Are the clothing of a son (over bar mitzvah) shayach to the son or the Father? Who do they clothing that the father buys for his son technically belong to? What is a re’ah for this?
Answer:
The clothing of a son generally belongs to the son, and not to his father.
According to Tosafos in Bava Metziah (12) a son who is supported by his father does not have the technical ability to purchase his own things from his father, and this opinion is mentioned by the Shulchan Aruch with regard to Eruvin, but in general the opinion is not ruled halachically, and when a father intends it for his son, a son makes a proper purchase on his clothing.
This also emerges from the rishonim to Bava Kama 102b.
However, for growing children, it is fairly clear that a parent does not mean to give his child the clothing, for he means to hand the clothing down to the next children, and in this case he will surely not permit the child to keep the clothing forever. Rather, for growing children it is fairly clear that the clothing remains the parents’ property, and they retain the right to do with it as they please.
This is important with regard to tzitzis, which needs to actually belong to the child in question. Rather than being shared around the children, a pair of tzitzis should therefore be dedicated and actually “given” to a child over the age of bar-mitzvah, so that he should be able to fulfill the mitzvah properly.
Best wishes.
