When I started my Etsy Judaica shop as an unemployed newlywed in 2014, I had no idea that “miniature books” would eventually be an entire category in my product line. But in 2017, I got a message from a past buyer: “Do you have a set of Tanya or the Talmud in 1:12 scale please? Any other Judaica?”

I didn’t, but I love Jewish books and I have always loved miniatures, so I figured, why not me?

It took a couple years for me to work out the specifics, but I ended up creating over 80 pieces of 12+ different books for her, including multiple sets of Talmud volumes, a set of Midrash Rabbah, a JPS Tanakh, an Etz Hayim Humash (see also: Eitz Chayim Chumash), Passover haggadahs, the Five Megillot, B’Kol Echad benchers, and, yes, a five-volume set of Tanya (not yet posted for general sale, but if you’re looking for one, hit me up).

I had never made miniature books before, but with some experimentation, I figured out the right materials: laser-printed paper covers glued with Mod Podge® around a small block of standard 3/16″ foamboard, or for the thinner books, an even smaller chip of adhesive-backed 2mm soft foam. The soft foam can be cut to size with scissors; the foamcore board requires an X-acto knife or, as shown in the gallery above, a specialty rotary cutter.

To create most of the covers, I scoured publisher websites for hi-res cover images, then placed them into a mockup at 1:12 scale using Adobe InDesign. In the case of the red or blue Talmud volumes, I made up the cover layouts entirely from scratch (complete with SYJ logo on the backs). In the case of the facsimile Goldman Talmud set, I photographed the originals from my synagogue library and compiled them over many hours, but that’s a story for its own post.

The best seller by far of my miniature Judaica line is the facsimile miniature CCAR Haggadah. As most readers will know, the Passover Haggadah is the special book used two nights a year at the Passover seder, and one of the most iconic versions is the Reform one published in 1974 by the Central Conference of American Rabbis, with watercolor illustrations by Leonard Baskin, better known as a sculptor and printmaker. Passover is coming soon to a dollhouse near you, so stock up now!

Most of the reaction to these little books has been highly positive. Mind you, I did actually get a piece of hate mail once: a lady in New Jersey who had received her order of haggadahs mailed them back with an angry note 2 paragraphs long, mounted into a pretty watercolor notecard (!), basically accusing me of fraud for “misrepresentation of symbols… of our people’s liberation from bondage… a serious infraction of trust”. (Naturally I credited her back right away, as I would for any returned item, no questions asked.) And I have learned that if I get orders for Talmud sets from what appear to be young men in Brooklyn or Monsey, NY, I need to message them first saying “please confirm you understand these are dollhouse miniatures and not openable books”, even though the item description includes that exact sentence, because sometimes they go “oh, nvm please cancel”. #smh

But for the right niche audience, these tiny Jewish books are the perfect decorative addition. If there’s a Jewish book you would like to have in miniature, I take custom commissions, so please reach out.

PS: Coming soon: print-it-yourself covers so you, too, can have Fun With Mod Podge®!