i hear the attempts to answer question. the difficulty remains - perhaps on a hashkafik not halachik level - as to how do we justify shaving the head of a child - even as a theoretical assumption - and yet would never consider feeding the child maachalos asuros directly
visceral reaction I quess
thank you for all your efforts
efraim goldstein, New York, NY, USA
I'm afraid I have only seen one attempt to answer the question - albeit, an authoritative one. The Oneg Yom Tov (Rav Rafael Yom Tov Lipman Halpern, responsum #115) says that cutting off the child's hair is essentially different than feeding him Ma'achalos Asuros. To wit, the piece of forbidden food that is being fed to the child is forbidden to everyone else and therefore the Torah forbids one to feed it to the child, whereas removing his hair is a prohibition that relates only to the body of the child and since the child is not subject to punishment yet, there is no prohibition on someone else (who is permitted to shave hair) to shave his hair. Taking the explanation one step further: just like Reuven cannot fulfill his Mitzvah of Tefilin by Shimon laying Tefilin, so too he cannot violate the prohibition of Nikaf by Shimon shaving his own hair. Such a prohibition which relates exclusively to the body of the person is not included in the prohibition of Lo Sa'achilum (Yevamos 114a).
Please let me know if this is one of the answers that you have already heard, and if it is, we'll try working on the rationale behind the Halachah.
Kol Tuv,
Yonasan Sigler