Young Girls and Their Dolls in Judaism

Dolls were popular toys, especially of young girls, from ancient until modern times and it is hard to see why Jewish girls would not have had them or played with them. Yet, and as opposed to other types of toys, they are not mentioned in Talmudic sources, and not found in Jewish archaeological settings, including funerary ones. Talmudic sources tend to mention toys with halakhic problems so perhaps then dolls at that time did not arouse halakhic opposition. However, not finding them in an archaeological setting may reflect a Jewish awareness of the dual role of dolls in Graeco-Roman society, as toys and as votive objects, and the dangers implicit in their votive nature there. In Jewish sources, they are mentioned for the first time in the Middle Ages and by this time there certainly would have been an awareness of the votive nature of some dolls that continued in Christian society and the halakhic problems involved. The problems were defined as relating to idolatry, but there was also an awareness that the dolls were not classic idolatry. This led to a willingness among certain halakhic authorities to be lenient.