Are we allowed to give treats to children under Bar/Bat Mitzvah who are not fasting on Yom Kippur? On the one hand Yom Kippur is a Yom Tov, but on the other hand, surely the Torah commands us to “afflict our souls”?
Answer:
It is permitted to give treats to children. Although the Torah commands us to “inflict our souls,” this implies only those “afflictions” that the Torah prohibits, such as eating, drinking, bathing, and so on. For children, who are not included in the prohibitions, there is no problem of giving treats, and the day is indeed a Yom Tov and a day of joy at the forgiveness of our sins.
