Marked for Life

STORY
BY SHAUN RAVIV
W
I PHOTOGRAPHY
BY JUSTIN
DAWSON
response was, "You'll want another one soon. T h e
As t h e Holocaust generation ages a n d dies off, a new
w a v e o f t a t t o o e d Jews is swelling across t h e g l o b e .
pain is addictive." H o u r s earlier, when I'd been
Rather than being force-branded with marks meant to identify
hen I told m y cousin I'd gotten a tattoo, his
seated backwards on a beat-up wooden chair, facing a wall cov­
and categorize, these Jews have taken the tattoo back. Sketches
ered with bright colored dragons, leather-clad skeletons and
in hand, they're getting butterflies on their bottoms, barbed wire
tribal symbols, the last adjective that would have come to my
around their biceps and tigers on their chests. Others are think­
mind was "addictive." As the tattoo artist—whose thick neck
ing bigger, infusing themes of G o d and the Bible, history and
bore a perfect rendering of a crazed Jack Nicholson about to
honor, war and religion, politics and power.
shout "Here's Johnny!"—slowly stabbed an ink-filled needle into
Like any other group, Jews seek out tattoos for a million rea­
m y right shoulder blade, agonizing came to mind. W h e n a
sons, ranging from aesthetics to love to social allegiance to "I
buddy, watching from behind while blood trickled down my
was on a boring date and I drank too much and thought get­
back, laughed as I grunted in reaction to the small jabs of the
ting a tattoo might put some spice into the evening," as one tat­
pointed brush, it's possible I thought embarrassing. But the pain
tooed J e w told me. You'll find no shortage of Jews with flowers
itself was as far from addictive for me as Singapore is from Quito.
and hearts and Mickey Mouse body art. But many have, at least
M y cousin clearly has first-hand experience with pain addic­
one tattoo with a Jewish theme.
'
tion. Over the years, he has made his skeletal body into a can­
Avi, a 2 3-year-old from N e w York, had her name tattooed in
vas for Tel Aviv skin artists. O n each of his calves is a wing-like
Hebrew on her lower back. T h e letters aleph vetyod are sur­
tribal symbol. O n each of his wrists, an artist tattooed a hollow
rounded by blue flames, and a dove is "flying out of, but eter­
equilateral triangle, one pointing to his elbow, the other his
nally in," the fire. Judith, a 21-year-old student from Oakland,
palm. His stomach is covered hip to hip with a gold crown. Four
got a hamsa, a Sephardic symbol of God's protection, tattooed
silver studs inserted into his abdomen act as the supporting
between her shoulder blades. " T h e hamsa represents my feel­
crown jewels and his diamond-pierced belly button is the cen­
ings of Judaism," Judith said. "It's a recognizable Jewish symbol,
terpiece. H e has yet to tattoo his face, though his nose is bull-
and at the same time it's often not associated with traditional
pierced and his earlobes are stretched with circular plastic inserts.
Judaism in the same way a Jewish star might be."
M y cousin is part of a growing minority within a shrinking
Matthew, a 29-year-old Maryland heating technician who
one, a tattooed person living in the Jewish world. His body art
served nine years with the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocates Gener­
is a billboard for his individuality and a designation as a mem­
al Corps, has four tattoos and more in the works. T h e dragon
ber of a clear community of the "other." While his tattoos aren't
on his right arm contains a hidden Star of David. His left arm
head to toe, he doesn't hide them beneath a suit and tie. Every
bears a modified chai with a tribal twist H e likes to show he is
single person who meets him knows he is tattooed from the sec­
"proud to be Jewish," though he had "a little feeling of guilt"
ond they lay eyes on him and this will never change unless he
when he got them. After all, his grandfather survived the H o l o ­
undergoes extensive laser surgery.
caust and was given a tattoo against his will.
"
See him on an elevator and you'll know he can take a needle
Isaac, from Toronto, got his Hebrew tattoos for very differ­
repeatedly piercing his skin and go back for seconds, and sev­
ent reasons. "I like the way they look," he tells me first. T h e tat­
enths. You'll know he never believed the widespread tales that
too on his lower back says "tzedek tzedek tirdof meaning "Justice,
you can't be buried in a Jewish cemetery if you have a tattoo.
