Barbie Discovers Her Jewish Identity

When I was reading The Jewish Week today I noticed an article about a new barbie doll that has been created, one that is an Orthodox Jew. The Barbie comes complete with tefillin, tallit, leather straps, siddur, and Steinsaltz Gemara, and will even come with a Torah scroll for an extra charge. Jen Friedman, the creator of the doll, came up with the idea through conversations with her friends. She states that “we thought it would be fun to put tefillin on a Barbie.” And that's exactly what she did. So far only 2 have been made, the first one being sold on ebay for $150. She will have to make more because she has at least 20 more outstanding orders.

The creator describes herself as a “post-demoninational, halachically observant Jew” who believes in gender equality. This is of course evident in her doll, who she describes as a Modern Orthodox Jew and wears all the prayer items that men traditionally would. Jen states on her website though that the doll is not comfortable in a kippah, and hence wears a beret. I'm not sure I've figured out the reasoning behind this yet.

The profits from the doll go towards making tefillin available to women who would otherwise not be able to buy their own.

If you want to find out more, visit Jen Friedman’s website.