Shalom,
I’m wondering if the opinion in the Gemara (brachos 9a aprox) that ”tish’ah V’aron Mitztarfin” (9 men and the Torah make a minyan), is brought down in poskim. If this is brought in Poskim, Have you ever heard of someone using din today?
Thank you.
Answer:
The Gemara continues to explain that the Aron is not a person, and therefore cannot be part of a minyan. Rather, the reference is to nine who are like ten (the Gaon explains that the Aron was not counted in the measures of the Kodesh Ha-Kodashim, so that a width of nine looked like ten), meaning nine men and one child.
Rishonim (as cited in Beis Yosef 55) rule that a child cannot join a minyan, yet some rishonim are lenient, and Rav Moshe Feinstein (Iggros Moshe Orach Chaim 2:18) writes that one can be lenient under extenuating circumstances.
The custom is that the child should hold a Chumash in his hand.
Best wishes.