Justice you shall pursue." T h e other is just above his right wrist
You'll suspect he wouldn't care if he had. T h e tattoos are part
and says "sored" the Hebrew word for "survivor." " S o m e things
of his exterior identity, a story told in a single glance: He's one
are so important to me that I want daily physical reminders of
of the many new tattooed Jews.
them," he tells me. "Obviously my tattoos are connected to my
Jewishness, in that they are both in
accepted in Jewish communities. S o I'm
talent and an ability to translate virtually
H e b r e w and one is a quote from the
building a personal relationship with G o d
any design from paper to the skin, some­
Torah. However, I didn't get them to
and Judaism first and foremost, because I
times charging hundreds or thousands of
make some kind of statement about the
can't always rely on having a community
dollars for their work. But when Marvin's
religion or halacha. I trunk they are a way
that welcomes someone like me." Isaac
grandfather, the late Willie Moskowitz,
of fusing my cultural and religious iden­
turns to G o d when the community turns
launched the family tattooing dynasty, he
tity with m y urban, often secular life.
on him. Getting tattooed, he says, "didn't
was just a guy looking to earn a few extra
Although I am not currendy able to make
feel rebellious. I joke about it being sac­
bucks. "You didn't have to be an artist in
a commitment to observing Jewish law, I
rilegious, but it actually feels like some­
those days," Marvin says. " T h e tattoo was
can make a commitment to tikkun olam,
thing very traditional, almost conservative.
just slapped on and that was it. Birds,
and these tattoos are a reminder of that
E v e n m y father [a rabbi] likes what I
hearts, roses, the basics. Willie got 25
obligation, like wearing a kippa."
have tattooed on me, if not the fact that
cents for a haircut and 50 cents for a tat­
it's tattooed."
too, so it was an easy decision."
Isaac has not always been welcomed by
Willie Moskowitz turned to tattooing
his Jewish community, being, as he puts
Long
during the G r e a t D e p r e s s i o n , when
Island t a t t o o s h o p has w h i t e
everyone was looking for new ways to get
Marvin Moskowitz's
walls a n d c l e a n floors like a
by. A Russian J e w who immigrated to
h o s p i t a l . His flash, the array of
Manhattan in 1918, he ran a barbershop
tattoo samples hanging on the
on the Bowery not far from 11 Chatham
walls, is typical: a dragon here, an
Square, the workplace of tattoo legend
eagle there. His mother comes in
Charlie Wagner. At one point, finances
once a week to make sure the
were so tight that Willie's wife resorted
place is immaculate, and for a tat­
to brewing h o m e m a d e whiskey in the
too joint it has a sanitary feel.
bathroom of the s h o p . Wagner, who
Marvin himself is another story.
became famous for tattooing body suits
His whole demeanor is reminis­
on over 50 circus sideshow attractions, set
cent of New York City's past. His
Willie up with a tattooing booth and one
speech lacks r's and his gritty
of his own patented electric tattooing
unshaven face is mtirnidating, but
machines. It consisted of a tube filled with
he exudes a neighborhood nice guy
ink, a (usually) sterile needle to inject the
vibe when he talks, like everyone's
ink into the body, an electric motor to run
favorite gangster. Marvin might
the needle vertically and a foot pedal to
be the only third-generation Jew­
control thefrequency.From that day on, Willie
ish tattooist in America. Certain­
tattooed Bowery tough guys for a living.
ly he is the most renowned.
Marvin Moskowitz has given
In the 1940s, when they were old
enough, Willie's two boys, Walter and
many Jews their first tattoos. Some
Stanley, apprenticed under their father.
of them are nervous, prepared to
T h e i r clientele consisted mainly of
hide their tattoos from their par­
sailors, drunks and drug addicts, guys
ents and rabbis and anyone else connect­
with attitudes and the muscle to back
Jew." He's been criticized for his choices
ed to their Jewish lives. "They say, 'Oh, my
them up. T h e tattooists had to become
as well as his tattoos. "I'm in a stage of life
mother will kill me if she finds out,'" Mar­
every bit as tough in order to m a k e a
where I'm making many huge decisions,
vin tells me. "And I ask them why and
buck and keep their shop in order. "Crazy
more so than the average 18-year-old. S o
they say, Well, I'm Jewish, and I won't be
J o e Gallo, the Mafioso, used to hang out
in the big picture, this decision actually
allowed to get buried in a Jewish ceme­
next door. H e used to come in and help
seems small. I'm also in a stage where I'm
tery,' and they really believe that. I'll pull
them out sometimes when.there was
trying to return to the Jewish communi­
them aside and say, 'Tell your mother a
trouble." M a r v i n picks up a stool and
ty and practice after a long absence. T h i s
Jewish guy tattooed you. Maybe that'll help.'"
