3 thoughts on “Are Tattoos Allowed in Judaism?”

  1. Within the Reform movement, there are some signs of a more lenient approach. While officially the movement’s rabbinic leaders have rejected tattooing as “an act of hubris and manipulation that most surely runs counter to the letter and spirit of our tradition,” the rabbis admit that their verdict is “subjective and laced with ambiguity.” In 2014, Reform Judaism magazine ran a cover story on tattoos, in which several Jews described their motivations for getting Jewish-themed body art. Rabbi Marshal Klaven, a tattooed Reform rabbi in Texas who wrote his rabbinical thesis on tattoos, argues that tattoos that affirm one’s Jewishness and connection to Jewish tradition would not seem to be prohibited.

  2. thanks for clearing that up for me. I do have a few tattoos and I was worried that I wouldn’t be buried in a Jewish Cemetery. Having said that I know religious women to have permanent makeup. Not sure what that difference is.

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