The children-parenting tag has no wiki summary.
21
votes
4answers
1k views
Are children adopted by Jews Jewish?
I was adopted around the time I was three months old by my parents who are both Jewish. I do not know what religion my biological mother was, in fact I have very little detail about her at all. I was ...
17
votes
4answers
331 views
How does one explain God to little kids?
As I understand it, the ability to understand abstract concepts develops gradually in kids and is certainly not all there when they first start having conversations. This comes into play when kids ...
15
votes
1answer
225 views
Is a convert obliged to honor his parents?
Is a convert obliged to honor his parents? I understand that a convert loses all halakhic relationship to his parents upon being "reborn." Therefore, does the mitzvah of kibud av va'eim still apply?
15
votes
2answers
501 views
If a woman converts to Judaism while pregnant, will her child be a Jew?
If a woman converts to Judaism while pregnant, will her child be a Jew once born?
15
votes
1answer
309 views
Blessing the Children on Friday Night
I have noticed that many families (including my own) have the custom for the father to bless all the children on Friday night before kiddush.
When and where did this custom originate, and by whom, ...
14
votes
3answers
186 views
The Mitzva of Peru U'Revu (Reproduction) - when does it start?
The first commandment in the Torah is Peru U'Revu, the commandment to "be fruitful and multiply" (Bereshit 1:28).
When does the obligation to fulfill this commandment begin?
Does the Mitzva of Peru ...
13
votes
6answers
350 views
Height of a mezuzah and children:
If a child cannot reach the upper third of the doorway and he is the primary occupant of said room, may the mezuzah be affixed lower than the upper third?
12
votes
5answers
262 views
How do you motivate a teen who has no interest in Davening?
Recently I met a 13-year-old who simply has no interest in Davening (praying). What would be a way of motivating such a kid to Daven?
12
votes
3answers
226 views
Are parents responsible if their children damage in a store?
If a parent brings a child (defined as under 13 for a boy and under 12 for a girl) into a store, and that child damages an item, is the parent responsible to pay?
Would it matter if the child simply ...
12
votes
2answers
579 views
Does a fathers obligation to teach his sons a parnassah extend to his daughters too?
A father has an obligation to teach his sons Torah, a parnassah and to swim. To what extent do these obligations extend to his daughters too?
(edited to include my explanation from the comments)
As ...
12
votes
2answers
151 views
Why isn't Peru URvu one of the 7 Noahide Laws?
The commandment to "Be fruitful and multiply" was given to Adam HaRishon. Why, then, is this not included in the Sheva' Mitzvoth Bnei Noaḥ?
11
votes
2answers
474 views
Giving gifts to non-Jews at Christmastime
Is it okay at Christmastime to give a gift to a boss or for kids to give gifts to teachers if they are not Jewish?
11
votes
1answer
104 views
At what age should we start teaching the distinction between Midrash and Text?
At a very early age children learn the history of the world and the Jews through the enthralling stories found in many varied sources.
They learn that the world was created in six days; that ...
11
votes
2answers
136 views
Promised to name son Shimon - now husband is Shimon!?
A woman who desperately wanted to get married traveled to Meron, the burial place of Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai, and vowed that if she found her match, she would name her first son Shimon in his merit. ...
10
votes
3answers
392 views
Infant seeing reflection in mirror
I have heard that some people do not allow a child to see his or her reflection in a mirror before they can speak (or say their name, possibly). Is there any traditional source for this practice?
10
votes
3answers
168 views
Can a single-parent father be exempt from time-bound mitzvot?
Rabbis such as Abudraham have explained a woman's exemption from positive time-bound commandments (mitzvot shehazman grama) in terms of a woman's ongoing and preliminary role in supporting her ...
10
votes
1answer
182 views
Does a child own what he's implicitly given by his parents?
I assume that when a parent owns an object and a child uses it, it remains the property of the parent's absent any intent/declaration on the parent's part to grant it to the child (and absent an act ...
9
votes
1answer
129 views
How does Judaism regard homeschooling?
