Shallow Men And The Women Who Suffer (The Male Lust For The Supermodel Perfect Mate Alert)

Jerusalem Post ^ | Rabbi Shmueley Boteach

[goldstategop]

The miracle of Purim owes much to a superficial, womanizing male who set about dating as many women as possible to find the one that was the most beautiful. Ahasuerus is like so many shallow men today who reduce women to nothing but a slim figure and a pretty face. But in the end, the story of Esther makes it clear that the secretly Jewish queen was chosen not for her looks, but because she "found grace and favor" in the eyes of all who beheld her. There was a womanly dignity, a sublime feminine majesty, to Esther that the rest of the harem lacked. They were empty suits, packaging only, without substance or personality. They were the kind of women who attract attention with low-cut blouses rather than high intelligence, short skirts rather than a lofty spirit. But Esther is a woman possessed both of outer and inner beauty, a heroine who exhibits uncommon wisdom, courage and dedication to the helpless. In short, she is a woman of outstanding character and her story is that of the triumph not only of the Jews over their enemies, but also of a woman's ability to win over a man with her brains rather than her bust.

How tragic, therefore, that Jewish men today have adopted the dating mores of Ahasuerus. And I'm not just talking about secular Jewish men whom we might expect to have adopted less lofty criteria in their choice of a mate. Rather, I am speaking especially of Orthodox Jewish men who have become so obsessed with the three modern virtues of a real woman - large chest, long legs, slim figure - that heart, mind, even the sparkle of her eyes, count for almost nothing.

I once served as matchmaker-in-chief for JDate. But I now find matchmaking nauseating thanks to the dispiriting superficiality of today's Jewish men. I now know that the countless men who tell me how desperate they are to find a really nice girl are lying through their teeth because what they really mean is a woman who looks like a model. At my weekly Sabbath table, where I host many singles, I watch as the men immediately dismiss even the most interesting women with the warmest hearts if they lack a bombshell body.

If she's short, she's out, and if she's overweight, well, that's the kiss of death. I'll set up men with women who I know to be attractive and charming, only to have the guy call me back the next day and complain of a lack of chemistry, by which he always means, "She wasn't pretty enough." The poor woman never had a chance. Before she opened her mouth, her body did her in.

BUT WHY would we expect anything different? Superficial people seek superficial qualities, and men today are about as deep as a crack in the sidewalk. They have been given one criterion for success, money, and they use that money as a commodity to purchase a woman's chief commodity, her physical beauty. Today's religious men are trained to appreciate little else.

I know a 20-year-old Jewish girl who developed a dangerous eating disorder because her very religious parents told her that unless she lost weight the type of yeshiva student they wanted her to marry would not take her out.

But weren't Jewish men, especially Orthodox ones, supposed to be different? The nation that gave the world's Solomon's Ode to a Woman of Valor, where a woman's God-fearing qualities are what make her beautiful, have betrayed that ideal utterly. If you are a woman in the Jewish singles scene who isn't stunningly attractive, you're going to wait a long time to get married. And once you're married, you better keep your looks up, because the women who are going to be praying with you in the ladies' section spend five hours in the gym for every hour they spend in the synagogue. They're not fools. They know that their husbands are trained to appreciate muscle tone rather than piety. And don't have more than two children, even though we need as many Jewish babies as possible, because kids will make your figure go to hell and your breasts droop almost as far.

NEVER believed that I would witness a time when even marriage-minded, Orthodox men would become womanizers, giving themselves the latitude to date as many women as possible so that they can find "the best." In yeshiva I was taught one did not date a woman the way one shopped for a car. Rather, you focused on one woman completely and tried to develop a soulful connection with her without worrying about what else might be out there.

Recently, I had a young rabbinical student of marriageable age at my home. He told me he had already dated 40 girls and had not found what he was looking for. I was stunned. "Forty nice, religious girls, and not one of them was good enough for you?"

But anyone familiar with the increasingly toxic shidduch system among the ultra-Orthodox knows that what many young men are looking for is anathema to Jewish values, namely, looks, money and pedigree. Find all three and you have hit the jackpot. Find only one, or even two, and you have "to settle."

Now, no doubt, in the secular world marrying money and marrying into an important family are also important. But when religious Jews marry for materialistic and ego-driven values, they degrade a glorious spiritual tradition.

