#86 - Counting Children in a Minyan?

<p>We all know that a <em>minyan</em>, the quorum needed for communal prayer (<em>t&#39;filah b&#39;tzibur</em>), is composed of a minimum of ten adults. Children, who have no obligation (yet) to fulfill <em>mitzvot</em>, don&#39;t count in a <em>minyan</em>. But already in Talmudic times and through the Middle Ages, some rabbis wanted to include a child in a <em>minyan</em>, at least as the tenth person alongside nine adults. In this installment, we take a brief look at their arguments and at what they might teach us about the value of &quot;inclusion.&quot;</p><p><br></p>