GEN129 Although [this verse] could be read to mean that God created humankind to be both male and female from the beginning, the Rabbis, reading the number and gender of the nouns and pronouns literally, suggest that God first created one person who was androgynous.  The second chapter of Genesis, however, asserts that God first created a male human being from the dust, and then created a female from the man’s side in order to be his helpmate.  This second account, and the Garden of Eden story that follow in chapter three, assert that man is first in the order of Creation and is designed/meant to reign over woman.  So even the opening chapters of Genesis give us conflicting understandings of human gender and of the proper relationship.  DORFFBOD xiv-xv

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GEN415 Something over which we have complete ownership implies that it is something over which we have complete control. …this is something that everyone knows is not completely true when it comes to the body. … Whether or not one actually believes that the body is a gift from God is in truth irrelevant.  Perhaps more truthful is the notion from [this verse], “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” The bottom line, regardless of which one seems more plausible is that our bodies are not wholly ours; they are in in a very real sense, on loan. (By Adam Goodkind) DORFFBOD 40-1

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GEN693 Given the Judaic belief in Creation, and that the Torah is the expression of God’s will, the rights one has to one’s own body are dictated by the Torah and, in Orthodox Judaism, by halakhah, the body of laws developed by Torah scholars throughout Jewish history, including the Talmud, the Shulchan Arukh (codified laws), and responsa.  The scriptural source for rules on the care of one’s body is [this verse] “Your blood, which belongs to your souls, I will demand.” Although this appears to prohibit suicide, the Talmud (Baba Kamma 90b) extends this to self-injury, also referring to the verses that consider a Nazirite to be sinful because he has inflicted deprivation (of wine) on himself. Another source is the biblical prohibition of wanton destruction of any object, based on the verse prohibiting destruction of a fruit-bearing tree (Deuteronomy 20:19). The specific prohibition of self-mutilation, “You shall not cut yourselves and you shall not make a bald spot between your eyes for a dead person” (Deuteronomy 14:1) refers to the pagan ritual of mourning. That the Torah requires a person to preserve one's health is further derived from the verse, “But you shall greatly beware for your souls” (Deuteronomy 4:15). Although there are differences of opinion in the Talmud, halachah states that self-injury is forbidden and that caring for one's health is obligatory, although this may be of rabbinical rather than scriptural origin. An additional prohibition of self-endangerment may be derived from the commandment requiring a person to make a fence around his roof to prevent someone from falling (Deuteronomy 22:8). Based on this verse, Maimonides writes, “Many things are forbidden by the Sages because they are dangerous to life. If one disregards any of these, and says, ‘If I want to put myself in danger, what concern is it of others?’ or ‘I am not particular about such things,’ disciplinary flogging is inflicted upon him.” He then goes on to cite a number of practices that the Talmud considers dangerous (Hilkhot Rotze’ach 11:4). Not only is one prohibited from endangering oneself, but this is even more stringent than ritual prohibitions. Rabbi Moses Isserles, in his glossary on the Shulchan Arukh (Yoreh De‘ah 116:5), writes, “One should avoid all things that might lead to danger, because a danger to life is stricter than a (ritual) prohibition. One should be more concerned about a possible danger to life than a possible (ritual) prohibition.” Given this attitude, an immediate application of this is that cigarette smoking is forbidden by the Torah. There is no longer any question about the toxicity of cigarette smoking. It has been established that smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer and chronic obstructive lung disease. It is also a significant risk factor in coronary artery disease and cancer of the larynx. There are more fetal complications if the mother smokes during pregnancy. A number of authoritative rabbis have formally ruled that smoking constitutes a violation of Torah law. Whereas mutilation of one's body is prohibited, surgery that is beneficial to one's health is not only permissible but is also required by halakhah, as indicated by Maimonides’ statement that “Inasmuch as a healthy and whole body is the way of God, because it is impossible to understand or know anything about God if one is ill, therefore, a person must avoid things that are injurious to the body and follow practices that are healthy and wholesome.” Where the surgery corrects a disease, it is obligatory. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ruled that surgery for cosmetic purposes permissible if there is adequate indication that it is of psychological value (Iggrot Moshe, Hoshen Mishpat 66). Whereas surgery to treat a disease is permissible and obligatory, the question arises whether one may injure his body by donating an organ. If one has no rights over one's body, may one subject oneself to surgery to help another person? The ruling is that the Torah requirement to save another person's life overrides the restriction on injuring one's body. Just as one has no unrestricted ownership over one's body during lifetime, neither does the body belong to anyone other than God after death. Is it, then, permissible to mutilate the body by doing an autopsy? Again, the Torah requirement to save another person's life overrides the restriction on injuring one's body. The prevailing opinion is that if it is believed that the findings of the autopsy may be immediately beneficial to a patient, it may be performed. (by Abraham J. Twerski)

