Tatoos, Burial

Asked by SA · November 4, 2002 · Other

Question

According to your answer that one who got a tatoo must do teshuva to be buried in a jewish cemetery, it would follow that one who violates shabbat should also not be buried unless s/he did teshuva prior to his/her death. Yet shabbat violators are buried in jewish cemeteries everyday around the world. Isn't the prohibition of desecrating shabbat far more "grave" than getting a tatoo? And so shouldn't teshuva be a non-issue as far as being buried in a jewish cemetery? Please clarify.

Answer

Answered by Aaron Abadi

Your logic is tainted. Because people allow Shabbat desecrators into cemeteries, we should therefore drop all the rules? You are correct in saying that Shabbat desecrators should not be buried in observant Jewish cemeteries. If they are buried there, it certainly was not on my say-so. AA