I'm Ugly, and I'm Proud!

The Sages further taught in praise of the reed: A person should always be soft like a reed, and he should not be stiff like a cedar. An incident occurred in which Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, came from Migdal Gedor, from his rabbi’s house, and he was riding on a donkey and strolling on the bank of the river. And he was very happy, and his head was swollen with pride because he had studied much Torah.

He happened upon an exceedingly ugly person, who said to him: Greetings to you, my rabbi, butRabbi Elazardid not return his greeting. Instead, Rabbi Elazarsaid to him: Worthless[reika] person, how ugly is that man. Are all the people of your city as ugly as you? The man said to him: I do not know, but you should go and say to the Craftsman Who made me: How ugly is the vessel you made. WhenRabbi Elazarrealized that he had sinned and insulted this man merely on account of his appearance, he descended from his donkey and prostrated himself before him, and he said to the man: I have sinned against you; forgive me. The man said to him: I will not forgive you go until you go to the Craftsman Who made me and say: How ugly is the vessel you made.He walked behind the man, trying to appease him, until they reachedRabbi Elazar’s city. The people of his city came out to greet him, saying to him: Greetings to you, my rabbi, my rabbi, my master, my master. The man said to them: Who are you calling my rabbi, my rabbi? They said to him: To this man, who is walking behind you. He said to them: If this man is a rabbi, may there not be many like him among the Jewish people. They asked him: For what reason do you say this? He said to them: He did such and such to me. They said to him: Even so, forgive him, as he is a great Torah scholar.He said to them: For your sakes I forgive him, provided that he accepts upon himself not to become accustomed to behave like this. Immediately, Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, entered the study hall and taught: A person should always be soft like a reed and he should not be stiff like a cedar,as one who is proudlike a cedar is likely to sin. And therefore, due to its gentle qualities, the reed merited that a quill is taken from it to write with it a Torah scroll, phylacteries, and mezuzot.

(4) He should do good to others, speak well of them, judge them favorably, not speak of their faults, forgive them when they speak badly of him, even if they do not deserve this

And it is said of a pious man who passed by an extremely foul smelling carcass of a dog. His disciples said to him: "how foul-smelling is this carcass!". He answered them "how white are its teeth!" And they regretted on having spoken disparagingly about the carcass. If it is improper to speak disparagingly of a dead dog, all the more so for a living human being. And if it is proper to praise the carcass of a dead dog for the whiteness of its teeth, how much more so, according to this, is it a duty to praise a human being endowed with intelligence and understanding. His intent was to rebuke them, to not habituate their tongues to speak badly, as this will enter their nature.