (by saying we couldn't eat from --or even touch-- the tree); it makes me wonder if many Rabbis are actually even reading the Torah & learning that lesson of Adam/Eve. Whether you take Adam/Eve literally or as a parable, it's a good lesson that's still relevant today.
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You're being misled by a very poor translation; the literal translation of Lev 19:28 is (YLT ~ Young's Literal Translation, so you don't even need to trust my knowledge of Hebrew): “And a cutting for the soul yee do not put in your flesh; and a writing, a cross-mark, yee do not put on you”....... but various English translations often take liberties to add the word “tattoos” and/or twists --or omit very important parts of-- the original Classical Hebrew in other ways. Tattoos are a writing but NOT typically of the “cross-mark” as Lev 19:28 speaks against........ Western tattooists also aren't necessarily "for the soul" AND do not cut flesh, they puncture it (yes, there is a separate word in Ancient/Biblical Hebrew for "puncture".); only Maori tribes, in the East, do "cuttings" to insert the ink into the skin, and these cuts leave bas-relief lines and undulations in the skin of ancient Maoris, a much different process, health-risks, and end result from modern Western tattooing; but even then Maoris didn't cut their skin "for the soul" as the Bible warns against. It's fairly obvious from the above literal translation that Lev 19:28 DESCRIBES ONLY SPECIFIC TYPES OF MARKS, and does not mention marks that were made using needles & ink (however one Levant practice was to make marks [not with needles/ink...] to mourn souls of the dead; just one of many possibilities of what Lev 19:28 was intended to prohibit). So is every Jew who pierces her ears or a man or woman who gets surgery going to be punished in hell, because piercings and surgery both leave "a mark"? I'm incredibly doubtful of that, because piercings and surgery, and tattooing, are not the TYPE of mark that Lev 19:28 refers to; what was prohibited is a specific type of mark, for the purpose to celebrate or mourn a specific aspect of the soul, and cross-shape. Many Rabbis in the older generation twist the words of the Torah to further an anti-tattoo agenda, despite that the first mistake which caused humans to condemn themselves is that Eve changed the words of the Almighty (by saying we couldn't eat from --or even touch-- the tree); it makes me wonder if many Rabbis are actually even reading the Torah. Whether you take Adam/Eve literally or as a parable, it's a good lesson that's still relevant today.
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jojosurvive
Jul 07, 2009
But what about what Rabbi Shimon ben Yehuda who insists that it is the inclusion of Gods name which is the determining factor: He is not culpable unless he writes the Divine Name, for it is written, Or incise any marks on yourselves: I am the Lord [Makkot 3:6]. What if thats really the deal. And can you explain what about Ear Gauging(stretching) Im a Semi Orthodox Jew, I have with drwn from religion a bit but it doesnt mean I have forgoten my Jewish Principles, I went to a Chabad Yeshiva for a while, and now I go to Jewish High school, not religious though. But I have started Stretching my ears, and that kind of piercing does not heal, atleast not at 0g Level...Yet I do not know how that applies to the piercing principle, since according to some, its acceptable because most piercings heal. I have also been through very rough parts of my life where deppresion has led me to ways of... -
starrwd
Jun 23, 2009
I'm wondering if the Lev. 19 verse is referring to marks made in worship to other gods or marks just in general. This is a very informative article. Thank you.
