Sefer Shmot has many meanings for many individuals. From sweeping and majestically philosophical concepts to the minutia of halacha – it is all there. I may be one of the only rabbis who will always associate Shmot with body modification. During my six years on campus I would invariable be asked about the permissibility of body piercing and modification in Judaism, by Jews of all types of backgrounds. The more modern orthodox would always fit the question in around Mishpatim or Ki Tisa, but the truth is there are other places it comes up in the midrash and mefarshim throughout Shmot. Given that, at first blush, the Torah takes for granted that both men and women had piercings for aesthetic purposes it is not at all surprising that orthodox students on a secular campus want to know why they can’t get their ears (and other parts of their body) pierced.

This article will approach the subject from a gender neutral perspective. While certainly one must consider the minhagim (customs) and the social norms of their community when making any choice, it is not clear to me that there is any good current binding halachic reason for this subject to apply more to men than women. While others might not agree with my dismissal of begged isha being a concern for male piercing, it is clearly a comparative value, linked to social norms. In this day and age body modification has gone from a trend to the norm, and men have been regularly getting their ears pierced for decorative purposes in North America for almost 30 years. There are laws prohibiting employers to ask their employees to remove facial jewelry, and it is so imbedded into our social consciousness that one does not even notice. In fact, we tend to notice when the star athlete or actor does not have a piercing. As such this article will take a deeper look at the halachic concepts behind aesthetically motivated piercing and their implications. It should be clear that this article is intended to be a brief summary of the subject and sources, and is primarily intended to present this theme in a way that the reader had perhaps not thought of. It is not meant to be an exhaustive halachic body of work, nor should a person try and pasken (decide a halachic ruling) based on the information presented.

With no clear early sources directly dealing with the permissibility of piercing for decorative purposes, we must turn elsewhere for an understanding of the halacha. Ultimately the question of piercing has to be approached from the perspective of damaging oneself, which is the necessary first step in piercing, irrelevant of how mundane the act is considered to be. There is a mishna and gemara in Bava Kamma (91b) which deals specifically with the concept of wounding oneself. Based on the mishna, Rabbi Akiva seems to feel that although one is not allowed to wound oneself, one is excused if one does so. The gemara discusses the issue further, bringing down a contradictory beraita and comes to the conclusion that the statement of Rabbi Akiva is part of a Tannaitic dispute, with one Tanna holding Rabbi Akiva says one cannot wound oneself, and one Tanna holding Rabbi Akiva says one can indeed wound oneself. So far we might conclude that while there is room to allow one to wound oneself, it is not something that should be treated lightly, or done if unnecessary. Certainly the Tosafot there seems to hold that one cannot wound oneself, even for a necessary purpose.

This Tannaitic dispute seems to play out through the major halachic authorities. The Rambam (Hilchot Chovel Umezik, 5:1) holds that one cannot wound oneself under any circumstances. The Tur (Choshen Mishpat 420) seems to hold like Rabbi Akiva in the mishna, but also brings right afterwards the position of Rav Meir HaLevi who holds one can indeed wound oneself. The Shulchan Aruch (Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat, 420:31) simply states one should not wound oneself, but if one does so they are excused. Through analysis of these sources a clearer understanding of the issue does not seem to emerge, — which is to say that it would still appear that an individual can indeed get a piercing, but should not do so, irrelevant of their gender. This topic seems to remain more or less untouched until modern times when an interesting distinction emerges between the idea of wounding oneself for the purposes of health, or wounding oneself for the purposes of beauty. While the scope of these sources deal primarily with cosmetic surgery, it would seem to me that kal v’chomer (even more so) they apply to piercing. The Tzitz Eliezer accepts that while one can wound oneself, or another, for the purposes of healing, wounding for purely aesthetic reasons (which would obviously include piercing) is excluded from the category of healing since there are no health benefits. In a very strongly worded responsa the Tzitz Eliezer (She’elot U’tshuvot Tzitz Eliezer, 11:41) made it clear that he felt that for one to change one’s body in any way for aesthetic purposes was to go against the Divine Plan. The Minchat Yitzchak (She’elot U’tshuvot Minchat Yitzchak, 6:105) agrees with the fundamental analysis of the Tzitz Eliezer, but argues that the prohibition against wounding oneself is only relevant if it is done in a destructive or disrespectful manner. Evidently, the Minchat Yitzchak would hold that if one was getting a piercing to become more beautiful, than this would not be problematic. Rav Moshe (Igrot Moshe, Choshen Mishpat II, 46) is the most lenient on this issue, arguing that in the case of aesthetically motivated surgery which is neither destructive nor disrespectful, the prohibition against wounding is not relevant at all. Rav Moshe makes it clear that this also applies in the case regarding self-inflicted wounds – if it is for beautification it should not be forbidden.

Based on the sources it would seem that if a person wanted to get a piercing because they truly assumed that it would make them more beautiful, they would be allowed to do so according to Rav Moshe and Rav Weiss. Having said that, it should still be argued that any individual must consider their motivations very carefully, and keep in mind that according to the Shulchan Aruch wounding oneself is never permissible, irrespective of motivation. It has also hopefully emerged that the question of whether a man is permitted to get a piercing for aesthetic reasons is less a halachic issue than if a woman should be able to get a piercing, which seems to have been previously taken for granted. As well, there are several other ideas which, while perhaps not quantifiable halachic concepts in this instance, should be considered. The issue of Tzelem Elokim, raised by the Tzitz Eliezer, is an important one. A person must truly question if they need to improve upon what God has provided. As well, although often overused in this day and age, the idea of chilul HaShem should be measured. While the nuance of which ear a man had pierced has fallen out of social memory, there are clear connotations related to piercing other parts of the body which should be at the forefront of a person’s mind and must remain close at hand while making such decisions. This is not to say that according to the sources examined herein there is not the choice of getting a piercing, but it is equally clear that such an undertaking must be done with personal consideration and not simply because everyone else is doing it.