It is high time that rabbis started giving sermons from the pulpit exhorting single men in the congregation to be gentlemen and reward women for developing the traits that Judaism truly values like compassion, wisdom and goodness. While physical attraction is always important in marriage - both for men and for women - Jewish leaders must begin inspiring future husbands to judge their wives' attractiveness by considerations beyond flesh alone. For if we fail, we'll continue seeing Jewish women feeling permanently insecure about their "imperfect bodies" rather than taking pride in their generous spirits.

[goldstategop]

Rabbi Shmueley Boteach discusses the perils of modern dating and marriage. Men want the supermodel perfect mate. A dream woman who is a physical "10" in attribute and looks. With the Bo Derek fixation, women who don't measure up to men's expectations in a woman lose out. Its not a woman's brains, personality or character that interest men. Its what she has to offer on the outside. Men who are as shallow as the bimbos they're attracted to. Its true Boteach talks about Jewish dating here but don't be put off by it; the lesson is a universal one.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[King Moonracer]

Marking for later viewing of pictures....

[billorites]

Could be Jewish.

[Brad’s Gramma]

That last paragraph is great. And it should apply to the Jew AND Gentile.

Thanks for the thread!

[Dog Gone]

Typical man-hating garbage article. Naturally, you couldn't publish a woman-hating diatribe like this without the world coming down on you.

But no problem calling all men shallow. That's cool.

[billorites]

I like big butts and I cannot lie.

[SIDENET]

[DoughtyOne]

The comments are good, except for one thing.

Young men can be coached to do the right thing, but young men cannot make young women make the right choices. Today's women are being sold a bill of goods by the media elites, that no young man can combat.

Try telling a young woman her breasts are heavenly and she doesn't need augmentation. She'll tell you your full of it and go ahead with her plans.

Take a look at what young women are signing off on these days. Where in the past people urged them to do things that weren't right, today's women have minds of their own, and most guys are powerless to tell them anything.

I've experienced some of this myself over the years.

[elcid1970]

OK everybody, time out, and ask just one simple question:

Why....to the deepest depths of Why, as in just why is it that

We guys prefer: full bosom, tiny waist, long legs on a woman. Who ordained, who prescribed that this should be so?

Think carefully... the answer may not be as shallow as thou thinkest.

[goldstategop]

I've learned to adjust my expectations. I realize the perfect woman doesn't exist. We all have flaws and those men who fantasize about supermodels don't know what their minds are like, their values or their sense of compassion. Physical attraction is important to a relationship but its not the only criterion to determine ultimate compatibility between a man and a woman.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[Brad’s Gramma]

The Barbie Doll?

LEAVING NOW! I'm a Gramma for Pete's sake! :)

[the invisib1e hand]

"no matter how beautiful she is, someone, somewhere, wishes she'd never been born."

[Always Learning]

Well, many men lust to catch a beautiful jewfish:

And, of course, someone has to post this:

[goldstategop]

Over a century ago the ideal was a full figured woman neither too fat nor too thin. My mother, God bless her soul, was never thin but she was beautiful. I don't think a man today would date or marry her because of the fetish about where a woman's figure comes in. As I said, men have to widen their horizons. There are lots of pretty women around and not all of them have the anorexic twiggy look that's in fashion today.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[dr_who_2]

"Supermodels" are often quite grotty. Along with a lot of other female celebs out there.

[gogeo]

You seem insecure. There are shallow men, just as there are shallow women. It's a fact of life.

There are guys who marry for looks. I think they're fools.

[Gondring]

ping

[goldstategop]

Its an ideal. But few human beings can live up to a standard of demanding perfection. Few women are interested in marrying a hunk. They're more astute judges of people's deportment and character. Here is where they are less superficial then men. They size up people with more than just looks in mind.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[Gondring]

Well, the answer seems to be "Society," since the ideals have changed with the times and conditions. In the past, women with large waists have been favored, for example. Sometimes it can indicate a woman who is better nourished and will yield healthier offspring.

[Gondring]

"If you just sit in front of a scary computer 10 hours a day waiting for cindy crawford + brain to come waltzing [in] and invite you to an evening of skydiving and sex, you're going to be dissapointed." --Connie Deighan