shows m e the scratches on it. " H e once
is a struggle for me because so many parts
Nowadays, tattoo artists are skilled pro­
hit a cop with a chair in the shop, and this
of who I a m and what I love aren't
fessionals, many with immense artistic
it, a "queer, tattooed, politically radical
is that chair right here."
Marvin tells such stories with pride,
while Marvin will soon close his doors
but he is equally proud that he and his
forever, he is not the sort of man who for­
called "Planet Auschwitz" was like see­
family were able to make it out of the
gets the past. Etched into his arm, in bold
ing it firsthand or, for those who'd sur­
Bowery. H e has a five-year lease on the
letters above a flaming six-pointed star,
vived, like returning to the fire. It was
shop, and then he's retiring. For better or
are the words, "Never again."
part abstract, part hard fact, and all
end with him. "Jews are always looking
For J e w s in every corner o f t h e
under the name K a - T z e t n i k 135633.
for something better for their children,"
w o r l d , t h e H o l o c a u s t is a m e m o r y
T h e author was a number.
he says. "I got a brother that's a doctor.
t h a t w i l l n e v e r f a d e . Its impression is
Ka-Tzetnik, the German pronuncia­
My
financial
etched into the psyche of every living Jew
tion of the letters K . Z . , stood for
world. M y daughter's got two masters in
along with images of torture, rape, gas
Ktmzentration Zenter. All inmates who
psychology and is six months away from
chambers and emaciation. Many of those
were tattooed at Auschwitz became
another in social work. T h e reason the
who spent time in the
concentration
known as K a - T z e t n i k , followed by a
Italian gangsters lasted is because they
camps have a physical reminder of all
number. T h e y lost their names and were
worse, the Moskowitz tattoo dynasty will
other brother's in the
for Israelis, reading about the world he
shock. All his works were published
they suffered. Their tattoos also
given digits that could be used to track
serve as universal proof that the
them until their likely deaths.
H o l o c a u s t occurred. A denier
"What is your full name?" the attor­
who shouts "Jewish conspiracy!"
ney general asked the 52-year-old man.
need only to look at a survivor's
forearm for silencing.
"Yehiel Dinur."
"What was the reason that you hid
O n June 7 , 1 9 6 1 , the 68th ses­
sion o f the Adolph Eichmann
your identity behind the pseudonym
'Ka-Tzetnik,' Mr. Dinur?"
trial began with the testimony of
"It was not a pen name. I do not
one such tattooed man, called to
regard myself as a writer and a compos­
give a "general description" of
er of literary material. T h i s is a chroni­
life as a prisoner at Auschwitz.
cle of the planet of Auschwitz.... T h e
T h e mysterious witness, whose
inhabitants of this planet had no names,
real name had been hidden from
they had no parents nor did they have
the public for 15 years, had spent
children. There they did not dress in the
nearly two years in the camps.
way we dress here; they were not born
T h e books he'd written about his
there and they did not give birth....
time in Auschwitz were among
T h e y breathed according to different
the first ever penned on the sub­
laws of nature. T h e y did not live—nor
ject. T h e y were the definitive
did they die—according to the laws of
H o l o c a u s t literature
this world. Their name was the number
for
the
Israeli postwar generation until
'Ka-Tzetriik.'
more genteel works from Primo
"I believe with perfect faith that I
Levi and Elie Wiesel were pub­
have to continue to bear this name so
lished. His Salamandm described
long as the world has not been aroused
brought their kids into the family business.
life in Auschwitz in gruesome detail and
after this crucifixion of a nation, to wipe
But the Jewish gangsters faded out," much
ended with its hero buried under a pile of
out this evil, in the same way as human­
like the few Jewish tattooists, "because
corpses. House of Dolls told of the Jewish
ity was aroused after the crucifixion of
their kids became lawyers and doctors."
