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Reward for mitzvot pre-adulthood
There is a conept that there is a s'char mitzvah, a reward for doing a mitzvah, and an oneish/punishment for "sinning". But there is also an idea that a child, under the age of bar/bat mitzvah who sins is not held accountable for the sin -- instead the father is held accountable. This is why the father, at a Bar Mitzvah celebration recites the statement of Baruch shep'tarani.
But this speaks to the sins of the minor. Is there a reward for a minor's mitzvot, and is that transferred to the adult the way the punishment for a sin would be?
A minor, though, is not obligated in many mitzvot and does some of them for the sake of chinuch, learning. Is there any s'char for a mitzvah performed when it isn't required, or performed only as an educational practice? Does that affect whether the reward moves to the parent?
1 answer
I can't answer this, but at least I can reply with another question, which might affect the answer. What form does the reward take? Is there an idea in Judaism that humans improve their well-being by living in accordance with their maker's instructions for care and feeding? If that is the reward, then as I see it answers fall into place.
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