The Groundbreaking Memoirs of Glikl of Hamel

Let us now praise famous Jewish women: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, and . . . Glikl!

Glikl who?, I hear a voice asking. Although widely known as Glikl of Hamel, or as Glückel von Hameln, she herself would have wondered who that person was. She always referred to herself in the traditional way as Glikl bas Reb Leyb (Glikl the daughter of a man named Leyb); or, after marriage, as Glikl eyshes Reb Ḥayyim Hamel (Glikl the wife of Mr. Ḥayyim Hamel); or still later, after he had passed away, as Glikl almones Reb Ḥayyim Hamel (Glikl the widow of Mr. Ḥayyim Hamel).

But for our purposes, the simple unadorned “Glikl” will serve, since it, more nearly than any of its expanded versions, fits this pious, well-educated, wealthy, and brave Jewish woman.