Thursday, June 19, 2025
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
CAN YOU ERASE GOD'S NAME FROM A TATOO?
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
In Jewish tradition, God’s name, YHVH, is considered sacred and cannot be erased (Deut. 12: 3-4). What about erasing it from a human body?
Modern tattooing began in 1891 with the invention of the electric tattoo machine. It is extremely popular in our time. According to one poll, 41 per cent of the millennials, born between 1981-1966, have at least one tattoo. And the trend continues to grow.
In the past, there are some hints that tattooing was accepted among the Israelites. The prophet (second) Isaiah, 6 cent. BCE, writes, “I have engraved you ( God) upon the palm of My hands (49:16), and “Another person shall mark his arm “of the Lord” and adopt the name Israel” (44:5). On the other hand, the Book of Leviticus seems to have a negative opinion about the practice, when it states, “You shall not …incise any marks (ketovet kaaka) on yourselves; I am the Lord” (19: 28). The correct meaning of the word kaaka is not known, because it occurs only in this passage. It is often taken to refer to tattooing, as clarified by J.H. Hertz, “What is forbidden is the custom of tattooing some part of the body.” In its time, it may have referred to an idolatrous practice which the Bible abhors.
In the Rabbinic literature, this Leviticus verse is taken to prohibit the inscription of God’s name permanently ( Mak 3:6, Mal 21a). And , during the medieval times, Maimonides approved it as a general principle ( Mishneh Torah, Idolatry 12: 11).
What about now? Should God’s name appearing in a tattoo be allowed to be erased? On this subject there is no unanimity among Jewish thinkers. On the one hand, using the sacredness of God’s name, some commentators argue that the tattoo should not be erased, whereas others, based on the temporary and secular nature of most tattoos, maintain that it could be (See, Rabbi Bakshi-Doron, Teshuvot Havvot Yair, 16).
I am not fond of tattooing, as I consider the human body as a sacred vessel. It reminds me of the Nazi’s practice of branding Jews during the period of the Holocaust with certain numbers on their arms. I also remember that in the past many slave owners tattooed their slaves as a sign of ownership. For me, erasing the name of God would be tantamount to misusing God’s name as indicated in the Ten Commandments. Just, don’t do it!
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