- Telling a child to transgress a prohibition:[1]
It is [Biblically[2]] forbidden for any person to tell any child to eat non-Kosher food [or transgress Shabbos[3] or any other prohibition[4]], even if the child is completely below the age of understanding, [such as a mere one-day old infant]. It is forbidden to even ask a child to transgress a Rabbinical prohibition, with exception to the cases to be explained.[5]
[1] Admur 343:5 “It is forbidden for any Jew to instruct a non‑Jew to feed the child prohibited items, since instructing a non‑Jew (amira lenochri) is forbidden with regard to all Torah prohibitions—and certainly one may not instruct the child himself to do so.”; So rule regarding even Amirah Lenachri, and certainly this would apply even more so to instructing the child directly: M”A 343:2; Rashi Yevamos 114a; Rabbeinu Yerucham Nesiv 1 p. 13; Rashba Shabbos 153; Ran Shabbos 153; Tehila Ledavid 343:7; P”M 343 M”Z 1; Mishneh Berura 343:4; See Piskeiy Teshuvos 343:3; Kovetz Iyunim Tiferes Shimshon 3 p. 150
[2] Rashba Shabbos 153; Ran Shabbos 153; Shiltei Giborim Tehila Ledavid 343:7; P”M ibid; M”B 343:4 “And this matter is prohibited by the Torah…And behold, from these three commandments we learn for the entire Torah that with respect to all Torah prohibitions, it is forbidden to feed them [to minors] or to command them to transgress.”; See Kovetz Iyunim Tiferes Shimshon 3 p. 150
Other opinions: Some Poskim rule that this prohibition is only Rabbinical. [Mishneh Lemelech in name of Rashba, brought and negated in Tehila Ledavid ibid]
Opinion of Admur: It is not clear from Admur whether the prohibition he mentions against instructing a child to perform a prohibited act is biblical or rabbinic. On the one hand, Admur discusses this prohibition toward the end of the halakhah in the context of Amirah Lenachri, which suggests that instructing a child may itself be only rabbinically prohibited. This would imply that the biblical prohibition applies specifically to actively feeding a child a forbidden substance. This reading is further supported by siman 265:10, where Admur does not indicate that a biblical prohibition is involved in simply telling a child to carry a wallet or money from place to place and refers consitantly to a case in which the wallet was placed onto the child. This approach appears to follow those authorities who maintain that instructing a child is prohibited only on a rabbinic level, whereas the biblical prohibition is limited to directly causing the child to consume or perform the prohibited matter. Vetzarcuh Iyun! See Kovetz Iyunim Tiferes Shimshon 3 p. 150
[3] Admur 265:10; In Admur 343:5 the Halacha is referring to telling a child to eat non-Kosher. The Ketzos Hashulchan 147:3 adds that this includes telling a child to desecrate Shabbos. This is explicitly stated by Admur in 265:10; VeTzaruch Iyun based on this from 328:13 that implies that asking a child to transgress Shabbos in a case of danger is better than having an adult do it, hence implying there is no Biblical prohibition involved in asking him! A. Perhaps one can say that the Issur in asking a child is not in having him do the transgression but in asking him to do something which he is not allowed to do. However, in a case of danger since even a Jew may do so, asking the child is not forbidden at all, and hence there is no prohibition at all taking place, as the child is not commanded in Mitzvos and the adult was allowed to ask him. If, however, an adult transgresses, then although it is allowed and a Mitzvah, it is merely Dechuyah and is like the mashal of an amputation. Hence the advantage of asking a child is that it goes from dechuyah or Hutrah
[4] Mishneh Berura 343:4; Rishonim and Poskim ibid
[5] Admur 343:8
