ASK THE RABBI

"I HAVE A TATOO WITH THE NAME OF HASHEM.."

Question: A student related how several years previously, when not yet religious and tattoos were the style, her interest in Judaism began to blossom. She desired to have a tattoo of the holy 4 letter name of G-d. She produced a design and approached a non-Jewish tattoo artist to reproduce the design on the skin of her arm. Showing her design, she explained to the artist the significance of the Hebrew letters as "a name of G-d."

With the ink of the tattoo deep in the skin of her arm, she now desires to live a religious life. Aware of the Torah prohibition of making a tattoo, it has become for her an embarrassment. She asks if it would be permitted to have the tattoo erased using laser treatment.

Answer: This is a good question, as usually it is forbidden to erase or blot out any of the names of G-d. An exception regards the name of G-d written by a believer in idolatry, where it is actually a mitzvah to blot out the name. Even in the case of a Jewish idolater, were he to write G-d's name, or even a whole Torah, it must be burned and destroyed, for he is using the name of Hashem to serve idols. However, if the name if written without idolatrous intent, even by a non-Jew, it must not be destroyed but disposed of with reverence in a geniza.

There is also an opinion that if the person writing it didn't know he was writing the name of G-d, but thought he was writing something else, it could be erased. This could apply in the case of a scribe who having written the name of G-d by mistake, needs to erase it, in order to save the rest of the Sefer Torah.

In this case however, the person knew it was the name of G-d. Even though it was forbidden to make a tattoo, the name was not being written for idolatry. Therefore, the name must not be destroyed.

Whereas before the tattoo, it was a mitzvah that there should be no name of Hashem on the skin, now it is a mitzvah that the name of Hashem remain on the skin. One should never be embarrassed doing a mitzvah. Hashem's name must be hidden, however, if one goes into an unholy place such as a bath house, or a bathroom. In these cases, as well as, when the sexual organs are exposed or during sexual intimacy, it should be double covered.