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GEN835 One important facet of Judaism that many people overlook, however, is the importance of making things beautiful. While this may seem somewhat superficial, it is actually an important part of our religion. For instance, it says in Genesis 15:2, “This is my God and I shall glorify Him.” The Rabbis who wrote the Mechilta, a commentary on Exodus, understood this to mean that one should always perform the mitzvot with as much beauty as possible, as an act of devotion to God. Therefore, it is actually incumbent upon us to make things in our lives more beautiful. (By Adam Goodkind)

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GEN1375 R. Yannai said: “A man should never stand in a place of danger in the expectation that a miracle will be wrought in his behalf.   Perhaps it will not be wrought, or if it is wrought, his merits will be diminished as a result.”  What is the proof? R. Hanin’s interpretation of [this verse] as meaning that Jacob said to the Holy One: “I fear that because of the miracle You will perform for me, You will diminish my merits, so that, as a result of all the kindnesses so steadfastly shown me, I will come to be deemed quite unworthy.” (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 32a and Ta'anit 20b) DORFFBOD 23

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GEN1456 It is hard to predict what influences we will have on [others’] lives.   Recall the man Joseph encountered when he was searching for his brothers.  The man told Joseph where to find his brothers, information that led to Joseph’s sale into slavery.  Without this anonymous messenger, Jewish history would be very different.   The rabbis say this man was a malakh.   However the Hebrew word malakh is ambiguous.  It means “angel” and also “human messenger.”   Being in the right place at the right time can allow us to be messengers of God without even realizing it.  I believe that we are all malakhim at times in our lives.   And, like Joseph’s malakh, we do not always know the significance of our actions.   (By Robert S. Karasov) DORFFBOD 91

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GEN1549 Many [medical] patients ask for medication seeking perfect lives, free of physical or mental pain or blemishes.  Is this appropriate? Is there a value in suffering?   In general, Judaism does not extol the virtues of suffering.   However, in the stories of the patriarchs we certainly see examples of emotional growth that comes through hardship and pain, grief or disappointment.  Perhaps the clearest example is Judah.  His emotional growth following the death of two sons prepared him to speak eloquently and soulfully to Joseph as he pleaded for the release of his brother Benjamin.   Pain leads to growth. Judaism offers several models of this. Jewish laws of mourning are designed to help people cope naturally with life’s pain and emerge with stronger community and family bonds. Fasting is described as “afflicting one’s soul” (Numbers 29:7), and on Yom Kippur this is one way we try to get closer to God. The older I get, the more I can look back on painful experiences in my own life and see how profoundly they have positively shaped who I am today. The expression “what doesn't kill you will make you stronger” is very apt. Do medications that blunt emotions also blunt the emotional growth that should occur? I do not think there are answers to this question. Judaism sees everything in life, both the good and the bad, as coming from God. To me this implies that we should try to live through all of life's experiences as consciously as possible, without medications that numb us to the outside world. Judaism is all about balance. The pursuit is perfect, pain free lives is not the work for which we were created. It is to struggle, grow, appreciate the beauty of life, and-- in the process-- become closer to God. (By Robert S. Karasov)

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LEV212 Desta is a 38-year-old new patient for me, asking for help getting pregnant. … The workup and testing I do show Asherman’s syndrome: the front and back walls of the uterus have scarred together… Desta’s risk of death in pregnancy is somewhere between 10 and 50 percent because her heart disease is now severe. .... Desta is very clear that she is willing to die to get a child far enough along in gestation to survive, even if it means that the child will face serious challenges due to prematurity and/or losing his or her mother. I look at my hands. It is not unreasonable to surgically correct her Asherman's. I have the know-how, training, and setting to do it relatively safely. Desta cannot do it for herself. As a member of the medical community, do I have an obligation to restore Desta’s uterus to a relatively normal state? I know I am obligated to return “lost property,” (Deuteronomy 22:2); I see myself as morally obligated to heal people. These are expressions of tikkun olam, the way to be God's partner in the ongoing act of creation. But the sole purpose of the surgery in her mind is to get her pregnant, a much more life-threatening condition for her than it normally is for most women. What would God want me to do? Who am I to judge what is right for her? I believe she clearly understands the risks of pregnancy to herself and her potential child. In general, I like to think of myself as a guide to the complex medical world for my patients. For me, “Love your neighbor as yourself” means respecting an individual's desires, hopes, and dreams, even if they differ from my own. In the end, a patient gets to decide for herself if she wants a treatment or therapy. A patient can choose surgery and chemotherapy or just let the cancer take its course.... If she gets pregnant and dies, I will feel my surgical actions aided and abetted her death. Although it would be with her permission and blessing--even fulfilling her greatest hope--I will know I hastened her death. In medical ethics the rule is nonmaleficence, “first do no harm.” Even though harm is far from guaranteed in this case, the risk is high enough that I believe by refusing to do the surgery I am protecting her life. Judaism clearly mandates the protection of life over nearly all other commandments, based on the Rabbis’ interpretation of Leviticus 18:5. I tell Desta I will not do the surgery. … Rabbi Akiva’s classic scenario with the water and two men in the desert does not fit from whether either one of us stand. I see her life versus a life that does not yet exist and hence cannot be snuffed out. Of course she gets the water. But she can already see her not-yet-conceived son or daughter and, like any mother, will of course give the water to her child. ... Nearly ten years have passed since this encounter.... I stole possibility, hope, and dreams by saying no. Those too are a part of being made in God's image, hence a part of what I am charged with caretaking. I still wonder if I did the right thing. (By Judith Levitan)

