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This is one of those things like eating pork that is an edict for Jews only and not for gentiles, even Noahides. There is a message perhaps, a recommendation, an interpretation in the the mandating of going natural for the ‘kingdom of priests and holy nation’, but it is simply not a requirement for non-Jews.

As for Jews, we may only think of the many people who bear tattoos through no fault of their own who have no problem with the issue. But I’ll throw in that the REVERSE case may well be an impediment to ‘being gathered to one’s fathers’ and being buried with other Jews - the absence of a circumcision. Still got numbers for those eight rabbis?

Comment by Ben Plonie on 7/16/08 at 6:04 pm

Some Christians are real picky about the so-called ‘Old Testament’—they say oh yeh no gay sex it’s right here in the Bible—and then they’re all like ‘pass the shrimp, please.’

Obama made this point la few weeks ago and it pissed off the Fauxcus on the Family droid.

Comment by The Web Guy on 7/17/08 at 12:03 am

I have a hebrew tattoo, and I don’t find it contradictory at all.  I am a gentile, and the tattoo is hebrew for “ahava” which translates to “love” in english.  I chose to have this done in Hebrew so I could represent not only the general construct of love, but more specifically the abundance of CHRIST’S love in my life, as he was a Jew.  This is the purpose of this tattoo and I think it holds no irony.  It’s a symbol of something that’s very relevant in my life.  I happen to not agree with everything taught in my religion but that doesn’t have any bearing on my accordance with my God.  So I choose to tribute God, not religion or it’s social policies and tendancies.

God didn’t create religion, man did.

Comment by Alex Kramer on 12/30/08 at 9:33 pm

If man created religion, then man can change, destroy and deny religion. Think about it. By the way, God really appreciates your honoring Him, since you believe His will as expressed in religion is irrelevant. So important to throw God a bone once in a while.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 12/31/08 at 1:05 am

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not forsaking the entire establishment of all organized religion, but I think not recognizing that there is some flaw in it would be ignorant, and I also don’t think it’s too bold to say that there are many parts of organized religion that are contrived and have nothing to do with the glory of God.

Comment by Alex Kramer on 12/31/08 at 10:29 am

Great design of the tree - but the Hebrew could definitely be better.

Comment by Hebrew Tattoo on 6/13/09 at 3:46 pm

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” - Galatians 3:13

Jesus died on the cross to save us from the law. To FREE us from the law! The old law is no longer required by God the Father to be kept by His children. The old law was not meant to go on forever. The Bible says that from before the foundations of the earth the Messiah had redeemed us. If you break one law you break them all and are held guilty. When God sent the Holy Spirit He enabled us to live in obedience in Him, and He wrote the law on our hearts.

The old law was simply for this reason: to pave the way for the coming of Christ. He came, and sacrificed His life and destroyed the heavy burden of the old law.

He took some 632 (??) laws and freed us from all of them He replaced them with simply two.

(1) Love the Lord God with all your heart, strength, soul, and mind (this enables us to walk in obedience to God and keep the second law as well)

(2) Love your neighbor as yourself.    (Both of these commands are found in the OT)

Don’t be so quick to judge tattoos my friend! Don’t forget God’s heart in all matters: He said,

“Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

Comment by Saved By Christ on 8/12/09 at 5:16 pm

BTW - The Web guy. Scripture against homosexuality is found in both the Old & New Testament.

1 Corinthians 6:9 “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

So your point is invalid. The Old Testament is a fortelling of Christ while the New Testament shadows and confirms the Old.

So Christians who eat shrimp while also supporting God’s word against homosexuality are not nit picking. And being a Christian and eating shrimp is not a sin since the old law has been broken. Homosexuality however is still a sin that one can be forgiven and freed from through repentance in Christ.

Comment by Saved By Christ on 8/12/09 at 5:25 pm

Hai,
It was most likely started because a specific cemetery had a policy against tattoos. Jewish parents and grandparents picked up on it and over time,
Thanks…

Temporary Tattoos

Comment by Temporary Tattoos on 9/25/09 at 4:33 am

Would you do a fake tatoo with sharpies?
fake tattoos

Comment by fake tattoos on 10/24/09 at 8:29 am

air brushed tattoos would be the best every time i take my kids to the zoo i get them one and it looks real but no temporary ta too last long the air brushed last the longest and they only last about 2 weeks and i think you can be any age to get them
temporary tattoos

Comment by temporary tattoos on 10/24/09 at 8:34 am

I also do not think its too bold to say that there are many parts of organized religion that are contrived and have nothing to do with the glory of God.

Comment by Free Layouts for facebokk on 12/03/09 at 6:17 am

as an israeli i must admit a get a little more happy to see hebrew tatoos, it seems to have great meaning…

Comment by layout on 12/18/09 at 10:41 am

As a son of Jewish parents I have always wanted to get a tattoo that represents my heritage.

Comment by Temporary tattoos on 2/14/10 at 9:00 pm

The actual verse says not to make marks on the body, not the word tattoos. So does that mean make-up is prohibited, or does it mean only a permanent mark since it doesn’t say a permanent or temporary mark on the skin. The gashing of the skin is a different issue having to do with gashing the skin vs. tearing one’s clothes in mourning when someone dies. So can a woman wear makeup or is it prohibited due to the tattoo verse? Are they equally prohibitive?

