Question:
- Our 1 year old son was missing for 15 minutes and B”H we found him safe. He was found down the block in the middle of a busy street. is there an inyan to bentch gomel for this on his behalf?
- What should our response be to such a situation?
Answer:
- The minhag is the a katan does not say hagomel, and one of the reasons is because he can not say “hafomel l’chayavim tovim” as he isn’t a chayav, because he doesn’t have aveiros yet.
- Your response should be one of hakaras hatov to H-shem for protecting your child. There are a number of things that you can do. You can say tehillim, mizmor l’todah, give tzedakah, and tell people of the ness that you had, and spread the word of H-shem’s kindness. All of these are forms of should thanks to H-shem for protecting your child, and may H-shem keep on protecting you and all of your children.
Sources:
M:B 219-3.
