nedarim 66

not every bride is tall, white, and thin.
but that doesn't mean she's not beautiful. or not good enough for him.
without the aid of the 'helpful' beauty rabbi, who never tell the groom that he is too ugly and demanding to deserve this woman.

various stories of men refusing to marry not beautiful brides. or husbands treating their wives badly. The definition of beauty is tall, thin and white.... unlike the short, fat-lipped, full-bellied, dark, big ears, nose, etc women that are described here. R. Yishmael is identified as the go-to rabbi to beautify the women, to find and enhance their redeeming features. even if it is only her fitting name.... it is frustrating to read the disrespectful treatment of the women who don't conform to the accepted beauty norms. And no challenge to the men who make these demands....... so happy that society has moved on so much since these times.....

shabbat 147

grooming, cleaning, and looking beautiful

taking care of the body and taking care of clothes.

for english translation of this talmud page, see here

shabbat 80

fathers and daughters...

amongst the clarification of the amount of lime one carries to be liable for carrying on shabbat is a tale of two fathers (R. Beivai and a non-jewish man). They both wanted to make their daughters hair-free so cover them limb by limb in lime. R. Beivai's daughter becomes so beautiful her dowry increases beyond her worth. The non-jewish man copies him, but his daughter dies.... apparently R. Beivai's family were beer drinkers, so beer really does put hairs on your chest....

shabbat 50

grooming tips from the rabbis who are men enough to be beautiful for their Creator, without losing their hair.