Why a fool's wife often seems beautiful
A man's destined wife is formed from his own bones; when a fool's bones overflow with marrow, that marrow passes to her, giving her a deep inner intelligence that he himself lacks. Since wisdom is what lights up and beautifies the face, this hidden intelligence is why a fool's wife so often appears beautiful.AI summary · anthropic/claude-sonnet-5
It is written, “He took one of his ribs … and made it into a woman” (Genesis 2:21-22). A man’s destined mate is taken from his bones. A fool’s wife, then, receives an overabundance of marrow. Therefore, she has a deep, inner intelligence. It is written, “A man's wisdom lights up his face” (Ecclesiastes 8:1). Beauty comes from the intellect. Consequently, a fool’s wife appears beautiful.
וְעַל־כֵּן בַּת זוּגוֹ שֶׁנִּלְקְחָה מִן הָעֲצָמוֹת כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: "וַיִּקַּח אַחַת מִצַּלְעוֹתָיו" (בְּרֵאשִׁית ב) וְכוּ', נִמְשָׁךְ אֵלֶיהָ רִבּוּי הַמֹּחַ שֶׁנִּשְׁאָר כָּנוּס בְּעַצְמוֹתָיו אֲשֶׁר מִשָּׁם נִלְקְחָה כַּנַּ"ל. וְעַל־כֵּן בַּת זוּגוֹ נָאָה כִּי עִקַּר הַיֹּפִי עַל־יְדֵי הַמֹּחַ וְהַחָכְמָה בִּבְחִינַת: "חָכְמַת אָדָם תָּאִיר פָּנָיו" (קֹהֶלֶת ח). וְעַל־כֵּן הִיא נָאָה מֵחֲמַת שֶׁנִּמְשָׁךְ אֵלֶיהָ רִבּוּי הַמֹּחַ, כִּי הִיא עֶצֶם מֵעֲצָמָיו שֶׁל זֶה שֶׁאֵין שִׂכְלוֹ שָׁלֵם, וְנִשְׁאָר מֹחוֹ כָּנוּס בְּעַצְמוֹתָיו כַּנַּ"ל.
Translation: Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom, trans. Aryeh Kaplan, Jerusalem. Breslov Research Institute, 1973