[Avodah] Down's syndrome

[Eli Turkel]

Just returned from the monthly shiur of R. Zilberstein. Part of the shiur
was  halachot connected with Down's syndrome. He paskened that if
they understand things on the level of a 6-7 year they are chayav in
mitzvot and can be motzeh pthers. He brought a case of a widow who
wanted her Down's syndrome son to say kiddush and havdalah for her.
R. Zilberstein asked the boy when one eats blintzes, eats matzah, takes
a lulav etc and the boy knew. He was especially impressed when he asked
when one blows shofar and the boy answered " from Rosh Chodesh Elul
of course". On that basis he paskened the boy could be motzih his
mother on all mitzvot.
The main questions involved marriage and he paskened that such a boy could
marry a similar woman and have children.

In the end he brought a story of  a Down Syndrome's boy who learns in
Ponovezh (he is the grandson of the masgiach). If anyone has a question
of where a pasuk appears in Tanakh they come to him with the question!
The main thrust of the shiur was the insistence that every Jew has the
same tzelem Elokim independent of their intellectual capacity (the shiur
started with a discussion of the medical treatment of Alzheimer's patients)

kol tuv

-- 
Eli Turkel
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