Haredi Dolls Show Boys Learning, Girls Serving

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
It’s not even Shavuot, but if you’re already worrying about what to give the Haredi children in your life for Hanukkah, not to worry: Mitzvah Kinder dolls are here. As reported recently on Failed Messiah, the little plastic figurines come pre-labeled with various tasks for boys and girls, Totty [Daddy] and Mama. In one set of the plastic series, Totty “learns Torah,” little boy Tuli “learns with Totty,” and little girl Faigy “serves Totty and Tuli.”
In the “Seforim (Book) Room” set, Tuli sits on a chair holding a book, just like his Totty. And Faigy holds a tray, ever at the ready to serve. At least women are part of this Mitzvah Kinder “shul set,” replete, sigh, with plastic mechitzahs.
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