Comment by Curious Christian on 4/05/10 at 10:00 pm

Good news. The answer to your question is that you don’t know what you are talking about. I am guessing you are reading some variant translation of the verse.

The actual verse (Leviticus 19:28) says not to make ‘incised writing (a design would be the same) within you’. The process of tattooing has not changed significantly in the last thirty three centuries. We can guess that the verse was targeted at tattooing as a form of worship of a false deity like the surrounding verses but it would also prohibit those women who tattoo eyebrows or lip coloring today. Even the Reform and Conservative movements who allow for more interpretive rulings prohibit or discourage tattooing. Ordinary women’s makeup is mentioned in the bible with no significant legal implication.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 4/06/10 at 9:33 pm

I don’t know if you took that “Jesus my savior” tattoo idea from the website you linked to as a recommendation for translations, but if you did then I wouldn’t really recommend it at all. I’m from Israel too, and this way of spelling Jesus’s name is offensive and incorrect, so if I were a christian and wanted this tattoo and that’s what you’d give me I’d be quite pissed.

Comment by Tattoo quotes on 4/07/10 at 12:36 am

Too many tabs open at once? Happens to everyone.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 4/07/10 at 3:10 am

Mr. Plonie, how do you come to the conclusion from this single verse “We can guess that the verse was targeted at tattooing as a form of worship of a false deity.” Do you have evidence tattoos were used to worship false deities? Does the “we” refer to your personal guess or to specific scholars? If as you say Reform and Conservative also follow this then who are the Jews that do get tattoos and I am curious to know what is their interpretation of the verse to justify it.

Comment by Curious Christian on 4/08/10 at 10:49 pm

I don’t come to the conclusion from a single verse. The applicable verse is 19:28. The entire chapter is concerned with proper and improper forms of worship, the will of God, and models of the spirit as well as the letter of God’s Law.

Verse 27 and 28 go together specifically as depicting the practices of alien forms of worship. I probably don’t have to cite examples of the peculiar hair styles of various monks and in the old days it was no different. The making of cuts on the body is attributed by our tradition to the Amorites. There are no Amorites today, but modern Iranians still go crazy once a year year rioting down the streets streaming blood from cutting themselves including their babies with knives and razors.

The Jews who get tattoos are just like anyone else who gets tattoos without reference to their heritage. They don’t do it because they are Jews or with Jewish authoritative justification or for Jewish purposes. They are most probably ignorant of the verse and wouldn’t care about it if they did know it.

You set a pretty high standard of proof for someone who thinks that a woman with makeup or a man with a leaky pen in his shirt pocket might be a sinner.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 4/10/10 at 8:40 pm

Temporary tattoos are the go these days!

Comment by Temporary Tattoos on 4/25/10 at 6:53 pm

Force these type of authors to create more beautiful articles like this; thanks.

Comment by Relocation in Geneva on 5/20/10 at 5:35 am

That’s an awesome tattoo of a burning tree. Hebrew is such a cool language there’s so many words that don’t even have a direct meaning in English! Goes to show how old and detailed the language is.

Comment by Tow Truck on 7/01/10 at 9:23 pm

Tattoos, once considered off-limits for Jews, are becoming increasingly popular, for some as a form of rebellion, while for others as a prideful marker of Jewish identity. Tattooing and body art are classic forms of religious expression among people of some faiths, yet have been historically viewed unfavorably by the Jewish tradition.

As more young hip Jews make the choice to emblazon inky Jewish stars, Hebrew lettering, and kabalistic imagery across their skin, it begs us to ask the question: What does Jewish tradition actually have to say about tattoos?

The biblical verse, “You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:28) is the foundational text upon which later Rabbinic scholars developed the prohibitions against tattooing. Rabbinic law clarifies the biblical statute and states that only tattoos of a permanent nature are considered impermissible.

Maimonides, a leading 12th century scholar of Jewish law and thought, explains that the prohibition against tattoos originates as a Jewish response to paganism. Since it was common practice for ancient pagan worshippers to tattoo themselves with religious iconography and names of gods, Judaism prohibited tattoos entirely in order to disassociate from other religions.

A later developed and commonly heard explanation for the prohibition against tattoos connects to the Jewish concept that all humans were created B’Tzelem Elokin (in the image of God). The mystical interpretation of this prohibition is that the human body is a holy vessel and a gift from God and as such, we are expected to care for our bodies and treat them preciously, which forbids certain actions including tattooing.

It is a popular myth that a Jewish person who has a tattoo is not permitted to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. Despite the prohibition, there is absolutely no legal justification to prevent a person with a tattoo from receiving a Jewish burial. Interestingly, tattoos are unique in the sense that evidence of the transgression remains on the body after death.

In a post-Holocaust era it is important to clarify that the prohibition against tattoos applies only to cases of voluntary tattooing.  The Shulchan Aruch (16th century book of codified Jewish law) explains that when a person is tattooed involuntarily or against his will, he is not accountable for the act. This statute is particularly relevant to many Jews who received number tattoos on their arms during the Holocaust.

Comment by Got A hebrew tattoo on 7/06/10 at 10:11 pm

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