women who were forced to act as sex
one man. I believe with perfect faith
As I leave the shop, a drunk walks in,
slaves for the Nazi guards, based upon the
that, just as in astrology the stars influ­
babbling about the type of tattoo he wants.
experiences of the author's own sister who
ence our destiny, so does this planet of
Marvin kicks him out with words rather
had been killed in the gas chambers.
the ashes, Auschwitz, stand in opposition
than fists. There's no need for violence any
His books were so graphic that when
more. Tattoo parlors have been absorbed
they were banned from the classroom,
"Perhaps y o u will allow m e , Mr.
into mainstream American society, no
they were compared to stalag, a type of
Dinur, to put a number of questions to
longer the domain of roughnecks. But
porn common in Israel in the 1960s. But •
you, if you will agree?"
to our planet earth, and influences it."
At this point, Dinur interrupted his
In Salamandra, which, like his other
and cataloging human beings. Punch
works, blurred the boundary between fic­
cards with standardized holes stood for
T h e judge jumped in and instructed
tion and memoir, he described the expe­
various human characteristics: A hole in
Dinur, "Kindly listen to what the attor­
rience of getting a tattoo. " T h e scribe
one spot could represent male gender. A
ney general has to say."
stabbed as he spoke: 'Get this, whoreson,
hole in another place might identify the
questioner and said, "I remember..."
T h e pressure overwhelmed Yehiel Dinur.
Hymie Cohen isn't your name any longer.
man as being from Massachusetts. A third
After hving as a number for 15 years, the
You're dead. Name's exacdy what this num­
hole conveyed the Massachusetts man was of
shock of reclauTiing his old identity was
ber says on your arm. It's what they call you
Irish extraction. A fourth revealed the
too much for him to bear. H e stepped
by when the furnace wants you.'"
Irishman from Massachusetts had seven
children. And so on. With enough holes
down from the witness stand, collapsed to
Dinur held until his death that K a -
the floor and was rushed to the hospital
Tzetnik 135633 was not a pseudonym but
and the help o f a patented
with his face contorted and half-paralyzed.
rather an identity. " K Tzetnik was born in
machine, a card could distinguish one
T h i s was the first, and last, public
Auschwitz in 1943," he wrote in his work
person from rrullions of others.
appearance for Pohsh-born'iehiel Dinur,
Curriculum Vitae. In Shivitti: A Vision, he
At Auschwitz, the only camp at which
reiterated that Yehiel Dinur was
inmates were tattooed, Nazis adopted the
not the author o f Salamandra:
Hollerith system to distinguish Jews from
"Those who went to the crema­
non-Jews, homosexuals from heterosexu­
sorting
torium nameless, they wrote it.
als, prisoners who had been beaten from
N u m b e r s ! F o r two years they
prisoners who had been cooperative.
passed through me on their way
Originally, the five or six digit numbers
to the crematorium."
were sewn onto inmates' uniforms for
Ka-Tzetnik wrote that his tat­
easy identification. T h o u g h tattooing in
too still haunted him daily. "I had
Auschwitz occurred intermittendy from
never learned to live with these
1941, starting in the spring of 1943, all
six digits branded in my flesh and
non-German prisoners at Auschwitz were
soul. To this day I cannot recall the
tattooed so after they died—whether by
digits by heart To get my number
starvation, exhaustion or execution—their
right, I need to look at my arm.
clothes could be removed and their bod­
In fact, because of this trauma,
ies could still be identified.
my mind cannot retain numbers."
