Jews with Toos by Ted

Hey all. So October was a pretty bad month. Maya and I hardly posted anything (aka I posted nothing). I'm not sure why that is, but we will try our best to stay on top of our blogging and keep the juices flowing.

With that said, about a week ago I got a text from a friend asking me if I would like to be interviewed by a fellow Rutgers student for a paper she is writing on Jews with tattoos. Having two tattoos myself, pursuing a life in Jewish professionalism, and being involved in the Jewish community, I felt like I'd be an excellent interviewee. Plus, I just like to talk about Judaism and topics like this, so I thought it would be, at the very least, fun for me.

So I met the girl yesterday and had the interview. It was fun, we had a 20 minute conversation about the subject and I'll hopefully get to see the paper when she is done with it in a few weeks. But I wanted to offer you guys my opinion on the subject, why I feel that way, and what my tattoos are and what they mean to me.

As I'm sure you can imagine, I am perfectly fine with Jewish people getting tattoos. The idea that we aren't allowed to get tattoos is derived from Lev. 19:28, where it says "You shall not...incise any marks on yourselves: I the LORD am your God." It was common practice for pagans to tattoo themselves with markers of their gods, and to differentiate themselves from those pagans, Jews were required not to get tattoos. Within ten lines of v.28, we receive the commandments not to grow more than 1 type of plant in any specific field and not to wear clothing made from two types of cloth. Like these latter commandments, the one regarding tattooing oneself seems to me a bit archaic, as I am clearly not a pagan (for those who were wondering).

So, with the Bible based reasoning out of the way, why do I have tattoos? Well, for me, a tattoo is just another mode of expression, like poetry or painting. They are an expression and reminder of who I am and who I was at the time. They are also only one part of who I am. Just like being male, or a person who lives in New Jersey, or even a Jew, they are just one facet of the thing called Ted.

Before describing my tattoos, I should add a little caveat. I have a rule for myself when getting tattoos. I make myself wait about 3 years after coming up with the idea before actually getting the tattoo. The first one I got I waited 4 years before actually getting it and the second one I sat on for 3 years. They weren't an impulsive decision, rather one I contemplated and envisioned for quite a long time.

I have two tattoos. The first one is this...

For those of you who cannot read Hebrew, it says "Nizkor" or "We shall remember". It is one my right side rib cage. To me, this one has a few different meanings. Firstly, the Nizkor project (nizkor.org) is a Holocaust Remembrance project. After going on my Confirmation trip during my sophomore year in high school and visiting a few of the concentration camps, I this idea became particularly meaningful to me. Secondly, it is a reminder of my uncle, who died at a very young age. While he  would have hated the fact that I have a tattoo, it none the else is another way for me to remember one of the greatest human beings to ever live. And lastly, it is a constant reminder to stay ground and remember who you are and where you came from.

My second tattoo I had done less than two weeks ago! Here it is...

This one says "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter" and is located on my back left shoulder. As you can also see, there is a ship underneath and all of you Star Wars fans will recognize it as Bobba Fett's ship, Slave 1. This one is a bit easier to explain. The Slave 1 is there for one simple reason, it's bad-ass. Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge Star Wars fan and the Slave 1 is by far the coolest ship in all of Star Wars. The quote, which is spoken by Yoda to Luke while he is training on Dagoba, is meant to originally help explain the power behind The Force. I like to think of it in the same context. We are not simply the amalgamation of atoms and cells that form our body and organs, but much more than that. There is mystery that surrounds human existence and the human experience that we simply do not understand or even readily perceive.

I'm sure no one is surprised by my take on Jews with tattoos. I understand some people don't like the way they look or that the stigma that surrounds them is still prevalent, but I'm not too concerned. If you find the tattoo to be a beautiful piece of art or has particular meaning to you, then I think you should go for. Mine make me happy and that's all I really care about.