The Jewish child : its history, folklore, biology, & sociology / by W.M. Feldman ; with an introduction by Sir James Crichton-Browne.
- William Moses Feldman
- Date:
- 1917
Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Credit: The Jewish child : its history, folklore, biology, & sociology / by W.M. Feldman ; with an introduction by Sir James Crichton-Browne. Source: Wellcome Collection.
43/492 page 11
![I.] Introduction 11 succeeding generations go on diminishing in good looks (compare p. 8). Again, it is related that the son and daughter of R. Ishmael ben Elisha were taken prisoners by two different persons. The latter afterwards met, and each said to the other that he had a slave that was unequalled in beauty, and arranged a marriage between them in order that they might share the offspring. The brother and sister met in prison, and fell upon each other's neck and wept until they died.^ Of R. Ishmael the High Priest it was said that he was so wonderfully beautiful that, when he died as a martyr, the Emperor's daughter had the skin of his face removed and preserved by means of various balsams, and that this is still to be seen in the Museum at Rome.^ Further, the Talmud makes the following statement: In former times the foremost Romans were in the habit of having paintings of beautiful faces over their beds in order that by looking at them tempore сое undi they might beget beautiful children; but from now onwards (i.e., since the destruction of the Temple) they cause Jewish youths to be tied to their beds instead (so radiant was their beauty). (See p. 177.) But the greatest value was attached to beauty in women. It was said that the matriarchs were sterile in order that they might preserve their beautiful figures and retain their husbands' afíection.^ Amongst the requisites of beauty in a woman, R. Ishmael the son of R. José enumerates a beautiful head, beautiful hair, eyes, ears, nose, lips, neck, waist, and ^ Gittin 58a. ^ Aboda Zarah llò, Rashi, ^ Gittin 58a. * See Midrash to Canticles ii. 14, and Yebamoth 346.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b18023022_0044.JP2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
