As someone who’s Jewish and has tattoo’s I’ve often heard the saying that Jew’s with tattoos (hey that rhymes) can’t be buried in Jewish cemeteries. The Times though did some investigating (via) and it turns out thats basically not true, and never has been:
But the edict isn’t true. The eight rabbinical scholars interviewed for this article, from institutions like the Jewish Theological Seminary and Yeshiva University, said it’s an urban legend, most likely started because a specific cemetery had a policy against tattoos. Jewish parents and grandparents picked up on it and over time, their distaste for tattoos was presented as scriptural doctrine.
My mom will be so happy. I guess that means I can get another one? Read the article, lots of good stuff in there concerning us Jews and our tattoos.