Edwin Black's book IBM and the Holo­
His recovery was incomplete
caust explains that tattoos "quickly evolved
when he succumbed to cancer at age
at Auschwitz. Soon, they bore no further
92 in July 2 0 0 1 . Shordy before
relation to Hollerith compatibility for
his passing, he asked his children
one reason: the Hollerith number was
to keep his death a secret. H i s
designed to track a working inmate—not
son, quoted in an obituary in
a dead one. Once the daily death rate at
Ha'aretz, tried to summarize his
Auschwitz climbed, Hollerith-based num­
father's unusual mission. "Father
bering simply became outmoded." As
thought there was no public
corpses piled high, chests could be
who had studied at yeshiva before World War
interest in knowing that Yehiel Dinur was
obscured. T h e forearm thus became the
II and published a book of poetry at age
dead. W h a t is important is that K a -
canvas of choice, and established number­
22. But the man who went by Ka-Tzetnik
Tzetnik lives, and will live forever."
ing systems soon gave way to improvisa­
135633 could not get out from under his
tion. N e w series were started for late
tattoo. After World War II, a new identi­
The numbers that b r a n d e d Yehiel
arrivals: Soviet P O W s , Hungarian Jews
ty had congealed around his number. His
D i n u r a n d t h o u s a n d s like h i m w e r e
and the first female inmates. T h e r e was
experience had been so traumatic that it
part of a census system
an "A" series and a " B " series, a " Z " series
recast his very being. When he discovered
and administered by the American corpo­
and a triangle series, all inked onto the
that the only remaining copy of his poet­
ration I B M . N a m e d for the inventor
prisoners' skin. "Various number ranges,
ry collection was in a Tel Aviv library, he
Herman Hollerith, they were employed
often with letters attached, were assigned
checked it out and burned it.
as a post-Civil War system for counting
continued on page 65
invented
continued from page 5 2
upcoming book Unpacking the Heart with
to the tattoo. 'See I'm special, I'm some­
to prisoners in ascending sequence. Dr.
Words and found that many saw some­
body, I have this unique number.'... At
J o s e f Mengele, who performed bizarre
thing positive in getting tattooed at
one level they were just s h o w i n g the
medical experiments, tattooed his own
Auschwitz. "The Nazis made sure to take
inscription as a signifying element that
distinct number series on patients. Tattoo
away their names even while they were liv­
they will live. At the other level they
numbering ultimately took on a chaotic
ing," Naveh tells me, "but having a num­
were
incongruity all its own as an internal
ber like B l 1276 meant they were unique.
Remember, they were deprived of cloth­
Auschwitz-specific identification system."
There was no other B l 1276. In fact they
ing and jewelry, and since they did not
Tattooing methods changed as well.
would show the tattoos to each other.
know what the tattoo meant, they gave
Originally, the tattoos were acjWnistered
There was almost a feminine relationship
it their own meaning."
s h o w i n g it as an
ornament.
with a one-shot metal stamp holding
dozens of short needles that formed
interchangeable numbers. Ink was then
poured into the open wound and the scab
would heal into a tattoo j u s t above the
heart. Soon after, a more legible, singleneedle method replaced the stamp and
the tattooing process became longer and
more personal. Instead of being quickly
stamped, inmates sat down with designated
B t t o o i s t s , many of whom were Jewish them­
selves, and received their new identities.
" T h e young women tattooing us were
B e c o m i n g a J e w i s h e d u c a t o r is a ta
also prisoners," recalls former inmate
Anna Ornstein. " I believe they were
o r d e r . It r e q u i r e s r i g o r o u s c l a s s i c a l a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y t e x t s t u d y ,
Czech. T h e y were not artists but young
a s o l i d g r o u n d i n g in p e d a g o g y , a d e e p d e s i r e t o s h a r e J e w i s h
Jewish girls whose j o b it was to tattoo. I
k n o w l e d g e a n d insights.
hope they survived."
And
Ornstein was 17 when she was deliv­
r e s p e c t for d i v e r s e s t u d e n t n e e d s a n d b e l i e f s .
ered to Auschwitz with a transport of
I^T
New
W partnership with the
Hungarian Jews in June of 1944. She was
tattooed shortly thereafter. "We were not
told the reason for the tattoo," says Orn­
stein, now a lecturer at Harvard Medical
School. S h e remembers the branding
You'll f i n d all t h i s a n d m o r e a t t h e S h o o l m a n
^G r a d u a t e
p r o g r a m offers o u t s t a n d i n g
15 m e r i t - b a s e d
scholarships available!
