Where Beauty Culture Fails
Judaism is not just concerned with the soul; the body is also treated with great respect. In Parshat Re’eh, the Torah prohibits making incisions while mourning for the dead. The Talmud adds that “it is forbidden for someone to injure themselves.” Religious fasting is also frowned upon; it causes pain to our God-given bodies. One must not disfigure or harm their own body.
This is why Judaism appreciates the importance of beauty, so much so that cosmetics themselves become a subject of rabbinic concern. Ezra the Scribe instituted that peddlers should sell cosmetics from town to town, because the competition would keep prices low and ensure greater availability. Rabbi Yishmael would help poor young women get the nutrition and adornments they needed to beautify themselves; at his funeral, the women called out, “Daughters of Israel, weep for Rabbi Yishmael.”
In the 20th century, most rabbis gave their endorsement to cosmetic plastic surgery, with a keen awareness of the social and psychological importance of beauty. Rabbi Yaakov Breisch quotes the medieval comment of Tosafot, saying “there is no greater pain” than being self-conscious of one’s physical appearance. After reviewing several Talmudic passages, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein permits plastic surgery, stating, “when a young woman seeks to improve her appearance, and it is for her own benefit and she desires it, it is obviously permissible.”
However, a full understanding of Judaism’s view of beauty is impossible without first looking at its view of the human body.
First, the Torah prohibits suicide. Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin explains this prohibition quite simply: Our lives are not our own. They belong to God, who created us. As the verse in Ezekiel declares, “Behold, all souls are Mine.” We cannot simply dispose of our bodies and our lives as we see fit, for they are not ours to end.
Second, we are a unique creation, endowed with the image of God. The human body is a reflection of that image. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that “The mortal frame of man is one which is worthy of God … Thus, the Torah teaches us to recognize and value the godlike dignity of the human body.”
This respect is extended even after death. In the Mishna, Rabbi Meir explains that because man was created in the image of God, disrespect to a dead body disrespects God. One must treat the human body as sacred and give it a dignified burial.
Third, because we were created in the image of God, how we present ourselves is a spiritual value. Rashi, when commenting on the prohibition against making an incision while mourning, adds that “because you are God’s children, you should be handsome and well-presented, not with gashed skin.”
Taking care of our appearance is a mitzvah. Avot DeRabbi Natan records a discussion between Hillel and his students:
They said to Hillel, “Where are you going?”
He replied, “I am going to perform a mitzvah.”
They asked, “What mitzvah, Hillel?”
He answered, “I am going to the bathhouse.”
They said, “Is that really a mitzvah?”
He replied, “Yes, to cleanse the body. Consider this: if the statues that stand in the palaces of kings have an official appointed to wash and polish them, … then how much more so should we care for our bodies, for we were created in the image and likeness of God, as it is said, ‘For in the image of God He made man’ (Genesis 9:6).”
Humanity was created in the image of God, and God wants that image to look its best. That is why enhancing beauty is a religious value. Our body is a sacred trust, and we must care for it and improve it when appropriate.
Humanity was created in the image of God, and God wants that image to look its best.
Given this background, one might assume that Judaism fully embraces contemporary “beauty culture.” It has never been more pervasive, with an unending list of therapies and trends: biohacking, looksmaxing, tattoos, piercings, cosmetic surgery, hair implants, Botox, GLP-1s, even neural implants. And the list continues to grow. Even the ultra-Orthodox community has embraced plastic surgery and GLP-1s for young women of marriageable age.
But there is a dramatic difference between beauty culture and Judaism. Beauty culture doesn’t highlight the image of God; instead, it replaces it with insecurity and superficiality.
Sander Gilman points out in “Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of Aesthetic Surgery” that beauty culture is driven by a fantasy of happiness. One imagines that one can fix what is different about oneself while becoming something special at the same time. Yet to do both at once simply erases who one is.
Fragile identities lead to this obsession with physical enhancement. Even conventionally attractive people remain anxious about their looks. Our beauty culture is fueled more by psychology than physiology. As a result, many plastic surgeons have to turn away patients. One survey, conducted by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, found that 92% of surgeons had turned down a cosmetic treatment request because of concerns about the patient’s mental health.
This cultural transformation began with the invention of the camera; beauty immediately became more important. In his 1985 book, “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business,” Neil Postman shows how photography and videography have made society far more superficial. We have witnessed a cultural death. A world once dominated by print culture has disappeared. TikTok is now our new teacher.
Postman points out that William Howard Taft, who was quite obese, would never get elected today because of his appearance.
And with the advent of social media, this superficiality has grown much worse.
The photos we see online of models and movie stars set a beauty standard that is difficult to equal. Even more significant is the fact that social media places everyone constantly in the public eye. Our desire to post our own pictures pushes us to “get ready for our closeup” and take dramatic, even dangerous, steps to transform our looks.
Beauty has become the coin of the realm, the only thing that matters. Celebrities and influencers are now the ultimate authorities on topics as diverse as genocide and vaccines. We are truly amusing ourselves to death, discarding our values and abandoning knowledge in pursuit of the perfect selfie.
And this is how beauty culture fails: when beauty becomes the sole goal, and the search for meaning ends in a jar of skin cream.
Humanity was created for greater things than the perfect selfie. And there is nothing more beautiful than a life of love, values, and meaning.
Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York.
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