About That American Jewish Girl...

Needless to say, I was elated to see that American Girl made a Russian Jewish doll. But what struck me when I examined the photo of the doll in Sunday Styles of New York Times was that she seemed average. Maybe I've been hanging out with so many Jews that they all look like to me. Then I looked again at her clothes. It was a dark red wool dress with black trim and gold buttons. She had a pair of button up shoes. Then I read the article. The review was good with a couple of critiques from historians, including Paula Hyman at Yale (She specializes in women's history, particularly American Jewish, as well as western European Jewish history). Sure, the author was off with the dating of when Jewish men had to be drafted into the Russian army. But for crying out loud, I thought, girls weren't going to pay much attention to that kind of detail.

My cousin, Ella, was elated to see it. She's got a fairly strong Jewish identity so it's apparent that she was aware of the dolls' identities. Certainly, neither one of us will get Rebecca Rubin any time soon since she's on our list of "want", not "need". I haven't had a chance to talk with her more about this.

I'll tell you, this girl will make an impact on little Jewish girls. I was acutely aware of my status as a minority as a Jew and I looked up to these dolls as examples. Not one was Jewish and they all celebrated Christmas. When they came out with Girl of Today collection where girls could choose a doll to look like them and everything else would reflect the current times, I was excited. But I had never thought to make my doll Jewish for that I named her Jane Elizabeth. When they came out with a holiday collection, not only they had stuff for Christmas but Chanukkah, Kwanazaa, and Chinese New Year. The outfit and accessories for Chanukkah were gorgeous. But I can't remember at this moment how much I wanted it. I did end up winning the set at an American Girl event in a raffle. When I first put it all on Jane, a little bit of me felt slight discomfort, in almost what should be a good way. Suddenly she was Jewish, with that Star of David necklace. But she didn't have a Jewish name. I didn't want to change it. Nevertheless, I took pride in having that set and lit the menorah for her. It felt more like an obligation, really.

It was also around the time when I was conflicted with my own identities. To see American Girl put out some Jewish stuff seemed to validate the reality of Judaism. If they suggest that my doll could be Jewish, then so be it. I took pride in dressing her in that outfit every late fall to prepare for the holidays. Somehow, that name, "Jane Elizabeth" just seemed so un-Jewish. Eventually, I got over it as I continued on my journey to find my own Jewish identity through culture. If American Girl can put out a set for Jewish girls, then it must be okay to be Jewish. And that "okay-ness" didn't even come from my rabbis or the synagogue!

So back to Rebecca Rubin, if American Girl can tell a whole story about being Jewish with common themes of bubbe, matzoh ball soup, Shabbat candles, and holidays, then little Jewish girls can take pride in their heritage. It's the point of these American Girl dolls- for girls of different backgrounds to be proud of being Americans and their family history given that many of the dolls came from immigrant backgrounds. The fictional characters talk about challenges of maintaining their family traditions, friendships with other kids who their parents might not approve of, and their own individual identity in the times of changes. That said, sure, it could be interesting if we changed Rebecca's date from 1914 to 1967 but the issue would be too complicated for little girls to understand. Keep it simple, keep what their praents and grandparents might have taught them already about being Jewish.

Even if the company overprices its products and hypes up the marketing, it's the stories that matter the most. So therefore, when Rebecca's stories hit my local library, I will be reading them.

For real.