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725. The Mitzvah of Chinuch: Is elementary education enough?

May a child sit in a sukkah that isn’t kosher?

According to most poskim, the halachic obligation of chinuch (education) is that the katan (minor) perform the critical requirements of a mitzvah to the extent that a gadol (adult) would—and not just be provided with general exposure to the concept of mitzvos. The mitzvah of chinuch entails training a katan to practice as a gadol, since the parameters and details are essential to their eventual mandatory performance.

Therefore, a parent who sits their child down for a meal in a pasul (non-kosher) sukkah (or one that is covered with an awning) is not fulfilling the mitzvah of chinuch with regard to sukkah.

Should a child shake a lulav the first day of Sukkos?

Regarding the mitzvah of arba’as ha’minim (the Four Kinds [requiring a blessing on Sukkos]), the Torah states: U’lekachtem lachem (take for yourselves), which halachah interprets as an imperative to own the arba minim with which we fulfill the mitzvah on the first day of Sukkos. When giving our arba minim to someone else to use on the first day (and outside Eretz Yisroel—on the second day, as well), we specify that we are giving it as a matanah al menas lehachzir (a gift on condition of returning it).

It is a halachic issue for an adult to give a katan their arba minim before performing the mitzvah themselves, because a katan cannot be makneh (transfer ownership); once the child acquires the arba minim (if already of age to halachically acquire them), they cannot properly return it to the original owner. This would especially apply on the first day of Yom Tov outside Eretz Yisroel, when the parent must again fulfill the mitzvah on the second day with their own set of arba’as ha’minim. It is therefore recommended that a child have their own kosher set on which to make the brachah. (On the rest of Yom Tov, when shaking the lulav is only a Rabbinic tradition, it need not be “lachem”—so ownership is not an issue.)

When a parent’s arba’as ha’minim cannot be given to the katan as a gift—and therefore the katan cannot properly fulfill the mitzvah of arba’as ha’minim—should they still borrow a lulav and shake it on the first day of Sukkos? Some poskim maintain that chinuch is fulfilled even by a katan shaking a borrowed lulav. A possible explanation as to why this is considered chinuch even when the mitzvah is not done properly: when a child cannot fulfill a mitzvah in all its details due to their age, it is still considered viable chinuch to school them in the way they are able to perform it.

A child using borrowed arbah minim is similar to the classic example brought by the Turei Aven: mitzvos require kavannah (intent), but young children are not capable of proper kavannah, so how can they perform mitzvos? Nevertheless, parents are obligated to teach them to perform all mitzvos. Poskim explain that this is possible since the limitations on the mitzvah are due to their age and not outside factors.

There are additional grounds for applying chinuch to a child’s brachah on arba’as ha’minim. A pasul sukkah, or one that is not open to the sky (as in the first example), is not considered a sukkah at all. However, unlike a non-kosher sukkah, the prohibition of using borrowed arba minim is not a blight on the cheftza ([mitzvah] object) itself; it is a halachic condition for the gavra (the person [performing the mitzvah]) at a certain time, with no impact on the essential mitzvah. A child can make a brachah on the lulav on the first day of Yom Tov in the same way that adults do so for the rest of sukkos.

Halacha #725: The Mitzvah of Chinuch: Is elementary education enough?