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Rabbi Marc Gellman began his studies in 1969 at the University of Wisconsin, and went on to attend the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of ...
Read more about By Rabbi Marc Gellman, Tribune Media Services.
TATTOOS TABOO FOR GOOD REASON
By Rabbi Marc Gellman, Tribune Media Services
Q: I was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home. As an adult, I consider
myself Conservative. I want to get a small tattoo but have always been
told that this is again Jewish law. Can you please clarify the law,
and the reason for it, and what would happen to me if I do get a
tattoo? - R, via godsquadquestion@aol.com )
A: You are correct that Jewish law forbids tattoos. Tattoos violate the law prohibiting self-wounding (in Hebrew: havalah). The ethical idea behind the law is that a person ought not to do anything to their body that presents a risk (such as infection) without some clear therapeutic reason for taking that risk.
Having your body cut for surgery makes sense. Having your body cut for vanity makes no sense. The theological belief supporting the judgment that wounding yourself is forbidden is the belief that God owns our bodies and we therefore ought not to defile what we do not own. It's kind of like pounding hole in the wall of an apartment you're only renting.
This Jewish religious belief, shared by Christianity and Islam, contradicts prevalent modern beliefs that we own our bodies and therefore ought to be able to do what we want to them, including putting anything we want into them or marking them with tattoos. This logic can be extended to allowing unlimited drug use, or even to a moral justification for suicide.
Now, it's up to each one of us to decide what we believe. However, before you toss out the belief that God owns your body, take a moment to consider the protection against addiction, injury and death that such a belief provides.
As far as what might happen to you if you do get a tat, I'm sure you're referring to the common misconception that Jews with tattoos cannot be buried in Jewish cemeteries. This is not true and I'm not sure how this rumor got started.
I've advised (in an obviously joking manner) panicky Jewish parents who're trying to stop their kids from getting tattoos to tell them Rabbi Gellman says if they get tattoos, they not only can never be buried in a Jewish cemetery but they also can never be married by a rabbi, have a bar mitzvah for a son, or retire to Boca Raton, Fla. OK, so none of this is true, but stopping your kid from having a skull engraved on his butt requires desperate measures. - R., via godsquadquestion@aol.com
Q: My family is very diversified. One son-in-law is Jewish and another is Roman Catholic. I have grandchildren who don't go to church at all. One says he and his wife are "spiritual," whatever that means. Another's wife is Roman Catholic and he goes to Mass every week with her and their four children. He's the son of my Jewish son-in-law. I don't think he's forgotten his Jewish roots but respects his wife's faith enough to be a part of it. My only granddaughter is married to a fine young Chinese man. She seems to have a firm belief in God and Jesus but never goes to church.
I've been to Mass with my daughter and son-in-law and very much admire the priest. For his homily on Christmas Eve , he tells the nativity story from the Book of Luke almost verbatim, without notes.
Enough about my family. I firmly believe in salvation but do not think I can get to heaven on my own works or because of the church I attend. God created the world and therefore everything in it, so He had to create all the other faiths. How each developed its set of beliefs is something I don't really need to know. I embrace my faith and believe Christ died on the cross for my sins.
Now, knowing Jesus died for my sins doesn't mean I can commit every sin known to man and have them all forgiven. That would not be trying to live my faith. But I do know Christ told the two criminals who died with Him that they would be in heaven with Him. That gives me hope that even though I am a sinner, through God's grace and forgiveness I can hope to spend eternity in heaven.
I'm a Lutheran and believe in my church but that doesn't mean I think those who attend other churches or synagogues will not have eternal life.
For my family members who don't attend church, I can only encourage them to start doing so by being faithful and trying to set an example of what it means to be a Christian. I know I fail at times, but I keep on trying. - M., Mechanicsburg, PA, via godsquadquestion@aol.com
A: Although your letter did not contain a question, I know it was a response to my recent columns about salvation. I want you to know that I consider it one of the clearest and most compassionate descriptions of a Christian's faith that I've ever read.
I do not share your faith because I believe we cannot have a surrogate (Jesus) do our work of atonement, but I deeply, profoundly and prayerfully admire your faith. Your wild and theologically rambunctious family is lucky to have you leading them. Their spiritual range is a testimony to your spiritual generosity, wisdom and patience. God bless us one and all!
(Send QUESTIONS ONLY to The God Squad, c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207, or email them to godsquadquestion@aol.com.
(c) 2008 THE GOD SQUAD DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
This news arrived on: 07/17/2008
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