Rabbi, Your Cleavage is Showing, by Michal Mendelsohn

With wit, candor, and unflinching honesty, Rabbi, Your Cleavage is Showing traces the extraordinary journey of Rabbi Michal (Mikki) Mendelsohn—the second woman ordained by the Reform rabbinate. From a lonely childhood in Manhattan to the battlefields of the Sinai, from the pulpit to law school, Mendelsohn’s life defies every expectation of what a “nice Jewish girl” was supposed to be.

Told through vivid storytelling and sharp humor, Mendelsohn’s memoir explores faith, feminism, and the price of independence in a world that often resisted her at every turn. Whether navigating sexism in sacred spaces, confronting personal trauma, or finding love and belonging in unexpected places, Mendelsohn reveals a life of resilience, reinvention, and courage.

At once deeply personal and profoundly universal, Rabbi, Your Cleavage is Showing is the story of a woman who refused to be defined by others—and became a rabbi on her own terms.