Can Kids Check Eggs for Blood Spots?
Question:
My kids under Bar/Bas Mitzvah, know how to make themselves fried eggs or other simple things in the kitchen, are they allowed to check the eggs themselves? If yes, is that OK for an adult to eat from it or only for them to eat?
Answer:
They are allowed to check eggs, even for adults, as long as the child is a bar da’as (capable of understanding), a level of maturity that is attained at around the age of nine. The reason is explained in the article below:
Halacha2go.com article #770:
Is a child to be trusted to check vegetables for insects?
Eid echad ne’eman b’issurin (one witness is believed with regard to prohibited substances); a single adult1 is trusted when it comes to the status of toiveled (ritually immersed) dishes, kosher food or checking produce for bugs, and eggs for bloodspots. May a child perform these tasks without supervision and declare them “kosher”?
When it comes to taking a child’s word, halachah states that kol shebeyado ne’eman (anything that is within his ability to perform he can be depended upon). But there is a caveat: something that is ischazek issura (already established as an assumed prohibition) cannot be “kosherized” by a child’s assertion. Therefore, a dish cannot be removed from its pre-toiveled and prohibited state by the testimony of a child. Even this exception, however, is limited, according to many poskim, to those things that are an issur d’oraisa (a Biblical prohibition). So, for example, since immersing glass dishes is merely d’Rabbanan (by Rabbinic law) it may be performed (and confirmed) by a child.
Bedikas Chometz (searching for bread before Pesach)—which involves only a d’Rabbanan—is, therefore, a project that could theoretically be performed by a child—but since it’s a difficult job, it is preferred that an adult carry it out whenever possible.
Whether a child can be trusted to check for bugs depends on the status of the produce in question. Produce that is muchzak b’tolaim (assumed to be bug infested) cannot be declared free of insects by a child. But produce that will be cooked may be checked by a child, since cooked insects would be batel (nullified) strictly min haTorah (by Biblical law) and is only assur mid’Rabbanan. Any fruit or vegetable for which infestation is mi’ut hamatzui (found in a minority of cases; see Halachah #578 for details) may also be checked by a child.
Checking eggs in this day and age is a completely different process than in the past, since commercial eggs are not fertilized (see Halachah #468 for the facts and exceptions). Therefore, it is a task where there is much room for leniency, and can be performed by a child.
For any type of checking, a child must be a bar da’as (capable of understanding), a level of maturity that is attained at around the age of nine.
From Halacha2Go Archives
#770
- For an overview of which adults have ne’emanus (trustworthiness) in these instances, see Halachah #224.
