Q&A: Carrying a Small Child in a Public Domain
Carrying a Small Child in a Public Domain
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Is it permitted to carry a child who has already learned to walk on his own in a public domain?
In addition, if the child is carrying something in his pocket or in his hand, is it still permitted to carry him then (since in practice the carrying is being done by the child)?
Also, is a hair clip or a hair elastic considered like an item of clothing? Or is that forbidden to carry?
Best regards,
Answer
Strictly speaking, a living being carries itself, and therefore with regard to a minor who knows how to walk, there is no Torah-level prohibition in carrying him in a public domain. But the Sages prohibited this rabbinically (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 308:41). However, in a domain where the prohibition of carrying is only rabbinic, some halakhic authorities were lenient and permitted it even ab initio (see Rabbi Akiva Eger, responsa no. 28, who cites the dispute and concludes, in accordance with most authorities, that it is proper to be stringent).
In a pressing situation, for example when there is road construction and it is dangerous, or when the child is crying, several halakhic authorities wrote that this is permitted (the rabbinic decree did not apply).
Assuming it is permitted to carry the child, then whatever is in his pockets is permitted, because the child carries himself and he is carrying the object. But when it is forbidden to carry the child, it is also forbidden to carry the object in his pockets.
A hair clip or hair elastic is considered clothing.
Discussion on Answer
This requires analysis. Maybe because he did nothing, the act would be attributed to me. Like directly causing someone to consume something forbidden.
So why did you write regarding a child that it is permitted to carry him together with what is in his pockets? After all, direct causing would seem relevant there too.
When the minor himself carries it, that is not a prohibition because he is a minor. Therefore there is room for the reasoning that directly causing it for him is not a prohibition. But maybe you are right.
Following up on this question, regarding what you wrote here:
“Assuming it is permitted to carry the child, then whatever is in his pockets is permitted, because the child carries himself and he is carrying the object”
Does this mean that one could also carry an adult who is holding something in his hand on the Sabbath in a Torah-level public domain, such that the prohibition of transferring would fall on him as well even in a case where he himself did nothing? That is, he was completely passive.