Halakha as the Protector of Infants and Children during Family Crises

Jewish halacha clearly defines what is expected of parents in regard to their children. A significant example is the inclusion of the nursing of infants within the duties a wife owes to husband, thus ensuring that both parents take responsibility for the nourishment of the child. The Talmud goes into minute details, such as what the nursing mother should and should not eat, the optimal age for weaning the child, and how to deal with problems that arise in the relationships involved. Throughout the generations, the poskim have exhibited great expertise in the methods of infant nourishment and weaning, and also in the various ploys mothers might employ in their attempt to free themselves from the burden of nursing.

Family crises, such as the death of parents or divorce, often meant that the child might be raised by a neglectful parent or by relatives or guardians who may not have his best interest at heart. Difficult family circumstances could initiate the sort of behavior that would expose the young child to dangers, from which there was no responsible adult to protect him.

Especially problematic were those cases in which a family member was actually interested in the death of the child. Throughout the generations, from the era of the Mishnah and the Talmud through the Medieval Period and until modern era, the halacha envisioned itself as the "responsible adult", when there was no one else to assume the role.