(27) And God created the human in His image, He created him in the image of God; male and female He created them.
Do not round off the growth along the sides of your head nor destroy the growth along the sides of your beard. Do not make an incision in your flesh for a [deceased] life, nor make a written tattoo upon yourselves: I am the Lord.
You are children of the Lord your God: do not cut yourselves, nor make a bald patch between your eyes for the dead. For you are a holy people of the Lord your God, and the Lord chose you to be His treasured people out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth. You shall not eat any disgusting thing. These are the animals that you shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat. The deer, the gazelle, and the roebuck, and the wild goat, and the ibex, and the antelope, and the mountain sheep….
(ג) (משלי יא, יז): גֹּמֵל נַפְשׁוֹ אִישׁ חָסֶד, זֶה הִלֵּל הַזָּקֵן, שֶׁבְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהָיָה נִפְטַר מִתַּלְמִידָיו הָיָה מְהַלֵּךְ וְהוֹלֵךְ עִמָּם, אָמְרוּ לוֹ תַּלְמִידָיו רַבֵּנוּ לְהֵיכָן אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ אָמַר לָהֶם לַעֲשׂוֹת מִצְוָה, אָמְרוּ לוֹ וְכִי מַה מִּצְוָה זוֹ, אָמַר לָהֶן לִרְחֹץ בְּבֵית הַמֶּרְחָץ, אָמְרוּ לוֹ וְכִי זוֹ מִצְוָה הִיא, אָמַר לָהֶם, הֵן. מָה אִם אִיקוֹנִין שֶׁל מְלָכִים שֶׁמַּעֲמִידִים אוֹתָן בְּבָתֵּי טַרְטִיאוֹת וּבְבָתֵּי קִרְקָסִיאוֹת, מִי שֶׁנִּתְמַנֶּה עֲלֵיהֶם הוּא מוֹרְקָן וְשׁוֹטְפָן וְהֵן מַעֲלִין לוֹ מְזוֹנוֹת, וְלֹא עוֹד אֶלָּא שֶׁהוּא מִתְגַּדֵּל עִם גְּדוֹלֵי מַלְכוּת, אֲנִי שֶׁנִּבְרֵאתִי בְּצֶלֶם וּבִדְמוּת, דִּכְתִיב (בראשית ט, ו): כִּי בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה אֶת הָאָדָם, עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה.
“A compassionate man treats himself well” (Proverbs 11:17)—This refers to Hillel the Elder. For when he would leave his students he would walk along with them [for a while].
[One time] his students said to him, “Rabbi, where are you going?”
He said to them, “To do a mitzvah.”
They said to him, “What mitzvah would that be?”
He said to them, “To bathe in the bathhouse.”
They said to him, “Is that a mitzvah?”
He said to them, “Yes. For if the one appointed over the statues of [Roman] kings, that they set up in the theaters and the circuses, cleans them off and washes them, and they pay him for it—and not only that, but he gets honored among the great ones of the kingdom—I, who am created in the image and likeness, as it is written, 'For in the image of God He made humans' (Genesis 9:6), how much the more so!”
הַכּוֹתֵב כְּתֹבֶת קַעֲקַע, כָּתַב וְלֹא קִעֲקַע, קִעֲקַע וְלֹא כָתַב, אֵינוֹ חַיָּב, עַד שֶׁיִּכְתֹּב וִיקַעֲקֵעַ בִּדְיוֹ וּבִכְחֹל וּבְכָל דָּבָר שֶׁהוּא רוֹשֵׁם. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יְהוּדָה מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, אֵינוֹ חַיָּב עַד שֶׁיִּכְתּוֹב שֵׁם הַשֵּׁם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא יט) וּכְתֹבֶת קַעֲקַע לֹא תִתְּנוּ בָּכֶם אֲנִי ה':
(6) One who tattoos his skin: if he made a mark [an incision in his skin] but did not tattoo in it [did not fill it in with ink], or tattooed in it [made ink marks on the surface of his skin], but did not make a mark [so that the tattooing was not completed]--he is not liable [to punishment]. He is liable [only] when he marks and tattoos with ink or eye paint or anything that leaves a [permanent] mark. Rabbi Shimon, son of Yehudah says in the name of Rabbi Shimon: He is liable only if he writes the name of God, as it is stated, "Nor make a written tattoo upon yourselves: I am the Lord."
