Physically Connected To Judaism
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 1999 13:00:57 -0600
Subject: Thanks for the web page!!
To: [email protected]
I think that it's a really great page!! I have been thinking about getting a tattoo
lately, but now I am a bit more hesitant about it. I can see the obvious reasons for
why I shouldn't get it, Torah specifically states that I shouldn't. I have a question
about it though. The tattoo I want to get is a religious one. I want to get the Hamsa
hand with Chai written above it. Being a Jew is very important to me and these
symbols mean a lot to me. To me they sum up and profess my belief in Judaism.
So, by having the tattoo, Judaism would be a part of me physically as well as
spiritually. Is it wrong for me to do that? I want it for religious reasons, so is that
bad? Please write me back.
Sincerely,
A.
Hello A.,
Thanks for writing.
Your questions touch upon one of the foundations of Judaism:
We must worship G-d according to how He tells us to worship him.
In the book of Samuel I Chapter 15 it is related that Samuel tells Saul to wipe
out Amalek including Amalek's animals. In the end,
the people did not kill the choice animals. They even wanted to bring them
as sacrifices! Samuel scolds Saul (verse 22) saying that it is better to listen
to G-d than to bring sacrifices. The same
is true for tattoos: the best way for us to show our connection to
Judaism is NOT to get tattooed. There are plenty of Jewish ways
to reflect our connection to Judaism and our pride in being Jewish.
BTW, from your name I assume that you are a male so you must have had
a brit. So you are already "physically" as well as spiritually connected.
All the best.
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 20:33:22 -0600
Subject: Thanks for writing back
To: [email protected]
Thanks for writing back, I appreciate your time. But, I have another question. If I
do get one, can I still rightfully, in a moral and spiritual sense, practice Judaism or
would it be pointless since I broke one of the laws. Can I still be "Jewish" if I get
it. If I got one and then got it removed later in life is that wrong as well.
And you assumed correctly about my name and the brit. That made me think
about it differently since I already have a physical contract with G-d. But, I still
want to get one. I already know the facts about it so that's not what I'm asking
about. I want to know what will happen to me after I get it religiously and
spiritually.
I'm sorry that I have so many questions. But, I live in N. and I live very
far away from the closest synogauge and I don't know the rabbi there well at all so I
really don't have anybody to answer these type of questions. Thank you again for
your time, I'm sure your a busy man and I appreciate it.
A.
A.,
Our sages said that even the most righteous falter now and then.
So if you were to sin by getting a tattoo, you are still Jewish
and you are still OBLIGATED to practice Judaism to the best of
your ability.
Any transgression that a person does harms him spiritually. We can
look at our connection to G-d as a pipeline. When one sins,
the pipeline gets clogged up a bit. One who sins regularly gets used
to having a "clogged pipeline" and does not even feel that anything
is wrong. For example, one who lives in New York City is used to
breathing dirty air. If he were to visit N. and breathe some
fresh air, he would feel the difference. In order to "clean the
pipeline" one must do a lot of "teshuvah"(repentance). How to do
"teshuvah" is a long and deep subject. There are some excellent
Torah learning sites on the web (for instance www.torah.org) if you
want to know more. Of course, the best thing to do is not to sin
and keep the pipeline that connects you to G-d as clean as possible.
Happy Chanukah!
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