The purpose of this sourcesheet is to explore the Torah basis of the prohibition against tattoos, the rabbinic dispute regarding the quality of the prohibition, give some numbers and recent facts regarding Jews and tattoos, dispel the misconception of tattoos and cemeteries, and wonder about the nature of tribalism.
Rabbi Rochelle Tulik understands the translation to be as following:
"Do not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, and this written imprint do not put on yourselves: "I am Ad-nai"
(ו) הכותב כתבת קעקע, כתב ולא קעקע, קעקע ולא כתב, אינו חיב עד שיכתוב ויקעקע בדיו ובכחול ובכל דבר שהוא רושם. רבי שמעון בן יהודה משום רבי שמעון אומר: אינו חיב עד שיכתוב שם השם, שנאמר (ויקרא יט) וכתבת קעקע לא תתנו בכם אני ה'.
(6) One who tatoos: If he writes without engraving, or he engraves without writing, he is not liable for lashes, until he writes and engraves with ink or pigment or anything that leaves an impression. Rebbi Shimon ben Yehudah said in the name of Rebbi Shimon [bar Yochai]: He is not liable until he writes a name [of idolatry] there. As it says (Vayikra 19): "Do not tatoo yourself, for I am G-d."
the Gemarah debates whether it is the inclusion of God’s name or a pagan deity that makes it a culpable act.
According to the first rabbi (echoed many centuries later by Maimonides), the Jewish aversion to tattoos is part of its age-old polemic against idolatry, contravening God’s declaration that “I am the Lord,” especially when paying explicit homage to a foreign god. In the view of the second sage, however, the biblical ban on tattoos is non-rational, rooted in divine fiat.
It really depends on where you put the emphasis of your translation, and how you understand the part "I am Ad-nai" - as part of the text of the admonition or not.
Recently - Second and third generations of the survivors of the Holocaust look for replicating the tattoo of the first generation. See: tinyurl.com/Jtattoo1 and tinyurl.com/Jtattoo2
Also: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/fashion/17SKIN.html?_r=0
Younger Jews doing tattoos as a form of affirming a Jewish identification.
According to a 2007 Pew study, almost 40 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 40 have tattoos, but only 10 percent of those between 41 and 64.
According to research conducted by Rabbi Rochelle Tulik, about two-fifths of Jews’ tattoos can be identified as Jewish in some way.
See: http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/short-takes/tattoo-stil-taboo#VYIeHzLgl6VoyDED.99
ולא זו בלבד כו': א"ר יוחנן משום ר"ש בן יוחי מנין למלין את מתו שעובר עליו בל"ת ת"ל כי קבר תקברנו מכאן למלין את מתו שעובר בלא תעשה איכא דאמרי אמר רבי יוחנן משום ר"ש בן יוחי רמז לקבורה מן התורה מניין ת"ל כי קבר תקברנו מכאן רמז לקבורה מן התורה
R. Johanan said on the authority of R. Simeon b. Yohai: Whence is it inferred that whoever keeps his dead [unburied] over night transgresses thereby a negative conmmand?— From the verse, Thou shalt surely bury him; whence we learn that he who keeps his dead [unburied] over night transgresses a prohibitory command. Others state: R. Johanan said on the authority of R. Simeon b. Yohai: Where is burial [as a means of disposing of the dead] alluded to in the Torah? — In the verse, Thou shalt surely bury him: here we find an allusion to burial in the Torah.
Conservative Responsum by Rabbi Alan Lucas
" 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 Elokim (in the image of God) and that our bodies are to be viewed as a precious gift on loan from God, to be entrusted into our care and [are] 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 Elokim. 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." Read the responsum here: http://tinyurl.com/Jtattoo4
Bottom line: just as with smoking - if you haven't taken it up, don't start. If you have one, you are as good as anybody.