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LEV218 Rabbi Eliezer said, “If circumcision, which pertains to only one of the two-hundred-and-forty-eight limbs of the body, takes precedence over the prohibitions of Shabbat, all the more so the saving of the entire body should take precedence over the prohibitions of Shabbat.” (After the Talmud offers a number of proofs for this, this statement is offered:) Said Rabbi Yehuda in the name of Rabbi Shmuel, “If I had been there, I would have offered an even finer proof text, specifically, “He shall live by them” (Leviticus 18:5) [that is to say, one should live by the commandments] and not die by them. Babylonian Talmud Yoma 85b.

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LEV755 For a Jewish person, getting a Jewish tattoo is an act rooted in conflict. There is the disapproval of family and community, there are the religious prohibitions, and there is the powerful deterrent of the Holocaust as a cultural memory. Most of the people choosing to get tattoos, particularly tattoos with Jewish themes and images, are under the age of thirty-five. Most people over the age of fifty are profoundly resistant to the idea of Jews with tattoos, regardless of their level of religious observance.... The Judaic view on this issue is simple: Jewish people are not allowed to have tattoos. It is forbidden. The Torah prohibits tattooing where it states, “You shall not mark your flesh for the dead, nor incise any marks on yourselves: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:28). In addition, it is written that “You shall not cut yourselves,” (Deuteronomy 14:1) which many rabbis have interpreted to include tattooing. Aside from the general prohibition, the subsequent commentaries and historical record offer conflicting viewpoints about the exact nature and specifics of the injunction against tattoos. An anonymous author says, “If a man writes on his skin, he is culpable, but only if it leaves a permanent mark” (Mishnah, Makkot 3:6); however, the very same source goes on to add a contrary view from Rabbi Simeon ben Judah, who says, “He is not culpable unless he writes the name of God, for it is written, ‘nor incise any marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.’” This demonstrates an existing debate about the interpretation of the accepted prohibition against tattooing in Leviticus. I argue that the reference in Leviticus is to the burial practices of various pagan societies, which concurs with the view stated by Maimonides, that “this was a custom among the pagans who mark themselves for idolatry” (Hilkhot Avodat Kokhavim 12:11). However, there are clear examples of Judaic tattooing during biblical times. One reference says, “One shall say ‘I am the Lord's,’ another shall use the name of Jacob, another shall mark his arm ‘of the Lord’s,’ another adopt the name of Israel” (Isaiah 44:5). Following, it says, “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:16). The widely accepted viewpoint that tattoos are not for Jews is deeply entrenched but misguided. There was a history of tattooing and Judaism according to several biblical scholars, and the text themselves are not as clear as many people believe. The prohibition is open to interpretation, and Judaism is not a stagnant thing. We change and evolve with the times. I suggest, therefore, that the law be interpreted to allow tattoos within certain limits. For example, I believe in prohibiting negative tattoos such as those that depict violence or nudity. I think it is also reasonable to ban tattoos of God's name. However, I feel strongly that we should allow tattoos that illustrate Jewish themes or other healthy images such as flowers, natural scenes, and animals. If the religious prohibition itself is not enough to keep young Jews from getting inked, there is a very popular myth that is familiar to most people. It is said that a Jewish person with a tattoo may not be buried in a Jewish cemetery. In fact, this is not true at all, as any person familiar with Jewish law can tell you. However, it has been repeated so many times that many people believe it to be a fact that they will not be welcome in a Jewish cemetery with their ink. One unexpected outcome of my work has been to debunk this misconception. Beyond the religious prohibition, and the mistaken fear of being banned from burial in a Jewish cemetery, it is the memory of the Holocaust that has exerted the most powerful influence on the decision of many young people who are considering a tattoo.... Because Jews were forcibly marked with numbers, the idea of Jewish tattoos often causes controversy in the Jewish community. For many people it is a reminder of a past that is too painful. Moreover, many parents of Jews tattooed with Jewish symbols fear for their safety of their children, feeling that they are at risk by having tattoos that call attention to their Jewish identity. Anti-Semitism is very real, and parents’ concern for the safety of their children should not be taken lightly. Many of the interview subjects in Tattoo Jew articulated a response to this issue directly through their tattoos. All of the people I have interviewed who have tattoos with Jewish themes get those tattoos for similar reasons; each of them wants to wear their Jewishness proudly on their skin. It is a way for them to mark themselves as Jews in an act of pride. According to Orian Livnat, a tattooed Israeli-American who has lived in the United States for most of his life, “You have to stand up for yourself. This is a way for me to show the world I am not afraid. I'm proud to be Jewish.” (By Andy Abrams)

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