Hi i'm planning to convert (in the UK liberal movement) and have been attending services for a couple of years and talking to a local rabbi. Since I don't know many Jewish people my age where I live, it's been kind of hard to get a handle on how some difficult questions are viewed so I thought I'd try here for one specific thing that's been worrying me. How do people view tattoos? I only recently learned that this is a big taboo/forbidden in Jewish law, and it's currently my biggest sticking point because I'm torn between having my own views on this (I see them as creative self-expression, and a good way to reconnect to my body as a trans person) and not wanting to be disrespectful of a serious topic, especially one with fraught historical connotations. I think this is part of finding it a little hard to gauge how to balance respect for tradition and my own views as there is room for so many ways to practice Judaism, especially in the liberal movement.
Due to the fact that this question has many answers depending on your FOR, I am going to request that responders include their FOR. Thank you.
- Mod Nadav