The title quite says it. I'm specifically more interested in unschooling....
It is said in Ktubot, 50:b, that:
אמר רב יצחק באושא התקינו שיהא אדם מתגלגל עם בנו עד שתים עשרה שנה מכאן
ואילך יורד ...
9
votes
3answers
312 views
Is it okay to enjoy Christmas lights?
My daughter is always talking about how she hates everything Christmas, including the lights on the houses. I am trying to encourage her that she can like non religious things like the lights, so ...
9
votes
1answer
214 views
Honor thy children?
What responsibility do parents have to their children vis a vis Kavod? General Kavod HaBerioth? Some level of relational Kavod like spouses have or like children have to their parents, only to a ...
8
votes
2answers
123 views
Mitzvah for fathers to buy things for dating-age daughters?
I heard that men whose daughters are dating have a mitzvah to supply them with things that will help them, i.e. dresses, jewelry, etc. Is there a source for this?
8
votes
1answer
188 views
Religiously sensitive guidance on when to tell your child about human reproduction
A boy in cheder who has no internet at home, no tv, etc, is not exposed to human reproduction in the way that others are. It's therefore up to the parents to explain to him how children are born. ...
8
votes
3answers
254 views
Is it permissible to name one's child with a name from the opposite gender?
Is a person allowed to name a boy with a girl's name and vice versa?
I remember seeing that one musn't, although in Nach one finds these things a lot.
I understand it is not best practice for ...
8
votes
1answer
176 views
Who should walk the Chosson and Kallah to the Chupa?
At the Chuppah in some weddings I've been to, the father and father-in-law escort the Chosson and the mother and mother-in-law escort the Kallah. In others, the mother and fathers each escort their ...
7
votes
5answers
190 views
Are there unforgiveable sins?
If parents have committed atrocious sins against their children such as incest, physical abuse, drugging, etc. is it considered an unforgiveable sin?
7
votes
2answers
227 views
Naming your child using a dead relative's initial
Is there a Jewish tradition of naming your child using the first letter of the name of a recently deceased relative?
7
votes
1answer
75 views
Where/when/how/why did flags become part of Simchas Torah celebrations?
Kids today all know that they have flags when dancing on Simchas Torah.
How, when, where, and/or why did the flags originate? (Someone decided it was fun, and then it caught on?) What pictures were ...
7
votes
3answers
204 views
Is Ferberization okay?
Is there anything objectionable (in terms of halacha, hashkafa and middos) to using the Ferber method for training an infant to fall asleep on its own? There is an element of cruelty, and the ultimate ...
7
votes
3answers
186 views
Can a grandparent name a child differently than the parents?
We all know that Moshe Rabeinu had 7 names and was called Moshe which was the name Basya gave him. Recently I was in a Shul and there was a fellow there that had a grandaughter the previous week. The ...
6
votes
3answers
366 views
Baby boy's MOTHER as the sandek(et)
I have recently come upon historical evidence of the mothers of baby boys serving as the sandek(et) during the brit milah.
From page 18 of The Orthodox Jewish Woman and Ritual: Options and ...
6
votes
1answer
74 views
Why does Yisro tell Moshe that he came with Moshe's wife “and her sons” rather than “your sons”?
At Exodus 18:6, Moshe's father-in-law, Yisro, tells Moshe that he had come with Moshe's wife and "her sons." Why didn't he say to Moshe that she had come with "your sons"?
6
votes
2answers
100 views
Most children in sefer B'reishit are named by women or God; why does Yehudah name Er?
I noticed in B'reishit 38 that Yehudah names his first son Er, but his wife bat Shua names the other two. Yaakov's wives name all of their children (except that Yaakov changes Ben-oni to Binyanim). ...
6
votes
3answers
183 views
Did anointed kings of Israel have contact with their parents?
This answer to another question makes me wonder: Did anointed kings of Israel have any contact with their parents? David was dead when Shlomo succeeded him, and Shlomo ruled until his own death. But ...
6
votes
1answer
8k views
How many children did King Solomon have?
