15 Aug IS A BARBIE DOLL KOSHER?

I. Forbidden Images
With Barbie in the
news, it is an opportunity
to discuss the halachic
implications of Barbie
dolls. From the
perspective of hashkafah,
there is much to discuss
about the unrealistic body dimensions of
Barbie dolls and their impact on the thinking
of young girls and boys. Setting all that aside,
the Torah might have something to say about
Jews owning (relatively) life-like models
of human beings. Even if young children
below bar/bas mitzvah age are not obligated
in the commandments, we cannot give
them prohibited objects and facilitate their
violation of a prohibition. Are we allowed to
give Barbie dolls to children?
Right after the Ten Commandments, God
instructs Moshe to tell the Jews that they
may not make any physical idols, “no silver
gods and no golden gods” (Ex. 20:20).
This is in addition to the second of the Ten
Commandments, which forbids making “any
carved image or likeness of any creature in
the heavens above or the earth beneath or
the water beneath the earth” (Ex. 20:4). The
Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 24a) says that
Rabban Gamliel had pictures of the moon
in different phases to show to witnesses
who claimed to have seen the new moon, in

order to test them. The Gemara asks how he
could have pictures of the moon when it is
forbidden to have images of anything in the
heaven, earth or sea. The Gemara (ibid., 24b)
concludes that Rabban Gamliel used one of a
number of possible exceptions (e.g. he used it
for learning purposes, which is allowed).
Commentators debate the parameters of
the prohibition based on the discussion of
Rabban Gamliel’s pictures. Shulchan Aruch
(Yoreh De’ah 141:4-7) concludes that we
may not make even two dimensional pictures
of heavenly bodies that we see in two
dimensions (e.g. the sun). However, we are
only forbidden to make three dimensional
representations (e.g. sculptures) of things we
see in three dimensions, like people. This is
true even if we make them specifically for
decoration. Additionally, we may not own
an object we are forbidden to make because
people might suspect that we made them
(Shach, ad loc., 23). In other words, it is
forbidden to buy, for example, a sculpture of
a person or a drawing of the sun. There are
further details about partial images but that
need not detain us right now. Our question is
dolls.
II. Dolls in Halachah
The first mention I have seen of dolls in this
context is in a responsum of Rav Yosef di
Trani (Maharit; 17th cen., Israel; Responsa

Maharit, vol. 3, no. 35). Maharit writes that
the prohibition only applies to a permanent
item and not something temporary, like a
doll. If it is temporary, then nobody will
think it could have been made or used for
idolatry. Therefore, Maharit says, those dolls
(partzufin) that are made for children to
play with and those made for actors to use
in their plays are permitted because they
are temporary. Presumably, in his day toys
were not particularly durable. A doll might
have been a piece of cloth on top of a stick
or a rock. Even though it is intended to look
like a person, it is temporary and therefore
permissible. Today, children’s toys last for
years, even decades. While a Barbie is made
out of plastic which in theory is disposable,
the doll often is kept for many years.
Maharit’s leniency does not seem to apply to
a Barbie doll.
Rav Eliezer Deutsch (20th cen., Hungary;
Responsa Pri Ha-Sadeh, vol. 3, no.
36) quotes Maharit and adds his own
consideration. Shulchan Aruch (ibid., par.
3) rules like Rabban Shimon Ben Gamliel
in the Mishnah (Avodah Zarah 42b) who
distinguishes between two cases of finding a
utensil with a forbidden image on it. If you
find a respectable utensil, then you must be
concerned that someone used it for idolatry.
If it is a disgraceful utensil, something not fit
for use in a proper ceremony, then you can
assume it was never used for idolatry. Rav
Deutsch says that if you give something
to a child to play with, it is considered
disgraceful and does not fall under the
prohibition because it would never be used
for idolatry. Therefore, dolls and stuffed
animals of various forbidden images are
permitted since a child shleps them around
on the floor and treats them disrespectfully.
This reasoning applies to dolls and actions
figures today. According to Rav Deutsch,
a Barbie doll is permissible. Significantly,
Rav Shlomo Zalman Braun (20th cen.,
US; She’arim Metzuyanim Ba-Halachah
168:2) and Rav Ovadiah Yosef (21st cen.,
Israel; Yechaveh Da’as 3:64; Yabi’a Omer
3:8) quote this ruling approvingly.
III. Unworshipped Images
A more lenient approach is taken by
some authorities. As mentioned above, the
reason we are not allowed to own graven
images is out of concern that people might
think we made or worshipped them.
Nowadays, when people generally do
not worship idols, and those few who do
only worship very specific idols, there is
no real concern. Unless we buy an actual
idol, no one will think that the sculptures
we buy are used for idolatry. Therefore,
it should be permissible to own such art.
(Additionally, no one will think that you
made a doll that was clearly manufactured
in a factory.)
It is hard to dismiss a rabbinic prohibition
just because the reason no longer applies.
It is never quite clear when, if ever, the

prohibition loses its force. However, in this
case, eminent halachic authorities follow this
approach. Rav Avraham Danziger (19th cen.,
Lithuania; Chochmas Adam 86:6) and Rav
Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin (Netziv; 19th
cen., Russia; Responsa Meishiv Davar, vol.
2, no. 11 and Ha’amek She’eilah 57:3) both
explicitly say that it is permissible to own
full-body human sculptures bought from a
store. This logic would also apply to a Barbie
doll.
IV. Strict Approach
However, many authorities are
uncomfortable with these leniencies. They
recommend defacing any dolls or sculptures
by removing a nose or ear. In this way, you
can still have your sculpture while completely
avoiding the prohibition. For example, Rav

Shmuel Wosner (21st cen., Israel; Shevet Ha-
Levi, vol. 7, no. 134, par. 1) says that it is

obvious that one may not own a doll because
of the prohibition. Therefore, you must
deface it if you want to keep it. Similarly, Rav
Moshe Sternbuch (cont., Israel; Teshuvos
Ve-Hanhagos 1:804) says that while some

authorities are lenient, someone who is God-
fearing will follow the strict view and deface

a doll or sculpture.
In conclusion, opinions about dolls range
from one end to the other. Some authorities
believe that the prohibition does not apply
today to anything that is not an actual idol.
Others find an exemption for toys. Yet others
believe we should be strict. My experience
indicates that the general custom is to be
lenient about toys but everyone should
ask their own rabbi. Of course, even if it is
permissible to have a Barbie doll, that does
not mean it is advisable.