Tattooing and Body Piercing

by Rabbi Alan B. Lucas, 1997; Edited by Rabbi Robert Binder

Question (Sh’eilah)

Are body piercings (nose, navel, etc.) and tattooing permitted? Doe they preclude taking part in synagogue rituals or being buried in a Jewish cemetery?

Answer (Teshuvah)

This question deals with two separate issues, body piercing and tattooing, as well as three different implications of these issues: a.) permissibility, b.) participation in synagogue rituals, and c.) burial in a Jewish cemetery.

The prohibition against tattooing is found in the Torah: “You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, nor incise any marks on yourselves: I am the Lord” [Leviticus 19:28]. The definition of tattooing is debated in the Mishnah. An anonymous tanna says that it is the lasting and permanent nature of tattooing that makes it an unacceptable act, but Rabbi Shimon ben Yehuda insists that it is the inclusion of God’s 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].

Maimonides sees the origin of this prohibition as an act of idolatry [Mishneh Torah, Laws of Idolatry 12:11] and prohibits the act of tattooing, regardless of intent. This prohibition was extended by the rabbis to all tattooing (see Tosafot on Gittin 20b].

As tattoos become more popular in contemporary society, there is a need to reinforce this prohibition and counterbalance it with education about the traditional concept that we are created b’tzelem Elohim (“in God’s image”); our bodies are to be viewed as a precious gift on loan from God, entrusted into our care but not our personal property, to do with as we choose. Although we may find the practice of tattooing distasteful, however, there is no basis for refusing burial in a Jewish cemetery to a Jew who violates this prohibition or even limiting his or her participation in synagogue ritual.

The prohibition applies only to personal, voluntary tattooing. With respect to the reprehensible practice of the Nazis in branding the arms of Jews with numbers during the Holocaust, it is clear that those who bear these tattoos are blameless. Tattoos used in cancer treatment or similar medical procedures to mark the body for necessary life-saving treatment also are not included in the prohibition.

Body piercing, in the form of piercing the ear, is mentioned in the Bible in several contexts, most notably in reference to marking a slave who refuses the opportunity to go free in the seventh year of his servitude: “He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall then remain his slave for life” [Exodus 21:6]. Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai’s response to the question, “Why was the ear, of all the bodily organs, selected for piercing?” was that “The ear that heard the Divine utterance, For it is to Me that the Israelites are servants  [Leviticus 25:55,] and yet preferred a human master, let that ear be pierced” [Kiddushin 22b].

Although decorative rings are recognized in the Bible (see Genesis 24:47 and Exodus 32:2 for famous examples) and there are references in halakhic literature to tradesmen wearing pierced earrings as symbols of their trade, the contemporary practice is a reflection of the fashions of the day. While this may be a fairly benign practice, there comes a point at which multiple piercings of the body, however fashionable, begin to challenge our concept of tzelem Elohim. Until this fashion passes, we should strengthen the sense of modesty and traditional Jewish values which guide our fashion choices in an attempt to balance contemporary pressures. However, there is no basis for any sanctions against those who engage in such fashions, certainly not of the magnitude of refusing burial in a Jewish ceremony or refraining from including them in any synagogue practices.