Rav Aḥa, son of Rava said to Rav Ashi: [Did Rabbi Shimon mean only] if he actually writes “I am the Lord"? Rav Ashi replied: No, as bar Kappara teaches: One is liable only if he inscribes the name of a false god, as it is stated, “Nor make a written tattoo upon yourselves: I am the Lord"--[this means] I am the Lord, and no one else.
ואינו חייב עד שיכתוב ויקעקע בדיו ובכחול לעבודה זרה.
Tosefta Makkot 4:15
And one is not liable [for punishment] until he writes and incises with dye or eye paint for the purpose of idol worship.
One man will say, “I belong to the Lord,” and another will call himself “Jacob.” This one will write, “The Lord's” on his arm, and he will take the name “Israel.”
[יא] "כְּתֹבֶת קַעֲקַע" הָאֲמוּרָה בַּתּוֹרָה, הוּא שֶׁיִּשְׂרֹט עַל בְּשָׂרוֹ וִימַלֵּא מְקוֹם הַשְּׂרִיטָה כֹּחַל אוֹ דְּיוֹ אוֹ שְׁאָר צִבְעוֹנִין הָרוֹשְׁמִין; וְזֶה הָיָה מִנְהַג הַגּוֹיִים שֶׁרוֹשְׁמִין עַצְמָן לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה שֶׁלָּהֶן, כְּלוֹמַר שְׁהוּא עֶבֶד מָכוּר לָהּ וּמֻרְשָׁם לַעֲבוֹדָתָהּ.
וּמֵעֵת שֶׁיִּרְשֹׁם בְּאֶחָד מִדְּבָרִים הָרוֹשְׁמִים אַחַר שֶׁיִּשְׂרֹט, בְּאֵי זֶה מָקוֹם מִן הַגּוּף, בֵּין אִישׁ בֵּין אִשָּׁה--לוֹקֶה.
כָּתַב וְלֹא רָשַׁם בִּצְבָע, אוֹ שֶׁרָשַׁם בִּצְבָע וְלֹא כָתַב בִּשְׂרִיטָה--פָּטוּר: עַד שֶׁיִּכְתֹּב וִיקַעְקַע, שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר "וּכְתֹבֶת קַעֲקַע".
Maimonides, Mishneh Torah: Laws of Idolatry 12:11
"A written tattoo":
The prohibition of tattooing that is stated in the Torah is making an incision in one's flesh and filling the incision with eye paint, ink, or any dye that leaves an imprint. This was the practice of idolaters who [permanently] marked their bodies for the sake of their false god. This meant to say that he is a slave sold to the god and marked for its service.
When one makes an imprint with one of the substances [listed above], the punishment of lashes is carried out, whether it is a man or a woman.
If one wrote but did not dye, or dyed but did not write [by incising in the flesh] -- this person is not liable, as it is written (Lev. 19:28), "a written tattoo."
(ב) אם עושה כן על בשר חבירו אותו שנעשה לו פטור אא"כ סייע בדבר:
(2) If he does this on another's flesh, the one to whom it was done is exempt [from punishment] unless he assisted in it.
In our day, the prohibition against all forms of tattooing regardless of their intent, should be maintained. In addition to the fact that Judaism has a long history of distaste for tattoos, tattooing becomes even more distasteful in a contemporary secular society that is constantly challenging the Jewish concept that we are created b’tzelem Elohim and that our bodies are to be viewed as a precious gift on loan from God, to be entrusted into our care and not our personal property to do with as we choose. Voluntary tattooing even if not done for idolatrous purposes expresses a negation of this fundamental Jewish perspective.
As tattoos become more popular in contemporary society, there is a need to reinforce the prohibition against tattooing in our communities and counterbalance it with education regarding the traditional concept that we are created b’tzelem Elohim. But, however distasteful we may find the practice there is no basis for restricting burial to Jews who violate this prohibition or even limiting their participation in synagogue ritual. The fact that someone may have violated the laws of kashrut at some point in his or her life or violated the laws of Shabbat would not merit such sanctions; the prohibition against tattooing is certainly no worse. It is only because of the permanent nature of the tattoo that the transgression is still visible.