<p>The teacher calls out the letter Bet. Ben Sira responds with a proverb that could have come straight from the book of Proverbs itself:</p>

<p>"By the appearance of a beautiful woman have many been destroyed, and numerous are those she has killed."</p>

<p>This is a classic piece of ancient wisdom literature, the kind of warning that runs through the Hebrew Bible like a thread. Think of the strange woman in (Proverbs 7:26): "For many are those she has struck dead, and numerous are her victims." Ben Sira's proverb draws on that same tradition — that physical beauty, when pursued recklessly, leads to ruin.</p>

<p>But here's where the Alphabet of Ben Sira shows its comic genius. The teacher doesn't hear a universal moral lesson. He hears a personal attack. "Because I revealed my secret and told you my wife is ugly, you tell me this kind of thing!" he snaps. He's convinced the child is mocking him. After all, he just confessed in the <a href='/texts/sefaria-alphabet-ben-sira-2.html'>previous exchange</a> that his only worry in life was having an ugly wife. Now here's this infant sage, apparently rubbing salt in the wound.</p>

<p>The irony is thick. Ben Sira's proverb actually suggests the educator should be grateful — a beautiful woman is dangerous, so an unattractive wife might be a blessing in disguise. But the teacher is too wrapped up in his own insecurity to notice. "Perhaps I harmed you when I told you my secret," he says, almost pleading. The child doesn't even bother to respond. He just moves on to the next letter.</p>