Adult Education Class

with Rabbi Marshal Klaven

February 23 and March 3, 2010 7:00 pm

in the Temple Library

The provocative question, “to be or not to be tattooed,” should arouse the modern Jew to expose more than just one’s skin. It should provoke the modern Jew to reveal the historical picture of the Jewish engagement with tattooing.

Yet, up until now, that picture remained in pieces, scattered throughout history. 

Rabbi Marshal Klaven, however, through his research has pieced together the revealing picture of Jews and Tattoos from remnant texts of the ancient Near East to responsa from today’s leading rabbinic authorities.

It promises to be an exciting and interactive exploration through history, helping us to engage in all the challenges modernity and its trends may pose to our tradition and its values.  

Session 1: The Background of the Picture:

Tattooing in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Bible & Cropping the Picture: The Classic Rabbinic Borders on the Prohibition of Tattooing

Session 2: Framing the Picture:

Setting the Prohibition on Tattooing into the Modern Period & Presenting the Picture: Contemporary Jews with Tattoos

Rabbi Marshal Klaven is the Director of Rabbinic Services at the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life P.O. Box 16528 Jackson, MS 39236 (P) 601-362-6357 // (F) 601-366-6293 www.isjl.org