Tefillin Barbie
Mattel’s Halloween Hip Barbie 2006 came with a lovely frum denim skirt, so she looked like most of my friends. Accordingly, I figured she ought to be wearing tefillin, just like my friends. As well as the tallit (with tekhelet, of course) and tefillin, she has a siddur and a volume of Talmud.
How do I get a Tefillin Barbie?
If I have any Tefillin Barbies (a Mattel Barbie doll equipped with tallit, tefillin and gemara) in stock, they’re listed in my Etsy store, where payment is by Paypal/credit card only.
If there aren’t any in stock, there’ll be some more on the way; please do contact me to find out what the timescale looks like.
Can I get a different Barbie?
The currently-available Barbie model is as shown on the Etsy store. If you want a different hair colour, different clothing, different skin tone, that’s fine; you send me a different doll, or new clothes, or a wig – whatever you want – and I’ll use those. Your commission may take a month or two. If you need it for a particular date, let me know and I’ll do my best to accommodate you.
Can I get greetings cards?
As I understand it, there is nothing wrong with me buying a Mattel Barbie and putting accessories on it, and selling it on to you. Taking a photograph of said Barbie and selling the photograph on greetings cards moves into the murky waters of copyright law, since the image is undoubtedly closely associated with Mattel’s product. Pending a good copyright lawyer advising me gratis, I won’t be offering any product featuring a Barbie image.
Comments
Responses ranged from “…seriously disturbing – like watching a car accident…disgusting” to “Finally Barbie has done something I can be proud of!” and “A witty comment on contemporary American Jewish life.”
Subsequently, I must have sold more that a hundred Tefillin Barbies. The supply of that particular Barbie model dwindled. I put tefillin on other Barbie models.