King Solomon [1 Kings 11 (4)] “had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines;”
How many children did he have? Three. The question is referred to at ...
6
votes
1answer
61 views
“There is a son born to Naomi”? But it's a grandson — what's up with that?
In chapter 4 of Rut, after Boaz performs yibum with Rut and she bears a son, it says:
וַתִּקְרֶאנָה לוֹ הַשְּׁכֵנוֹת שֵׁם לֵאמֹר, יֻלַּד-בֵּן לְנָעֳמִי; וַתִּקְרֶאנָה שְׁמוֹ עוֹבֵד, הוּא ...
6
votes
3answers
247 views
Bringing little girls into the men's section in Shul
It has become the norm in mosts shuls I've been to, that fathers bring little girls into the men's section of synagogues on Shabbos and Yom Tov.
Until what age should girls still be allowed to ...
6
votes
1answer
73 views
If a father has to carry his sons aveiros why not his mitzvos?
If a father must carry the sins & punishments of his son (under bar mitzva) as we know he does from the brocha of "Baruch Shepatrani Meonshin shel zeh" does he — and if not, why doesn't he — ...
6
votes
2answers
262 views
Help with Tosfot “v'HaAmar R. Yochanan” on Brachot 5b
The Gmara on Brachot 5b quotes R. Yochanon:
R. Yochanan says: Leprosy and children are not chastisements of
love.
The Gmara later questions this statement:
But is children not a
...
6
votes
1answer
150 views
Is there a source for not buying things for a baby before it is born?
Is there any source for the custom to not buy things for a baby before it is born? I have heard that the reason is due to averting ayin hara, but I would like to know if there is any recorded source ...
5
votes
2answers
135 views
Double portion for firstborn
I need to designate beneficiaries for a life insurance plan. I've designated my wife as the primary beneficiary and my children as contingent beneficiaries. My son is a firstborn and he has two ...
5
votes
2answers
65 views
Saying Baruch Shepatrani for a girl
Do you say Boruch Shepatrani for a girl at her Bas Mitzva? If not, why not?
5
votes
2answers
234 views
If a convert's parents convert to Judaism, do they become his halachic parents?
If a convert's parents convert to Judaism, do they become his halachic parents? I understand that a ger is thought to be "reborn" upon conversion to Judaism; therefore, his birth parents are not ...
5
votes
1answer
103 views
Name of adoptive father in the Ketubah
I know that an adoptive parents is considered as a real parent. But normally the adoptive parents raises the child from a very young age, in this case it is different.
A Jewish father bring up his son ...
5
votes
4answers
143 views
Ditch school: stealing?
If your parents pay for you to go to school and you ditch, is that stealing?
5
votes
1answer
100 views
Is a child born to a kidnapper also considered kidnapped?
According to Torah law if a man kidnaps a woman and has a child with her is that child now considered kidnapped as well? The question being has the man now violated the prohibition of kidnapping ...
5
votes
1answer
36 views
Do reward tokens qualify halachically as money?
I give my children special slips of paper as a reward for good behavior (a "token economy"). They can collect these slips of paper and use them to "buy" rewards such as toys, treats, or fun ...
4
votes
4answers
411 views
Matrilineal Descent
I have heard that matrilineal descent (i.e. having Judaism passed down through the mother) comes from the Roman period when women were raped by Roman soldiers and the babies were then said to be ...
4
votes
7answers
576 views
How can God be just in light of Deuteronomy 23:3?
Deuteronomy 23:3: A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of the
LORD; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the
assembly of the LORD.
I asked a similar question here ...
4
votes
2answers
153 views
Children attending a parent's wedding
Recently a relative of mine who is a widow got engaged. The children were told that the Minhag is that children do not attend a wedding of their parents. What is the source of this Minhag? What is the ...
4
votes
2answers
97 views
How can I make my Judaism more enjoyable?
I really enjoy being Jewish, most of the time, but let's be honest, sometimes it can be difficult to enjoy Judaism. Sometimes it's the little things, like having to wait those extra minutes to eat ...
