As an Orthodox Jewish grandmother living in Marine Park, Brooklyn, Malky, 47, is usually covered from head to toe. She wears the wig known as a sheitel, and sports the traditional garb that doesn’t do much justice to the female form.
No skin is allowed to be shown — even summer legs and feet must be clad in pantyhose.
And yet, when she decided to surprise her husband on his birthday earlier this year, she gifted him with pictures from a sexy boudoir photo shoot, in which she provocatively poses in nothing more than a sheer white shirt and sky-high heels.
“I don’t care what religion you are — if you don’t keep your husband excited, someone else will,” says Malky, who asked that her last name not be used for privacy reasons, and says she was inspired by Kourtney Kardashian’s naked pregnancy shoot. “It’s not against Halakha [Jewish law] to keep your husband satisfied.”
Her husband, who spends his days davening (praying) at synagogue, was thrilled.
“His reaction was, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this is my wife.’ He was going through every picture over and over.
“Husbands aren’t used to seeing their wives in a sexual way like that.”
Boudoir photo shoots, traditionally popular among the secular set, are now a growing trend in Orthodox communities. And proponents say there’s nothing to atone for — the racy snaps are totally kosher.
One local shutterbug even had bookings lined up right after the High Holidays.
Lea, who typically photographs weddings, says that boudoir bookings for the Hasidic community in Flatbush, Brooklyn, now account for 35 percent of her overall business — she currently juggles around 40 such shoots a year, up from just a handful when she started three years ago. (She asked that her last name be withheld for fear of a backlash from her fellow Orthodox Jews.)
Her packages, which cost around $1,000, appeal to women in their 20s to their 50s, mostly married, but some single.
A 30-year-old mother of four, Lea offers to help clients prep in advance with food plans, and if they don’t own lingerie, she’ll supply it.
But kosher cutie Jennifer Srour, of Union City, NJ, came prepared for her boudoir shoot a month before her August wedding in Jerusalem. She posed provocatively in a silky robe while her hubby-to-be happily looked on; he ordered a $350 CD of all the pictures on the spot.
It’s a scene that still manages to stun boudoir photographer Niki Broyn, an Orthodox 41-year-old mother of four, who grew up in the black-hat world of Borough Park. “Sometimes [the women’s] adventurous nature surprises me,” says Broyn. “There are plenty of Orthodox women who are frisky. Why not? It’s natural.”
She met one of her clients, Suree Perl, 27, at an all-girls yeshiva in Williamsburg. Perl, who works in finance, took a step back from the demanding world of Orthodox Judaism years ago, but has had trouble shaking the beliefs she was raised on.
“I grew up in the Hasidic world in Williamsburg. I always wanted these pics — but was hesitant,” she says of her Brooklyn shoot three years ago.
So how does a tight-knit community with a deep fear of transgressing get away with Playboy-worthy proofs that would make Hugh Hefner blush?
“Judaism recognizes that passion is important in marriage,” says Elie Weinstock, rabbi at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on the Upper East Side.
But, he notes, “Judaism believes in modesty. I think this is ‘kosher,’ but I don’t think it needs to be front-page news. It’s between a husband and wife.”
And so when mother of seven Shayna, 37, decided to do a boudoir photo shoot four years ago, in which she wore a hockey jersey and not much else, she made sure there were no digital copies.
“[My husband] loves that I was willing to try something ‘out of the box’ for his enjoyment and happiness,” says Shayna, who lives in Elizabeth, NJ, and asked that her last name not be printed for privacy reasons. “It’s something we giggle about because it’s sort of naughty.
“My body is covered up all the time — even my hair is covered up — but it was empowering as a woman to be proud of my body and give that as a gift to my husband.”
