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Tattoo Taboo
You’ve got a tattoo? You’re out of here! That’s the general sentiment of some followers of Judaism who view the inking as desecrating the body. Liz Carnes, a 49-year old mother of teenagers says, “If you get a tattoo, you can’t be buried in a Jewish cemetery. For no real reason, just that’s what my parents told me.” A rabbi echoes something similar: “We don’t think it’s a very ‘Jewish’ thing to do, but we’re not really sure why.”
According to many rabbis, it’s merely an urban myth that probably stretches back to some particular cemetery barring tattooed bodies from entering. Regardless, could a tattoo really affect one’s ability to live more spiritually? The younger generations are, predictably, saying “no,” and some even get Jewish tattoos as a way to bridge the religious divide, like Andy Abrams, a filmmaker with a tattoo of the word “Kosher” sitting above the image of a pig.
“Judaism has got to evolve with the times,” another tattooed believer in the religion say. Do you agree? Should religious or spiritual groups “move on” from certain restrictions, especially when they aren’t grounded? [The New York Times]
Posted: 7/18/08
