"Ugly" People in the Talmud - The key to two Talmudic tales (and a Purim insight)

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"Ugly" People in the Talmud: The key to two Talmudic tales (and a Purim insight)

When you choose a costume, what do you base it on?

Topics:

Dressing up on Purim, Beauty

By Chaya Chitrik

Chaya Chitrik is a Chabad shlucha in Istanbul, Turkey.

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2 Comments

Cliff Snider Boston March 15, 2022

In the first story, I interpreted the response, "Ask my Maker," as the person meaning, "How can you say I'm ugly, since I'm a child of G-d, and your reverence for G-d should cause you to respect me and my appearance no matter how unattractive you perceive me to be." I would not have thought of the person's ugliness being a spiritual paucity and that the comment led him to spirituality, so that gives me something to think about.

I also believe our reactions and standards of beauty can be problematic and deeply unfair but do see some efforts being made to stretch the definitions of what can be defined as attractive. Reply

Eliot Schickler Brookline March 11, 2022

The Rabbinic Intern, Giulia Fleishman, in my temporary building in exile, taught us this story back in November. This is a very good story. Reply