This week’s parshah records the Asseres Habidros. The fourth dibra is to keep Shabbos. “On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the ger who is within your gates” (Exodus 20:10). The Gemara (Yevamos 114a) states that “or your son” refers to a son acting on his father’s command.
Acharonim are bothered by this drasha since the Gemara (Yoma 78b) already states that one of the Torah’s pesukim regarding forbidden foods teaches us that a father may not feed his under bar mitzvah-age son non-kosher food or allow him to perform any aveirah in the Torah. Why, then, does the does the Torah have to repeat this rule explicitly regarding Shabbos?
The Beis Yosef (Orach Chaim 343) cites the Nemukei Yosef who argues that the pasuk regarding forbidden foods only teaches us that a father may not feed his young child non-kosher food. It teaches us nothing about other aveiros.
The Minchas Chinuch suggests that “or your son” refers to children older than bar mitzvah. Normally, once a child becomes bar mitzvah, his father is not responsible for his aveiros. However, regarding the laws of Shabbos, the Minchas Chinuch suggests that his father is still responsible.
Rav Yeruchum Fischel Perlow is puzzled by this explanation since the Mechilta is clear that “or your son” refers to children below the age of bar mitzvah. Similarly, Rashi and the Ramban both state that it refers to sons under 13.
Rav Chaim Ozer (Teshuvos Achiezer 3:81:7) offers another explanation for why we need the Torah to tell us that a father may not let his children do melachah on Shabbos when it already teaches us elsewhere (in its laws regarding kosher food) that a father may not let his children break any law in the Torah. He suggests that the general admonition only dictates that a father may not actively enable his son to perform an aveirah. However, if his son performs an aveirah on his own without his father’s involvement at all – and moreover, the aveirah is something his father doesn’t want him to do – he is not obligated to stop him (min haTorah – there would be an obligation of chinuch m’d’Rabanan). In contrast, “or your son” teaches us that a father must actively stop his son from doing melachah on Shabbos.
However, Rav Chaim Ozer notes that this explanation doesn’t work according to the Rashba and Ritva who maintain that the Torah’s general admonition to fathers also obligates them to actively stop their children from performing aveiros.
Rav Chaim Ozer quotes (the then young) Rav Chaim Brisker who suggests that even according to the Rashba and the Ritva “or your son” teaches us something new. It teaches us that a father who lets his son perform melachah on Shabbos has violated an aveirah of Shabbos. Otherwise, we would assume that the father just violated a general aveirah. What’s the difference? The Gemara (Yevamos 6a) states that an aveirah of Shabbos is more stringent than a general aveirah.