I am an eyeliner gal. I cannot leave the house EVER without eyeliner. And if I do, just don’t look at me. I have heard that you can have permanent make up tattooed on, and that would eliminate the need to do your make up every day. Now I have seen the blush that they do and it just doesn’t look natural. But I would totally do the eyeliner, in a heartbeat.
However, the Torah prohibits tattooing. Once is not supposed to cause harm to the body as we are created B’Tzelem Elokim – in G-d’s image. However, there are cases where cosmetic surgery has been permitted in order for the person to have a better self image.
So, I posed a question on Twitter and FaceBook, and have had some interesting responses. Excerpts of which I post below, anonymity of responders is protected.
I wanted to know if you had any knowledge about the halachot of tattooing and if such a cosmetic procedure could be permitted and by which Rabbi.
#1 I believe any tattooing is forbidden. But once it’s there, it’s not forbidden to have it. Halakhah is weird like that.
#2 Yeah, but you won’t be allowed to be buried in a J cemetary if you have one I thought.
#3 There is absolutely no basis in halacha for not being buried in a Jewish cemetary if you have a tattoo. I have heard this from numerous rabbis and Jewish drs in drashas over the years.
Commenter #1 (once again) is correct. Halachically, it is forbidden to get a tattoo. However, once someone has one, there is nothing that says they MUST get rid of it – in fact, there is a question as to whether one CAN get rid of a tattoo b/c it can cause more damage…
#4 Must be a rumor started by mothers to scare their kids out of getting one. Thanks for the clarification guys
#5 i once worked with someone who was converting to Judaism and he was getting his tattoo removed. i wonder if his rabbi told him to do that or if it was his personal choice.
#6 I wish that was allowed! I never leave the house without eyeliner on… What kind of cosmetic tattoing would you have done, if it was halachically permissable?
ME – just the eyeliner – the blush and lipstick look like paint in the work i have seen, but the eyeliner i would do in a heartbeat. i cannot leave the house either without it!
#8 it was prbly a personal choice. There are only 2 ways to get tattoos removed. 1 of them involves lasers, is supposedly mostly painless but isn’t guaranteed. The 2nd way involves them cutting out that part of your flesh — certainly not painless…but it will def get rid of it! Ouch!
How about a “henna” eyeliner tattoo?
That is for sure okay.
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Thank you for posing this question in the 1st place.
I heard that tatooing eyeliner is very painful. Also, I would ask if it would be a chatzitza.
At one point a really wanted a tattoo. I looked up a bunch of Jewish related stuff, and although it is significantly frowned upon, there is no rule that you can’t be burried in a Jewish cemetary. I did read things from Rabbi’s that would ask, “well why?”…i didn’t know. I just wanted one. Then i realized, i really didn’t need one. It wouldn’t make me a better person or anything. So i guess the desire went away. Tattoo make up is a bit more practical. I never thought of it…i am glad you asked!
I would NEVER allow anyone that close to my eyeball with a needle full of ink- no way! Also, I have seen eyeliner jobs that come out so heavy and dark- it’s PERMANENT! You never get to choose a different colour and takes so much more make up and effort to cover over.
As an artist, I just can’t imagine loving a picture so much that I would have to have it on my body to carry with me everywhere I would go- forever.
Also,most people that get tattoos put them in places the owner doesn’t getto see them- Y? for the attention.
You can be buried in a jewish cemetary and no, your tattoos will not be ripped off nor will your arms be severed,etc.
There is a commandment in Torah – You shall not etch writing into the flesh. Isn’t smoking desecrating the body? Tattooin is a sin, plain and simple.
Here’s what the Star-K has to say about it:
VI. Permanent Makeup
In the process of applying permanent makeup, also known as micro pigmentation or cosmetic tattooing, a needle deposits colored pigments made from iron oxide below the top layer of the skin. This procedure, applied on lips and around the eyes, is a form of tattooing and is thus prohibited by the Torah (ksoves ka’aka). [Shevet Halevi 10:137.] The prohibition of ksoves ka’aka applies even to makeup that is “semi-permanent” which only lasts for several years. [Shraga Hameir 8:44 and L'Horos Nasan 10:64]
Unfortunately, I think you’re stuck applying eyeliner the old-fashioned way…
(I am not one to talk, because my wife doesn’t wear makeup and I don’t even know how to apply eyeliner!)
However, the halacha is quite clear about this.
Sorry, guess the URL didn’t come out:
http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-mitzvos-cosmetics.htm
Let me try to tell you a beautiful story that I once heard from Dayan Lopian of Edgware. The tattoos in the story are only of incidental import, but they provide the backdrop for a moment of extraordinary compassion and kindness.
I once went to discuss something with him and he kept looking at my ear. When I noticed, he pointed out that the metallic rim stuck out from below my ear in a way that looked like an earring, and he confessed that he had starting wondering how I, an obviously religious man, had an earring!
In that context, he told me this story:
There was a fellow who came back to Torah after being far away for many years. While away, he had got himself a tattoo on his back or shoulder, which he could not remove later. He gravitated towards chassidic practices and one of those was to go to the mikvah every day.
So here’s a chassidic looking man with a prominent tattoo on his back and he really didn’t want anyone to see it. He always made an effort to sort of edge around the sides of the mikvah so that his back would always be facing away from anyone else present and that way he could avoid having to get weird looks and awkward questions.
As was bound to happen sooner or later, one time the man slipped, causing him to lean all the way forward and expose his tattoo to everyone around.
As he was collecting himself and trying to avoid the looks, an elderly Jew came over to him and placed his hand on the younger’s arm. As he did so, he revealed his own tattoo, a terrible number burned into his skin by the Nazis.
Speaking softly to the young man, he said something like: “son, I see we have something in common…we’ve both been to hell and we’ve been rescued by the grace of God…you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of…come, let’s go tovel in the mikvah“.
Simon – i have heard that story in many different forms, but every time i read it it gives me chills. thank you for sharing.