Judaism and Tattoos

My roommate comes from a family where her mom is Jewish and her dad is Christian. She is not very religious at all but if someone asks her what religion she would associate with she would say that she is Jewish. My roommate has a tattoo on the nape of her neck that is the Hebrew word of “love” she and her mom got matching tattoos to remember their Jewish roots. My roommate thinks it is funny that she has a Hebrew tattoo because she says that in Judaism they do not get tattoos.

To me religious tattoos are something special. They are a constant reminder about the devotion you have toward it. It is more special than wearing a cross since you cannot take it off. In Christianity people tell you that the Bible is against tattoos. This can all go back to context. My roommate and I both have tattoos for good reasons. We want to remember our religion. It is something that is near and dear to our hearts.

Now, our tattoos are not sacred to the public, they are profane symbols of our religions. Our tattoos cannot make miracles happen. But they tell a story, they explain a part of ourselves to the people that see them. That is what makes them religious.

The thing with religious objects are that they can offend people. My tattoos and my roommates have definitely offended people. From people outside of our religion who think we are trying to convert people to patrons of the same church or synagogues as us thinking we are violating the sacred books.