Ami Eden, Jo-Ann Mortz and Ms. Kurtz should at least have an understanding of the facts and basic history of why Jews have traditionally observed a prohibition against tattooing or otherwise marking the body.

It is not something that is “taboo”, nor does it have anything to do with the way Jews were marked by Germans during the Shoah.

A tattoo desecrates one’s body, which does not really belong to us.  Man was created in Hashem’s image (b’tzelem Elokim), and our bodies are essentially on loan and do not belong to us.

Jews may have been tattooed during their time in Egypt, but according to historians and scholars, those marking were for identification purposes so there would be no question as to the ownership of individual slaves.

Tattooing or other voluntary markings of the body have long been considered idol worship, but this one has any many opinions as there are Jews discussing it…

The most germane point is that tattooing is prohibited by the Torah, coming from Leviticus 19:28, and is the basis for the prohibition and subsequent Rabbinic law that only permanent tattoos are not allowed.

Tattoos are also strongly associated with idolatry.  Pagans, in Biblical times, would tattoo themselves with various religious images, symbols, and names of their gods.  Tattoos were prohibited so that Jews would not be associated with or otherwise misidentified as pagans.

If Ms. Mort chooses to commemorate having survived a harrowing ordeal with a tattoo, it is none of my business, nor do I have any opinion on her deciding to do so.

What I do believe is that if a ritual, belief, halachic law or prohibition is going to be written about and/or discussed, it should be done respectfully with some basic facts that might be helpful in understanding that the topic is more than a superficial issue.

In this case, the topic connects directly to the Torah and Hashem.