The Beauty of Greece
The Talmud states in Megillah 9b:
“May the beauty of Yefeth reside in the tents of Shem.”
After the Flood, Noah blessed his son Yefeth:
“May God expand Yefeth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem.”(Gen. 9:27)
The Sages noted that Yefeth was the ancestor of ancient Greece, and his blessing relates to the special accomplishments of the Greeks, especially in the realm of the arts and aesthetics.
The name 'Yefeth' is related to the Hebrew word yofi, meaning ‘beauty’, and the blessing links Yefeth and Shem together through the cultures of their descendants, Greece and Israel.
However, the relationship between these two nations was never simple, as seen in the story of Chanukah, where these two civilizations clashed violently during the Second Temple period.
Author's summary: Greece and Israel's cultural relationship.
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