i
|
m e n t a r y s c h o o l s , early c h i l d h o o d , special
\ Visit: h e b r e w c o l l e g e . e d u / A
was very happy... thinking it meant the
^
shoolman
professional
p r e p a r a t i o n for J e w i s h d a y s c h o o l s , s u p p l e ­
process as an encouraging experience. "I
Germans intended to keep us alive and
S c h o o l of J e w i s h E d u c a t i o n at
H e b r e w College. Our transdenominational
j Pardes Educators P r o g r a m ^
education, adult e d u c a t i o n , family e d u c a t i o n
and
informal educational settings. And our
g r a d u a t e p l a c e m e n t r a t e is 1 0 0 p e r c e n t .
send us to a labor camp." Her tattoo ini­
tially read B 2 0 0 7 1 . L a t e r the B was
Jewish education isn't just a career—it's a calling.
crossed out and replaced with an A. "I
have b e e n proud of my neat numbers
N o w a c c e p t i n g a p p l i c a t i o n s for t h e 2 0 0 6 - 2 0 0 7 a c a d e m i c year.
placed inside rather than on the outside
Call 6 1 7 - 5 5 9 - 8 6 1 0 o r e m a i l a d m i s s i o n s @ h e b r e w c o I l e g e . e d u .
of my arm. I was never ashamed of it."
Although they were intended
to
degrade and quantify, Holocaust tattoos
became personal emblems for m a n y
inmates. Professor Gilah N a v e h of t h e
University of Cincinnati interviewed over
a hundred female' survivors for h e r
Join the Dialogue.
160 Herrick Road, Newton Centre, MA 0 2 4 5 9 • 8 0 0 - 8
hebrewcollege.edu/shoolman
S z l a m a c h Radoszynski, a J e w from
al Park in Clifton, N e w Jersey. When we
tooing in their customs and identity that
Warsaw, believes he survived because of
visit him, we place rocks on the grave­
the influence could have c o m e from
his tattoo. After spending three years in
stone to mark our presence as Jewish tra­
almost anywhere in the world. A 5,000-
a ghetto, watching his entire family either
dition dictates.
year-old body was discovered in the
die of starvation or get forcibly deported to
At no time did anyone suggest to my
mountains of northern Italy with pat­
Treblinka, he was sent to Auschwitz, where
family that Grandpa Dave did not deserve
terned markings on his lower back, inner
his job was to "shovel dirt over discarded,
his plot. Never did a rabbi hang his head
thigh and calves. Similar figures 3,500
still-smoldering
cremated
and say, "I'm sorry, but Dave did have a
years old have been found in the Arctic.
victims." Recounting his experience, he
tattoo on his arm. I hear there are some
Female Egyptian mummies over 4,000
says, "I kept wondering whether I, too,
lovely spaces in the secular graveyard
years old have been uncovered with
would end up the same. But I was sustained
down the street."
marks of fertility on their bodies. Japan­
ashes
of
by the fact that the number tattooed on my
G r a n d p a D a v e was not
exempted
ese figurines with tattoo-like markings
arm—128232—added up to 18, the Jewish
because of his lifetime of dedication to
date to the Neohthic Era. In the South
Pacific, Maori men carved tattoos into
mystical symbol for life." In 1945, during a
Judaism or because he was president of
forced march, Radoszynski was liberated by
his synagogue. H e didn't earn any extra
their flesh through a painful process
U.S. forces.
points for playing Lazar the butcher in
involving mallets and sharpened bones.
Ornstein and Radoszynski were two of
Fiddler on the Roof nor did he win a "get
By old age, many were covered from head
of
buried as a J e w " card at a J C C auction.
to toe with these emblems of endurance
Auschwitz, many of whom left with tattoos
N o Jew, no matter how secular, can be
and tribal identity.
to show the world. In contrast to the
prohibited from burial in a Jewish ceme­
countless photos of human skeletons there
tery simply because of a tattoo.
an
estimated
70,000
survivors
Even the N a z i practice of tattooing
prisoners had its precedents. T h e Greeks
are also photos of proud, young survivors
T h a t ' s not to say J e w i s h mothers
in Plato's time marked their slaves so they
who were liberated soon after arriving in
haven't been warning their kids against
could b e recognized if they escaped.
Auschwitz. Even then they wore their tat­
getting tattooed for thousands of years.
