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Hilchos Berachos 55 (page 174)
מסעיף י עד סעיף יג


When a Younger Child Turns Bar Mitzva Before an Older Child
When is the Date of the Bar Mitzva Different Than the Birth Date?
Can an Irreligious Person be Counted Towards a Minyan?

When a younger child turns bar mitzva before an older child
Children born in both months of Adar during a leap year will have their bar mitzvos in the same month if there is only one Adar thirteen years later. (For example, the year 5760 was a leap year; boys born in both Adars of that year had their bar mitzvos during the singe Adar of 5773.) Although a boy born at the end of the first Adar is older than the children born in the second Adar, his bar mitzva will take place at the end of the single Adar after the bar mitzvos of the boys who were born at the beginning of the second Adar.
( סעיף י)
When is the date of a bar mitzva different than the birth date?
The poskim discuss whether a child born on one side of the dateline who crosses to the other side of the dateline before his bar mitzva should observe his bar mitzva according to the date at the location where he was born or the local date at the time of the bar mitzva. For example, should someone born on the first of Nisan in the United States who ends his thirteenth year in Australia (which is one calendar day ahead of the US) observe his bar mitzva on the Australian first of Nisan (the twenty-ninth of Adar in the US) or on the second of Nisan in Australia (which is the first of Nisan in the US)?
( ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 57)
Can an irreligious person count towards a minyan?
A Jew who denies the tenets of Judaism or the validly of the Oral Torah, or who publicly violates Shabbos or does any aveira to disturb Hashem, is treated as a goy and cannot be counted towards a minyan. Someone who was raised among non-Jews ( tinok shenishbah) and was not taught about Torah is treated as a full Jew and can be counted towards a minyan. Some recent poskim view the majority of today's irreligious people as tinokos shenishbu and consider them full Jews. According to other poskim, since information about Judaism is readily available -- particularly in Eretz Yisrael where the religious and non-religious live together -- the non-religious are treated as refusing to observe the Torah and are considered as non-Jews. A third opinion is lenient in times of need.
( ס"ק מו-מז; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 58-59)




  • There is a debate as to whether a deaf person who can speak coherently can be counted towards a minyan. All agree that if he can follow along and participate with the congregation, he can be counted as part of the minyan.
  • A shoteh cannot be counted towards a minyan. An imbecile who does not exhibit any of the signs of a shoteh but might be considered a fool by those around him can be counted as part of a minyan if he understands the concept of serving Hashem.
  • Some poskim permit all the members of a minyan to recite kaddish. It is preferable, though, that at least one member (a second opinion holds two members) of the congregation not recite the kaddish so that they can answer Amen as required.


  • Can someone behind a divider be counted towards a minyan?

  • Can someone in the doorway be counted towards a minyan?

  • When can someone in a different place be counted towards a minyan?

 
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PLEASE NOTE :
The information in this email is for learning purposes only. Please review the Mishna Berura and Biurim U'Musafim before making a halachic decision. Hebrew words are occasionally transliterated to enable a smoother reading of the text. Common Ashkenazi pronunciation is generally used in these cases.