T he holy Torah is telling us that Sara Imeinu was a beautiful woman. Similarly we find that the Gemara (Megillah 15a) states that there were four beautiful women in the world and Sara was one of them. The Torah also states that Rivkah and Rochel were beautiful.

One can wonder why the Torah is giving importance to something so superficial. As it says in Mishlei (31:30): “Grace is false and beauty is worthless.” So why praise it? (Rav Shimshon Pincus Tiferes Shimshon)

“Take a look at this one Ma. It’s hysterical!”

“Can you tell the diff? Totally not!”

I sat scrolling through pictures on my daughter’s camera. My girls had just come back from a whirlwind two-day trip to London which included a tour of the famous Madame Tussauds wax museum.

“You also have to see how they make them. Donald Trump had a sitting where they took a zillion exact measurements. They shape the face exactly like the person’s bone structure and sew each hair in individually!”

The idea fascinated me as the statues were quite lifelike. I wondered what it would feel like to plop myself down on the seat next to the Queen of England and introduce myself. (Whoops. There’s an extra fee for that seat.) And how about a face-to-face discussion with Albert Einstein about how he retroactively viewed his discovery? He was standing right there so why not take advantage of the situation?

The basis for true beauty is dependent on a person’s inner self. Although the external is completely physical if inside the person is holy and spiritual then the inner spiritual light pierces through the physical features and the physical itself receives certain attributes of beauty.

The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 20b) tells us that only when a person is alive is he good-looking. The minute he dies even if he was the nicest-looking person in the world all the beauty leaves him.

A statue even if it’s the most exceptional statue made by the most talented craftsman still wouldn’t have the beauty of a live person.

This is what Dovid Hamelech is telling us in Tehillim (45:3): “You are more handsome than [other] men; charm is poured into your lips. Therefore G-d blessed you forever.” (ibid.)

“Here Ma! Take a look at this clip.”

My girls started laughing hysterically as I zoomed in on yet another figure. “Hey that one looks familiar!”

Standing in a statue pose my daughter stood frozen in the clip as a tourist approached and stood next to her to take a picture of what she assumed was another wax figure.

“That’s pushing it. Couldn’t that woman see it was just you?”

“I really didn’t move! It was a riot!”

I wasn’t buying it. “I can see that you’re alive. Look at your eyes twinkling your freckles dancing! You’re almost choking trying not to laugh out loud and she thinks you’re made out of wax? Your personality’s leaking all over the place!”

Now we can understand that when the Torah testifies about the beauty of Sarah Rivkah and Rochel Imeinu it’s explaining that their inner holiness was so strong it exuded outward and was clearly seen on their faces.

As Shlomo Hamelech says in Koheles (8:1): “A man’s wisdom makes his face shine and the boldness of his face is changed.”

When a face is glowing with the light of holiness and spirituality it’s beautiful. (ibid.)

I kept flipping through the pictures staring at one model after another. Some beautiful others not. Each realistic but frozen for eternity. Then I came to a completely different picture.

“That’s it. The rest of the pictures are of my class graduating.” My daughter leaned over to take the camera.

But I stared at the frame — 400 girls all dressed identically hair pulled back white shirts blue skirts. Yet zooming in on each one I saw personality stamped all over each face. And more than that. As each girl stared into the lens I saw visions for the future sparkling in her eyes. What dreams were dancing on the horizon? Each girl stood on the threshold of her life looking out toward her purpose in This World. And with those hopes each girl was vibrating with life — and each girl was so beautiful. (Originally featured in Family First Issue 564)