Samoans tattooed the noses of criminals.
toos much as Superman wore his " S . "
" N o t only did the rabbis say it's wrong to
In 18th century J a p a n , criminals were
T h e tattoo became an important, if not
get tattooed, it's explicitly forbidden in the
forcibly marked with a dog pictograph on
the most important, part of their physical
Torah," says Orthodox Rabbi Yirmiyahu
their foreheads. T h e ancient Romans tat­
identity. T h e y could not shed the camp
Ullman who teaches at the world-famous
tooed mercenary members of their army
memories that haunted them, any more
Ohr Somayach yeshiva in Jerusalem. T h e
to prevent desertion. Sixteenth century
than they could shed the numbers on
ban on tattoos can be found in Leviticus
M a y a n s tattooed thieves from chin to
19:28: "You shall not make cuts in your
forehead before enslaving them.
their skin.
T h e last t i m e I s a w G r a n d p a D a v e ,
flesh for a person who died. You shall not
Alan L u c a s , a Conservative rabbi at
etch a tattoo on yourselves. I am the Lord."
Temple Beth Shalom in Roslyn Heights,
h e w a s in a h o s p i c e , w e a r i n g a l i g h t
It is unknown if tattooing was ever
N e w York, points out that the Leviticus
t u r q u o i s e r o b e a s m a n y d o in their
prevalent among Jews in ancient times, as
prohibition does not apply to the num­
l a s t h o u r s . I didn't have much time to
there are no written or drawn records. Isa­
bers and letters stained into the skin of
spend with him; the nurses and doctors
iah 49:16 suggests Jews did in fact practice
Auschwitz inmates. H e has written a
had tests to perform. H e was breathing
some sort of tattooing: "Behold on M y
responsum on the tattoo question, in
through a tube and could not speak. His
hands have I engraved you; your walls are
which he quotes the definitive halacbic
face was wrinkled and pale from age and
before M e always." Even the prohibition
compilation Shulchan Aruch: "If [the tat­
sickness. There was a catheter in his left
against tattooing suggests that individual
too] was done in the flesh of another, the
arm, the arm I liked to stare at. His tat­
Jews, if not entire Jewish societies, practiced
one to whom it was done is blameless."
too had faded. Far from the dark navy
it at one time. As Steve Gilbert, author of
armored division in World War II, the
When it comes to voluntary tattoos,
the book Tattoo History, puts it, "There's no however, the prohibition still stands,
point in passing a law against something although rabbis have always disagreed on
shadowy bird was now a spotty green,
that doesn't exist, and therefore the most
the reasoning behind it. According to one
lying flightless over his weakened muscles
convincing evidence that tattooing was
Talmudic author, tattoos are forbidden
and sagging skin. I never saw his tattoo again.
practiced by the ancient Hebrews is the fact
because they are permanent: "If a man
that it was prohibited in Leviticus."
wrote [on his skin], he is not culpable
blue of his youth, when he served in an
Grandpa Dave was buried o n a cold
February day at King Solomon Memori­
So many ancient cultures included tat- • unless he writes it and pricks it in with
ink or eye-paint or anythuig that leaves a
ideal, contribute to every person's individ­
slavery, much like those tattooed by the
lasting mark." Another ancient rabbi,
ual service of G o d . T o whatever extent
Greeks. We've even survived attempted
Simeon ben Judah, argued that the sec­
possible, the person should view the tat­
extermination. But all of these episodes
ond half of the Leviticus verse—"I am the
too as a badge of honor, signifying where
have left indelible imprints on our collec­
L o r d " — p o i n t e d specifically to tattoos
he's been compared to where he is now."
tive identity, and it's not clear whether
that included God's name. Maimonides
Professor N a v e h puts the subject in
followed this line of thinking in his Mishneh
perspective: " S o many dead are without a
"When a guy has his entire sleeve cov­
Torah, including tattoos in his chapter on
grave, without a name on a stone or any­
ered and there's no open skin left and he's
idol worship. "This was a custom among
where. W e don't have anything with
starting to do stuff over again, that's the
the pagans who marked themselves for
which to commemorate all the individu­
pain," Marvin tells me. "When a guy comes
idolatry," he wrote. But he concluded,
als who didn't survive the Holocaust." It
in who can barely last through the first
"Regardless of intent, the act of tattooing
is only fitting, then, that a plot at K i n g
tattoo, and then he comes and gets another
is prohibited."
