A New Look at Judaism and Tattoos

"Tattoo. What a loaded word it is, rife with associations to goons, goofs, bikers, tribal warriors, carnival artists, drunken sailors and floozies." Thus wrote Jon Anderson in the Chicago Tribune in October 1994. Yet, today, a mere 27 years later, "body art" -- as tattoos are now called -- can be seen everywhere. They are a growing phenomenon among individuals of all socio-demographic backgrounds, even among Jews -- for whom tattoos were nearly nonexistent a few decades ago.