A friend of mine is considering getting a tattoo that involves the Hebrew tetragrammaton in a context not inherently offensive. I think that’s an exceptionally bad idea. Her argument is that because she’s not Jewish, and therefore the taboos regarding the tetragrammaton don’t apply to her, she isn’t doing anything that would be seen as offensive.
What say you?
If she’s not Jewish then why the hell does she want to get a tattoo like that?
I had to look up the term “tetragrammaton”, ha.
I’m a Jew and an atheist and I’ve surprised my own self by finding this idea mildly offensive. If I saw someone with that tattoo, I wouldn’t…I don’t know, come up to her and tell her she idiot or anything, but I would definitely feel negatively toward her. It strikes me as disrespectful.
This is her explanation:
It’s possible I don’t appreciate the significance of this group of symbols.
She may not mean it as disrespectful, but it is.
Traditional Jewish law prohibits tattoos and restricts the writing of the name of God, so your friend is being doubly offensive (or, at least, insensitive). Her not being Jewish means she probably wouldn’t care about that, though I still wonder why in that case she’d even want a tattoo like that.
It’s rude at best.
Yes, it’s not her holy symbol, but IMO if you have the option about being polite about other people’s taboos and issues, and doing so won’t cause you harm, you should do so.
The whole point of the tattoo is the holiness/magical aspect of it, from my reading of the explanation. Why not use some other symbol of the Divine? There’s millions of others, why pick the specific one that has the taboo about being written/pronounced/destroyed?
Tetragrammaton. I don’t think this is a good idea, either, for the reasons already given. It doesn’t mean anything to her, sure, but since it makes no difference to her, why not err on the side of using a symbol that isn’t likely to give offense?
If anyone who answered ‘No’ is willing to offer their opinion, I’d appreciate it. I’m clearly in the Bad Idea camp, for basically the reasons Cat Whisperer and Oni No Maggie stated.
Jews tend to go out of their way to not write the word God out so that you don’t accidentally deface it. So I don’t think that they think the tetragrammatton prohibition applies solely to them. Just because they probably won’t threaten violence against you doesn’t mean they won’t be offended.
Furthermore, her actual tattoo will be considered profane. I can’t see a reason for doing this knowingly without trying to be offensive. As she seems to be at least quasi-spiritual, I don’t believe that is her intent.
And if she’s going for that concept of God, I think an West Asian divine name would be more appropriate. Or even just a pagan one. My friends that seem to think like this practice one of these religions.
It just strikes me as nonsensical. If your friend worshiped Yahweh then she wouldn’t want a tattoo like that (or a tattoo at all), since her god forbids it. If she doesn’t worship Yahweh, then why would she want to use his name as a meaningful representation of the divine?
I’m not offended by it. It just strikes me as kinda stupid.
Now a tattoo of this Tetragrammaton is a different story.
If she is into Kabbalah or is a Ceremonial Magickian, then it may have some meaning and context for her. Really none of your damned business.
She’s not Jewish, so it’s neither here nor there that it violates any number of Jewish laws and/or traditions. However, it sounds like something she’s likely to regret if she ever converts to a religion that takes a dim view of this particular brand of mysticism. She might also be uncomfortable with it if she ever becomes involved with someone who’s more than nominally Jewish. But it’s her body, and she can put whatever statement she wants as long as she can handle any consequences that may arise.
Holy crap, literally.
Salt is not an element. It’s an ionic compound. Sulfur may be present in the human body, but not in anything like the amounts calcium, potassium, and iron are. Mercury shouldn’t be present in the human body at all. It does bad bad things to the nervous system and kidneys. Water? Again, not an element, but a covalently bonded compound.
You know, I’m all for having a system of faith in your life, but this little girl needs to spend the money she saved for a tattoo on a basic science textbook and get busy.
This. Mind your own, and let her do whatever she wants.
I just don’t believe in co-opting symbols that are important to other people.
Well, in my defense, she did ask if I liked it.
So wait a minute here…since when did Jewish stuff become hip? I mean, I knew about Madonna and her Kabbalah thing, but I had no idea it had spread beyond that.
You know that feeling you get when some obscure band that you’ve been following hits it big, and you just want to say “They’re mine! I had them first!” That’s how I feel. Except more squicked out.
And I’m not even the slightest bit religious.
This tattoo is a horrible idea. I’m with Kyla. I’m surprised at myself, but I’m a little offended.
How do you know it isn’t important to her, for whatever the reason?
I’m surprised at how many of you are offended by this.