Solomon Memorial Park was reserved for
one, that's the pain." S o m e people just
my grandfather, a tattooed J e w fortunate
need to translate inner agony into outer pain,
enough to be buried and remembered.
and tattooing is a harmless way to fulfill
L i k e M a i m o n i d e s , L u c a s believes
recreational tattoos of all kinds should be
even time will fully wash those away.
this need. Rather than cutting themselves,
discouraged. "In addition to the fact that
they ask someone else to do it for them.
Judaism has a long history o f distaste for
Walk through d o w n t o w n Tel Aviv
tattoos," he writes, "tattooing becomes
a n d y o u will notice t h e astounding
I've never asked my cousin if he is one
even more distasteful in a contemporary
number of young people with tattoos.
of those people. I've never asked him why
secular society that is constandy challeng­
There are dozens of tattoo parlors in that
he had the two equilateral triangles tat­
ing the Jewish concept that we are creat­
city alone and men and women alike flaunt
tooed on his wrists. It may be he just
ed b'tzelem Elokim (in the image of God)
every conceivable type of design. Dr. Diana
liked the design. It may be he had a con­
and that our bodies are to be viewed as a
Luzatto, an anthropologist from Tel Aviv
scious or unconscious desire to feel the
precious gift on loan from G o d , to be
entrusted into our care and are not our
University and author of Israeli Youth Body cutting of his skin in that area. It may be
Adornments: Between Protest and Conformity, when he clasps his hands together, the tri­
personal property to do with as we choose.
has researched the rise in Israeli tattoo
angles touch and form a Star of David. It
Voluntary tattooing, even if not done for
popularity over the past 20 years. "A non­
may be he has his own relationship with
idolatrous purposes, expresses a negation
verbal language," she concludes, "as a
G o d but keeps it to himself, hiding his
of this fundamental Jewish perspective."
complex of status symbols, constitutes a
Star of David always.
Even so, Lucas acknowledges, "there is
very important tool for communicating
In this world of delete buttons, a tat­
no basis for restricting burial to Jews who
group membership. In Israel—as in trib­
too is a statement that cannot be erased;
violate this prohibition or even limiting
al societies—body adornments provide,
even today's laser technology leaves a
their participation in synagogue ritual.
amongst the rest, a means of estabhshing or
faint scar. It becomes a part of a person,
T h e fact that someone may have violated
enhancing status. However, in tribal soci­
like a birthmark. G i l a h N a v e h puts it
the laws of kashrut at some point in his
eties," Luzatto adds, "symbolic meanings of
well: "The impossibility of erasure is par­
or her life or violated the laws of Shabbat
body adornments are collectively shared,
allel with the impossibility of forgetting
would not merit such sanctions. T h e prohi­
while in Israel they pertain almost exclu­
what happened."
bition against tattooing is oatainly no worse."
sively to the young generation."
M y cousin told m e when I got my tat­
Ullman, the Orthodox rabbi, takes this
Like Americans, Israelis see tattoos as
too that I'd immediately want another
idea even further. "Even though getting a
attractive body markings, but they also wear
one. But for me, the pain was not addic­
'decorative' tattoo is considered a sin for
them for deeper reasons. A tattoo offers
tive. F o r me, the tattoo itself was the
a Jew," he says, "it doesn't disqualify one
a means of protesting against one part of
thing, a permanent reminder of where I'd
.from being buried in a Jewish cemetery."
society while conforming to another,
come from and what I had hoped to be.
To his mind, having tattoos removed is
esrabUshing membership while maintain­
I sat down in that wooden chair holding
not necessary, even for an individual who
ing a hint of individuahty. A young Israeli
a photograph from my family album. T h e
wants to start a new, observant Jewish life.
put it perfecdy when he said, "I want a
bird that rests on m y shoulder, like the
"It is just part of who that person is," he
different tattoo, like everybody else."
bird that perched on G r a n d p a Dave's
acknowledges, "and we each have to make
We Jews are proud of all we've been
the best of what we've got. Ultimately,
able to endure. We've endured pain, like
these types of experiences, while not
the Maori warriors. We've lived through
arm, will stay with me until I am buried
in the ground. ©