("deaf-mute, idiot, and minor"). These three classes of people are often grouped together in the Talmud, as they share many restrictions and exemptions in Jewish law. The category includes individuals unable to make contact with the outside world in a meaningful way. Thus, the laws pertaining to a deaf-mute, for example, would only be applicable when there was no way to communicate on a significant level.
All three groups are exempt from all Torah laws, as they either do not have the understanding or the obligation (in the case of minors) required to make the law binding. In the case of minors, however, even though they are not obliged to fulfill commandments until reaching Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah age, their parents have the responsibility to educate them for the time they reach Jewish adulthood.
As none of the three is obligated to perform any of the commandments, they, in turn, are disqualified from performing commandments on behalf of others, such as blowing the Shofar (ram's horn), since a basic principle of Jewish law is that only someone who is obligated may perform a commandment on behalf of another obligated party. By the same token, none of the three can be counted in a quorum for prayer, etc. In addition, while one is not required to prevent any of the three from eating unkosher food, there is a specific prohibition against actually feeding any of them such food. See also Insanity.
