Special to WJW

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His body is nearly fully covered with tattoos, and he's often inked hamsas and Stars of David for others.

Yet, Israeli-born tattoo artist Ami James, star of TLC's reality TV show Miami Ink says he is uncomfortable with Jewish-themed body art.--

Exploring the subject of "Tattoos & Taboos," at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in the District on Sunday evening, James addressed an audience of 250, as the synagogue concluded its series, "Jewish Body Week: Exploring What It Means to Have a Jewish Body in the 21st Century."

Fielding questions from fellow tattooed Jew Todd Weinberger, creative director for Inked magazine, James discussed his childhood in Israel -- "when no one had tattoos" -- his Jewish mother's outrage at his first tattoo at age 15, his aversion to drawing biblical ink, and stated that, for him, tattoos are an expression of art, not Jewish identity.

"If I could carry a painting on my back all day, I would," he said.--

And, although he has tattooed others with Jewish symbols, he stops short of inking biblical verses on fellow Jews, referring to the biblical injunction that forbids making "any marks on yourselves."

Judaism "does say, 'you shall not' [mark on yourself], and at the end of the day, I don't want to be the one doing it. It's kind of a slap in the face to the religion," he said. (Contrary to popular belief, Jews with tattoos may be buried in Jewish cemeteries.)

Offering a slide show for the event featuring several Jews with Hebrew and Jewish-themed tattoos, Weinberger, however, offered a different perspective. "I love Jewish-themed tattoos, they serve as a reminder of a person's Jewishness. Much like wearing a yarmulke or keeping kosher reminds someone that they are a Jew on a daily basis, tattoos serve the same purpose," he said.--

Sixth & I's Jewish Body Week series was presented as part of Nextbook Inc.'s series of events exploring ideas from Melvin Konner's book, The Jewish Body, according to Jackie Leventhal, cultural programming coordinator at Sixth & I. The synagogue, she said, received grant money to put on four programs while similar events were also taking place in New York and San Francisco during the week of Oct. 18-25.--

"We wanted to have a diverse palate of programs and [show] different ways of looking at the body," said Leventhal.--

The D.C. series formally kicked off in early October with a Shabbat service and dinner featuring transgender Joy Ladin, a poet and professor at Yeshiva University. During the service, Ladin read from prose describing her experiences visiting the Wall in Jerusalem, first as a man, and then, years later, as a woman.

"Judaism is a religion that embraces the body, so if you embrace the body, gender gets built into it," said Ladin, who was also in the District on Sunday for a poetry reading at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center's Jewish Literary Festival. "In the 21st century, transgenders have suddenly become visible in the Jewish world ... this seems to be a moment when Judaism is peculiarly ready to discuss what it means to be transgender." --

For writer David Sax, food is as much an expression of Jewish identity as Jewish tattoos or gender roles. Included in the Jewish Body Week line-up, Sax discussed his new book, Save the Deli, chronicling his journey in search of authentic Jewish delicatessens.

"The emotional connection [to Jewish food] is nearly the same as anything else," said Sax. And, he laments, these days, "Jews are just as apt to eat sushi as matzah ball soup."

It was fitting -- and only fair to the salivating audience members, said Leventhal -- that the book discussion followed with a tasting of traditional Jewish deli favorites: rugelach, knishes, pickles and black-and-white cookies. Said Sax, "When we talk about our [Jewish] bodies, what we put in our bodies is just as important."

Also during Jewish Body Week, California-based Jewish cartoonist Vanessa Davis led a program for a 20- to 30-something women's group on "A Woman's Role in Comics." Davis led an interactive workshop and talked about her semiautobiographical, Jewish-themed cartoons. After sharing the cathartic process of incorporating her physical features into her work, Davis asked the women to draw self-portraits.--

"It's kind of a loaded subject noticing all the flaws on your body, but it's an empowering experience drawing yourself," said Davis. "Judaism accepts lots of different experiences and opinions and that is a great way to approach body image."

After attending the "Tattoos & Taboos" event, Jeremy Rosen, 27, of Woodbridge concluded that a Jewish body in the 21st century is ultimately about expressing Jewish identity.

"It's about pride and the way you show it," said Rosen. "Using your body to express your Jewish identity, more so, [it's] just pride."