Book Review: Hot Mameleh

By C.M.F

Hot Mamaleh – The Ultimate Guide for Every Woman of the Tribe (by Lisa Alcalay Klug)

Well, maybe not every woman of the Tribe.  Not at all suitable for frummies, the book would still prove hilarious for the Jewish American Princess you know. The topics are more than a little hair-raising for the observant and likewise full of pop culture references, but I can definitely see it on coffee tables across the U.S. for, say, Mindy Meyer types. Early on in the work is a checklist, a “Minyan of Ways You Know You’re a Hot Mamaleh”, and a complementary “A Minyan of Ways You Know You’re Not a Hot Mamaleh”. Apparently I fell in with the non-Mamaleh crowd by answering an emphatic Yes to number 9: “You would not be caught dead wearing stilettos, bright red lipstick, and a leopard print coat (over your birthday suit).” That’s okay, I’ll get over it.

Then again, even the least aidel of topics are expertly tied back to more traditional practices or at least Yiddish catch phrases by Klug.  At one point, she does make reference to a list of things a girl can do to assist in her search for a zivug, such as reciting the Perek Shira for 40 nights, or davening like crazy during Shabbos candle lighting. I’m not sure anyone reading the book would know what zivug means, but hey, if it inspires them to take up some mitzvos, I’m sure not going to stand in the way.

Be prepared to see a lot of pages devoted to illustrations that read like Facebook memes, and still other pages used to review Jewish kitsch products on the market (and their website addresses).  I came to believe that the Hot Mamaleh overall celebrated shopaholic females far more than it does Jewish women, but hey, that’s just me.

A great Xmas gift for your off-the-derech cousin’s shiksa girlfriend.

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