This essay originally appeared in HaMizrachi Magazine and is reprinted by permission of the author. I’ve read what the Talmud says, “10 measures of beauty descended on the world, nine were taken by Yerushalayim, one by the rest of the world” ( Kiddushin 49:2). A beautiful thought if ever there was one. But the realist in me takes over and I see recycling bins overflowing with plastic bottles and newspapers. I will say, however, that the trash from our building is picked up daily and the streets and sidewalks are cleaner than ever as they get a regular sweeping. But I still struggle with a question – what beauty was the Talmud referring to? Was it something physical or a state of mind?