Tattooing: Under Your Skin

Parshas Kedoshim

Posted on May 10, 2019 (5779) By Rabbi Osher Chaim Levene | Series: The Living Law | Level: Beginner

 

The Mitzvah

A Jew is prohibited by the Torah against tattooing his body – namely to arrange to have an indelible inscription etched into one’s skin (Vayikra 19:28).

In contemporary Western society, there is a morbid fascination with body art.

What emerges from tattooing – the process of which entails scratching the skin and applying ink so that the writing or design is of a permanent nature – is an erroneous perspective of the human body where a person is free to do with it whatever his heart fancies.

Whether as a decorative design or as an object of fashion, the Torah emphatically forbids a tattoo on any part of the human body. The Torah framework educates how, in truth, man cannot consider himself the true owner of his body; for he is merely the humble custodian of this divine gift.

It is not him, even though it is his to put to excellent use. It is his to hold, his to safeguard and his to protect for the duration of his limited period of his lifetime on Earth. It is not his to abuse, to deface or to destroy.

Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe ztl observed how an astronaut can only walk and survive in space dressed in a spacesuit. Similarly, the only way how a soul can operate in this physical world, for any period of time, is by being enveloped in a body, a suit of flesh and blood. Without this, he cannot function.

But the ‘body’ is not simply the clothing of the ‘soul’.

The human anatomy itself expresses the mystical forces of how G-d engineered His Creation whose climax was the fashioning of man. Indeed, the structure and bodily organs therein correspond to the spiritual building blocks of the universe – to the extent that the human body is said to ‘bear’ the imprint of G-d: “In my flesh shall I see G-d” (Iyov 19:26).

That means that the body is itself the chosen vehicle for holiness and spirituality. Cue the famous kabbalistic correspondence between the 248 limbs and 248 positive commandments. Or the 365 bodily sinews and tendons and 365 negative commandments. Or the formulation of the blessing “…[G- d] Who sanctifies us with his commandments…”

The ‘body’ is designed for the ‘soul’ to interact with the physical world to serve G-d. However its very nature is to be a temporary garb – one that it shed upon arrival to the World to Come – akin to the astronaut takes off upon his return to Earth. It is not permanent. Hence any permanent mark on its skin, such as a tattoo, goes against the very nature of its functionality.

Kedoshim: Morality in Daily Life

Parshas Kedoshim

Posted on April 23, 2015 (5775) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

Although the entire gamut of Torah commandments is discussed in this week’s Torah reading, it is obvious that the major emphasis is on the subject of sexual morality. It is almost impossible to discuss this subject in the current climate of politically correct Western liberalism. Even a discussion of this situation brings upon one the approbation of being bigoted and intolerant.

Yet in the long run of human history, the current acceptance of unrestricted sexual freedom has had many precedents. The power of the sexual drive in human beings is not a recent phenomenon. Psychiatrists and psychologists all recognize it as being one of the primary physical drives of all human behavior.

The Torah certainly recognized the primacy of this physical drive in our lives. In fact, the Torah devoted much detail and instruction in this matter in order to achieve a balanced and positive channeling of this drive, as it is the one that preserves human continuity and generational existence. The Talmud points out to us that without the existence of this drive, in nature generally, no hen would lay an egg and life as we know it would disappear.

Judaism never denied or even denigrated the necessary existence of the sexual drive in nature. It never preached celibacy; on the contrary it always promoted the concept of marriage and physical union between spouses. What it did oppose, and still opposes is the wanton “everything goes” attitude toward sexual behavior. Eventually all of society pays a heavy price for unrestricted sexual behavior.

The Torah speaks to us in terms of being kedoshim. This word is usually translated and used as a term for holiness. This is undoubtedly correct. But like most Hebrew words, the word also conveys a different and perhaps more subtle meaning. It also means “dedicated.” In fact, one can say that the primary thrust of Judaism is that one should live a life dedicated to service of G-d and man, with vision and appreciation of the true meaning of life and its gifts.

Being dedicated in terms of Jewish life means valuing the concept of family, the necessity of the continuity of generations and the primacy of proper behavior regarding others particularly and in society generally. It is the dedication to these goals that translates itself into the idea of holiness. The lack of any code of sexual morality makes any such dedication impossible.

Unfortunately, we live in an age where holiness is at best a curiosity and certainly not the goal of most people. But the Torah in its eternal vision demands from us holiness in all ages and societies. The ancient classical world of Persia, Egypt, Greece and Rome, mighty as these empires were, nevertheless disappeared because of their inability to maintain a society based on paganism and sexual freedom.

No high sounding slogans about tolerance and acceptance of everything will eventually save Western society from such a fate as well. The Torah cautioned us regarding this inevitable rule of human society and we are bidden to maintain the traditional standards of Jewish behavior in this matter… no matter what.

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Berel Wein