Educating a Child Not to Eat Before Kiddush
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Question
Is there a commandment of education not to allow an 11-year-old child to eat before prayer or Kiddush, and is it permissible to give food directly to them, or is it prohibited?
Answer
It is permissible to give them food directly, and there is no commandment of education regarding permissible eating during a time of prohibition, as this is their growth.
Source
Mishnah Berurah, Siman 106: "Nevertheless, it is permissible to give them food before the morning prayer, and it is forbidden to cause them distress, as written in Simanim 269 and 343 regarding feeding them before Kiddush."
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, Siman 269, Se'if 1: "It is customary to make Kiddush in the synagogue, and the one who makes Kiddush should not taste the Kiddush wine, but give it to a child, as Kiddush must be in the place of a meal."
Mishnah Berurah, Siman 269, Subparagraph 1: "There is an opinion that one should be careful to give only to a child who has not reached the age of education, but the Magen Avraham writes in the name of the authorities that it is permissible to give even to a child who has reached the age of education (i.e., already six or seven years old, depending on his sharpness). On the contrary, if one gives only to a child who has not reached the age of education, the blessing of the one who blesses will be in vain, as he has not reached the age to be educated in the blessing. And even according to what is explained later in Siman 343, that it is forbidden to feed a child even things forbidden by rabbinic decree, here it is permitted for several reasons, see Magen Avraham. And it is also permitted to feed children on Shabbat morning before Kiddush, and it is forbidden to cause them distress."
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, Siman 269, Se'if 1: "It is customary to make Kiddush in the synagogue, and the one who makes Kiddush should not taste the Kiddush wine, but give it to a child, as Kiddush must be in the place of a meal."
Mishnah Berurah, Siman 269, Subparagraph 1: "There is an opinion that one should be careful to give only to a child who has not reached the age of education, but the Magen Avraham writes in the name of the authorities that it is permissible to give even to a child who has reached the age of education (i.e., already six or seven years old, depending on his sharpness). On the contrary, if one gives only to a child who has not reached the age of education, the blessing of the one who blesses will be in vain, as he has not reached the age to be educated in the blessing. And even according to what is explained later in Siman 343, that it is forbidden to feed a child even things forbidden by rabbinic decree, here it is permitted for several reasons, see Magen Avraham. And it is also permitted to feed children on Shabbat morning before Kiddush, and it is forbidden to cause them distress."
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