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Tattooed at this time.

שו”תCategory: HalachaTattooed at this time.
asked 1 month ago

To the honorable Rabbi, peace and blessings!
I wanted to ask the Rabbi’s halachic opinion regarding getting a tattoo in our time.
When this is discussed among those who observe the Torah and mitzvot, the instinctive response is of course, “And you shall not tattoo any marks on you, I am the Lord,” for it is explicitly forbidden in the Torah!
However, when we examine a little, we see that in the Gemara the Sages (Rabbi Shimon) said that the prohibition is only fulfilled when one writes the name of an idolatrous act. And in the book Teharat HaBayit (83, Dinei HaZetzeh, Mishmeret Hatahara, letter 10) it states that this is how the Rif Maimonides and the Rosh ruled. And in the commentary to the Nar it is written that according to the words of Maimonides and his followers, it is possible that even among the rabbis there is no prohibition, as long as one does not do so for the sake of idolatry.
Therefore, I wanted to know what the Rabbi’s opinion is on this. Since in this day and age, there is no connection between tattoos and idolatry, at least not in the modern part of the world. And if this is permitted, are there certain cumulative conditions under which it is permitted?


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0 Answers
מיכי Staff answered 1 month ago
Indeed, according to the Gemara Makot 21, it means that the prohibition is only in the text of Ezra, but later on they even forbade giving ashes to a person who has been beaten with blood for a tattoo. We see that at least according to the rabbis, all tattoos are forbidden. The Rabbi there means that it is from the Torah, only not from the sick. I did not check the sources you cited (Arul’n), but it is refuted from the Gemara there. And certainly there is no dependence on the intention. The discussion is only about the content of what is written and not about the purpose of the tattoo.

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