| Category: | Memoir |
|---|---|
| Author: | Michal Mendelsohn |
| Publisher: | Atmosphere Press |
| Publication Date: | December 4, 2026 |
| Number of Pages: | 312 |
| ISBN-10: | 979-8901741054 |
| ASIN: | B0GKZCKML3 |
Rabbi, Your Cleavage Is Showing chronicles Michal
Mendelsohn’s extraordinary journey from a lonely childhood in Manhattan to
becoming one of the first women ordained as a rabbi by Hebrew Union College in
1975. She details her struggles as a child raised in hotel apartments by
parents who were emotionally detached. The memoir narrates her strained relationship
with her father after the death of her mother and her unexpected belonging experience
in Israel during the Six-Day War, where she lived on a kibbutz, served in the
IDF entertainment corps, and discovered her Jewish identity. Returning to
America, she faced relentless sexism in rabbinical school and congregations
that scrutinized her appearance (“her cleavage is showing!'') while denying
her mentorship and fair placement. Her career evolved through law school, radio
hosting, teaching, and nonprofit leadership. At the same time, she had to
handle the challenges of being a single mom while working three jobs. Then
there is the exciting discovery of her second husband, Fred, who became a
companion and partner.
Michal Mendelsohn’s memoir captivated me with its fiercely
intelligent and wryly humorous voice, and the unflinching honesty about
institutional misogyny within Jewish religious life. She underlines the tension
between American Reform Judaism and Israeli secular-religious culture,
revealing how women were historically excluded from spiritual participation
despite Torah’s commandment that “male and female created He them.” Her memoir
is complemented by soul-searching, thoughtful poetry that is delightful to read.
“Damn Cigarettes” captures the seemingly absurd experience of a mother: “She'd
puff and puff and puff all day/bean bag ashtray in hand lest wisps/of dirty
ash-dust go astray;” In “Even the Rabbi Wrestles” she writes about the
spiritual struggle, capturing the tension between what one believes and what
one practices in the following lines: “I chant the words, I wear the
shawl,/wrap tefillin, rise and fall/my voice still lifts the ancient song,/but
inside, something feels all wrong.” Rabbi, Your Cleavage Is Showing is a
feminist document and a deeply human story of grit, faith, and identity. These
qualities of the writing are nourished by the author’s battle with tradition,
trauma, and the persistent hope for belonging.
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