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On Tattoos!
Enough about me… let’s talk about tattoos. And, no, I don’t have one.
At Friday evening services at Congregation Beth Adam, we don’t have formal sermons. Frankly, sermons are boring. Sometimes I think I became a rabbi just so that I wouldn’t have to sit through other people’s sermons. It’s not that my sermons are better – but at least I get to do something when I’m delivering them.
For my most recent discussion at Beth Adam, I raised the subject of tattoos. What’s the one thing we’re all told as children about Jews and tattoos? You can’t be buried in a Jewish cemetery if you have one. Turns out… that’s false! We’ve been lied to, my friends – or at least given misinformation by accident.
How did so many people end up with the idea that Jews with tattoos can’t be buried in Jewish cemeteries? My guess is that some Jewish mother or grandmother made it up to scare her child. Or, it could be the case that one cemetery made this decision – and then the rumor spread that it was Jewish law. Ahh, rumors!
There are all sorts of reasons today that people argue Jews shouldn’t have tattoos including: 1) It’s against Jewish law and says so in the Bible, (2) If one’s parents disagree, it would be considered going against the commandment to honor one’s parents, (3) we were created in the image of God and should not interfere with our bodies, and (4) it’s in poor taste given the fact that people in the Holocaust were tattooed against their will and as a prelude to their deaths.
Here’s my response to each:
1. Jewish law – so what? There are plenty of Jewish laws I don’t follow. And, if I did follow all Jewish laws, it would be okay for me to have slaves…
2. Honoring one’s parents – I do believe in honoring one’s parents – but not necessarily because the Torah tells me too. And we all reach an age where we become independent – I’m not sure our parents get a say on what we do to our bodies as long as we don’t hurt ourselves or anyone else.
3. Image of God – When I step back, I don’t really know what it means to say “we were created in the image of God.” Personally, I do think that we should be thankful for our working bodies and take good care of them – but for me, that’s not a result of being created in God’s image – since that concept doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
4. Holocaust – I don’t know if this point would stop me from getting a tattoo if I really wanted one… but I do find this point slightly more compelling than the others.
For me, to tattoo or not to tattoo is not a Jewish question – but it has gotten lots of attention. Questions have come to Reform rabbis regarding issues such as whether one can have a surgeon tattoo an areola on one’s breast during reconstructive breast surgery following a radical mastectomy – seems to me the answer is a resounding yes. Do what makes you most comfortable. You are a liberal Jew after all.
Tattooing Jews is not just a scholarly point of interest. There’s even an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry David pays a gravedigger off so that he can get his mother buried despite a small tattoo on her behind.
And, there’s even a great website with some pictures. If you have a Jewish tattoo, you can submit a photo of it.
There was also a recent article in the New York Times about this if you are interested in reading more.
What are your thoughts?
Jews and Affiliation
Jews are voting with their feet.
- Among American adults whose religion is Judaism or who indicate they are of Jewish parentage or upbringing, only 44% say they are members of a Jewish congregation. (“American Jewish Identity Survey,” Egon Mayer, Barry Kosmin, and Ariela Keysar.2001)
- Among non-Orthodox Jews between the ages of 25-39, only 19% of singles and 51% of unmarried Jews join synagogues (“Uncoupled: How our Singles are Reshaping Jewish Engagement” by Steven M. Cohen and Ari Y. Kelman, p. 11.).
Why are so many Jews not joining synagogues?Is this a problem?Do we need to provide alternatives – and what are they?
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Barr’s Banter
Here’s your chance to comment on Rabbi Barr’s podcasts, also known as Barr’s Banter.What are you reactions?What do you agree and disagree with?Have you heard his recent podcasts on Palin’s Decision, Practical Jokes and the Democratic Convention, and Phelps and Einstein?Comment on those or others here.
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What should OurJewishCommunity.org offer?
OurJewishCommunity.org is not only a website – it’s a community.Just like healthy congregations are built over time with the involvement of congregants, so too will OurJewishCommunity.org be built.We want your ideas, suggestions, feedback, content, and more.What would you like to see here?What could an online congregation offer you?
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How I ended up at Beth Adam – an unaffiliated congregation…
I’m a rabbi ordained by the Reform movement, but I work for an unaffiliated congregation that views Judaism from a humanistic perspective. Here’s how that happened… During my final 2 years at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, I had the incredible opportunity to work at Congregation Beth Adam with its founding rabbi, Robert Barr. This unaffiliated synagogue is a warm and welcoming community that is open to serious learning and exploration.
It is a congregation that takes no pre-existing models for granted and instead recognizes the richness of our human potential. I am truly dedicated to the ways that Beth Adam and OurJewishCommunity.org explore Judaism – with intellectual honesty and integrity. Here, our minds can flourish and our hearts can soar.
I chose to serve a population of Jews who would otherwise not be served. So many congregants at Beth Adam have told me that they would not feel comfortable walking into another synagogue – things are very different here at Beth Adam. And for those of you who live too far away to walk into our doors, come click on ours!
How on earth did I become a cyber-rabbi?
Okay, that’s not actually a technical term – nor is it one I really want on my business card or resume. There, it’s sufficient to call me rabbi.
But, there’s also something cool about being a rabbi who followed a less than traditional path.
Until fairly recently, I thought I would graduate from the Hebrew Union College, become an assistant rabbi at some large Reform congregation on the East Coast, and then see where my career took me. Only, it didn’t quite happen that way.
Instead, I became the first second full-time rabbi (now that’s confusing, but we don’t like calling me the assistant rabbi) at Congregation Beth Adam – and 50% of my job involves building an online congregation. It was not part of my plan – but the more I learned about the opportunity to be part of this bold initiative, the less I could stay away.
I decided to embrace the opportunities – to be entrepreneurial, to take risks, and to learn. I want to bring thoughtful ideas for progress to our progressive Judaism.
As for the cyberspace issue, it’s clear to me that we need a new solution to serving the Jews of the 21st century. Affiliation is low, especially among single people in their 20s and 30s. Synagogues do not appeal to many people. Either we’re too busy, or we find most sermons boring, or we aren’t interested in hearing traditional liturgy, or it’s daunting walking into a new community, or we don’t like the idea of sitting in a pew and taking in information passively, or all of the above.
There are lots of reasons we’re staying way from synagogues – but that doesn’t mean we necessarily want to stay away from Judaism – or from some of the aspects of congregational life, like the community we find here. So, it makes sense to me that as more and more people are maintaining their social networks online, we can build an online congregation. If you build it, they will come! At least that’s what I’m planning on…
Happy 1 Week Birthday OurJewishCommunity.org!
OurJewishCommunity.org is officially one week old – after quite a few months of labor. It’s pretty exciting to see it up and running- and to know that people all over the world are checking it out. Now, the next step is for all of you to help us build this!
I have no idea what this online community will look like in six months – but that’s part of what makes it so exciting. It’s an intentionally evolving process – relying on ideas from lots of people – like you!
We’re using the beta model – testing stuff out by putting it up for users to try – because the idea is that we want your feedback and ideas that we could not have dreamed ourselves. In honor of the model, I have a new betta fish in my office. His name is Hector.
Oh, and if the congregation is a week old, does that mean we need to have a bris tomorrow? That’s a discussion for another time!
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