Chinuch: Difference between revisions
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Chinuch (Hebrew:חינוך | Chinuch (Hebrew: חינוך, tran. ''education'') is the obligation upon every father to educate his children how to fulfill mitzvot. This mitzvah applies even before his children reach the age of [[Bar Mitzvah]]/[[Bat Mitzvah]]. The age at which this obligation begins varies according to the Mitzvah. Below are the details of this Mitzvah | ||
==D’Orayta or D’Rabanan?== | ==D’Orayta or D’Rabanan?== | ||
The Mitzvah of Chinuch - to teach Torah to our children - is clearly a Mitzvah D’Orayta as explicitly stated: V’shinantam L’vanecha.<ref>Devarim 6 pasuk 7</ref> However, is the Mitzvah of chinuch - to instruct children to begin performing Mitzvot before they are of the age of Mitzvot - a mitzva D’Orayata or D’Rabanan? | The Mitzvah of Chinuch - to teach Torah to our children - is clearly a Mitzvah D’Orayta as explicitly stated: V’shinantam L’vanecha.<ref>Devarim 6 pasuk 7</ref> However, is the Mitzvah of chinuch - to instruct children to begin performing Mitzvot before they are of the age of Mitzvot - a mitzva D’Orayata or D’Rabanan? | ||
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#Some examples of cases of chinuch are with a lulav and with tzitzit. While the obligation of chinuch is only fulfilled if you give your child a perfectly kosher lulav and pair of tzitzit, you don’t have to give your child lulav hadar. In addition, you also don’t have to teach your child to have kavanah while performing the mitzvah. From this, we can infer that while it is important to teach your child to not perform the mitzvah in a non-kosher way, it is also not necessary to make your child fully enthralled in all aspects of the mitzvah.<ref>Fine, D. "The Mitzvah of Chinuch Explored." Shortvort. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.</ref> | #Some examples of cases of chinuch are with a lulav and with tzitzit. While the obligation of chinuch is only fulfilled if you give your child a perfectly kosher lulav and pair of tzitzit, you don’t have to give your child lulav hadar. In addition, you also don’t have to teach your child to have kavanah while performing the mitzvah. From this, we can infer that while it is important to teach your child to not perform the mitzvah in a non-kosher way, it is also not necessary to make your child fully enthralled in all aspects of the mitzvah.<ref>Fine, D. "The Mitzvah of Chinuch Explored." Shortvort. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.</ref> | ||
#There is a dispute whether a father fulfills his obligation when letting his child use a borrowed lulav for sukkot.<ref>Mishna Brurah 628:28</ref> This question revolves around whether the nature of the obligation of chinuch was to train the child to do mitzvot when he gets older in which case it would suffice or was it that the rabbis imposed an obligation upon the child to do mitzvot before he becomes | #There is a dispute whether a father fulfills his obligation when letting his child use a borrowed lulav for sukkot.<ref>Mishna Brurah 628:28</ref> This question revolves around whether the nature of the obligation of chinuch was to train the child to do mitzvot when he gets older in which case it would suffice or was it that the rabbis imposed an obligation upon the child to do mitzvot before he becomes biblically obligated.<ref>Rav Moshe Feinstein in Igrot Moshe YD 1:224. See Ritva (Sukkah 2b s.v. amar rabbi yehuda) who says that a sukkah above 20 amot is invalid for chinuch and concludes that the mitzvah of chinuch has to be fulfilled in a complete fashion.</ref> | ||
==Until When?== | ==Until When?== | ||
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===Melacha on Shabbat=== | ===Melacha on Shabbat=== | ||
#On Shabbat, a parent cannot tell a kid to do melacha.<ref>Shabbat 121a, Shulchan Aruch O.C. 343:1</ref> This is a biblical prohibition.<ref>Shemot 20:10, Mechilta there, Ramban Sefer Hamitzvot shoresh 14, Rashba Shabbat 153a, Mishkenot Yakov OC 118, Shaar Hatziyun 334:54</ref> | |||
#On Shabbat, a parent cannot tell a kid to do melacha.<ref>Shabbat 121a, Shulchan Aruch O.C. 343:1</ref> This is a | |||
#According to one opinion, you can have a child do melacha for you if it is only an issur derabanan<ref>Turei Zahav as cited in A Parent's Guide to Teaching Children Mitzvot: A Halachic Guide By: Samuel Singer</ref> According to most opinions you may not ask a child to do a melacha for you under any circumstances even melacha derabanan.<ref>Shulchan Aruch O.C. 343:1, A Parent's Guide to Teaching Children Mitzvot: A Halachic Guide By: Samuel Singer </ref> | #According to one opinion, you can have a child do melacha for you if it is only an issur derabanan<ref>Turei Zahav as cited in A Parent's Guide to Teaching Children Mitzvot: A Halachic Guide By: Samuel Singer</ref> According to most opinions you may not ask a child to do a melacha for you under any circumstances even melacha derabanan.<ref>Shulchan Aruch O.C. 343:1, A Parent's Guide to Teaching Children Mitzvot: A Halachic Guide By: Samuel Singer </ref> | ||
#Even though one cannot ask a child to do melacha, if a young child is playing with a toy that makes noise on shabbat, you don’t have to tell the kid to stop if he is too young to understand the laws of shabbat <ref>Yevamot 114a, A Parent's Guide to Teaching Children Mitzvot: A Halachic Guide By: Samuel Singer </ref> | #Even though one cannot ask a child to do melacha, if a young child is playing with a toy that makes noise on shabbat, you don’t have to tell the kid to stop if he is too young to understand the laws of shabbat <ref>Yevamot 114a, A Parent's Guide to Teaching Children Mitzvot: A Halachic Guide By: Samuel Singer </ref> | ||
#But, if a kid is old enough to understand which actions are forbidden and which are allowed to do on Shabbat, then you must stop him from doing melacha based on Chinuch.<ref>Rama O.C. 343:1. A Parent's Guide to Teaching Children Mitzvot: A Halachic Guide By: Samuel Singer </ref> | #But, if a kid is old enough to understand which actions are forbidden and which are allowed to do on Shabbat, then you must stop him from doing melacha based on Chinuch.<ref>Rama O.C. 343:1. A Parent's Guide to Teaching Children Mitzvot: A Halachic Guide By: Samuel Singer </ref> Even if he doesn't understand the positive essence of Shabbat as long as he can understand that certain things are forbidden for Jews they should be trained not to do it.<ref>Mishna Brurah 343:3, Chinuch Habanim Kehilchato 44:8</ref> Some say that this begins from age 2 or 3, some say 3 or 4, and some say 4 or 5.<ref>Pitchei Teshuva 343:7 writes that the age for understanding that certain things are forbidden is age 3. Chinuch Habanim Kehilchato 44:9 quotes Chinuch Habanim Lmitzvot of Rav Neuwirth n. 38 as saying it is 2 or 3 years old, Az Nidbaru 6:57 says it is not below 3 unless he's smart. Hatipul Btinok Bshabbat Vyom tov ch. 17 says it is age 3 or 4. Lastly, he cites the Yavetz (Migdal Oz 3) who says that it is 4 or 5 years old.</ref> | ||
==Holidays== | ==Holidays== | ||
