Pidyon HaBen

Pidyon haben

Halakhic texts relating to this article
Torah:	Exodus 13:12–15 Exodus 22:29 Exodus 34:20 Numbers 3:45 Numbers 8:17 Numbers 18:16 Leviticus 12:2–4
Shulchan Aruch:	Yoreh De'ah 305

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Priesthood in Judaism
Kohen Recognition of priestly descent Priestly covenant
Roles Priestly Blessing Redemption of the firstborn son Tzaraath (skin disease and mildew) The Torah instruction of the Kohanim Sacrifice Incense offering Beth din shel Kohanim Priestly divisions
High Priests Aaron Eleazar Phinehas Eli Ahimelech Abiathar (First Temple) Zadok Shallum Hilkiah Jehoiada (Second Temple) Joshua the High Priest Simeon the Just Yishmael Ben Elisha Joshua ben Gamla Pinchus Ben Shmuel
Twenty-four priestly gifts The ten gifts given in the Temple Sin offering Guilt offering Communal peace offering Fowl sin offering Leftovers from the suspensive guilt offering Oil from the offering for the leper Bread from First Fruits Showbread Leftovers of the meal offering Leftovers of the First Sheaf . Four gifts given in Jerusalem Firstborn animal First fruits Burnt offering Parts of the thank offering and Nazirite's offering Ten gifts given (even) outside of Jerusalem Heave offering Heave offering of the Levite's tithe Dough offering First shearing of the sheep Foreleg, cheeks and maw Coins for redemption of the firstborn son Redemption of a donkey Dedication of property to a priest Field not redeemed in a Jubilee year The property of the foreigner with no heir
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Miscellaneous topics The mitzvah of sanctifying the Kohen Kohanic disqualifications Holy anointing oil Kahen Aaron's rod Bat-Kohen (daughter of a kohen) Sons of Zadok Contact by a kohen with a dead body 13 Kohanic cities
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The pidyon haben (Hebrew: פדיון הבן) or redemption of the first-born son^[1] is a mitzvah in Judaism whereby a Jewish firstborn son is "redeemed" by silver coins. This redemption satisfied Yahweh's claim on first born. It developed as an alternative to child sacrifice, along with Nazirite service as another way of being "dedicated to God." Circumcision too may have developed as an alternate.^[2]

The redemption is attained by paying five silver coins to a kohen (a patrilineal descendant of the priestly family of Aaron), on behalf of one's firstborn son.

Pidyon haben is a relatively rare ceremony. A family does not perform the ceremony if its firstborn is either a girl, or born by caesarian section, or preceded by a miscarriage, or if either grandfather is a kohen or a Levite.

Origin

In the Hebrew Bible the laws (see mitzvah) concerning the redemption of the first-born male are referred to in Exodus, Numbers and Leviticus:

that thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the womb; every firstling that is a male, which thou hast coming of a beast, shall be the LORD's. And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck; and all the first-born of man among thy sons shalt thou redeem. And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying: What is this? that thou shalt say unto him: By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage. and it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man, and the first-born of beast; therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the womb, being males; but all the first-born of my sons I redeem.

— Exodus 13:12–15

The redemption price for firstborn non-Levites was set at 5 shekels:

Every thing that openeth the womb, of all flesh which they offer unto the LORD, both of man and beast, shall be thine; howbeit the first-born of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem. And their redemption-money – from a month old shalt thou redeem them – shall be, according to thy valuation, five shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary – the same is twenty gerahs.

— Numbers 18:15–16

The arakhin laws set the redemption price of different classes of people whose "value" was consecrated; the price for a male child under five years is similarly five shekels.^[3]

The Torah describes the Levite tribe (to which the priests belong) as having inherited the role of divine service which previously belonged to the firstborns:

'And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every first-born that openeth the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be Mine; for all the first-born are Mine: on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto Me all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast, Mine they shall be: I am the LORD.'^[4]

According to the traditional rabbinic interpretation, even prior to the Exodus the priestly duties were reserved for the oldest son in each family.^[5]

The priesthood was given specifically to the kohanim (Aaron and his descendants), and at the same time it was instituted that the firstborn should be redeemed. The replacement of firstborns with Levites occurred following the golden calf episode,^[6] during that episode the Levites remained loyal to God.^[7]

Laws

The Shulchan Aruch states that when a Jewish woman gives birth to a firstborn male by natural means (i.e. a boy born vaginally and not by Caesarean section) then the child must be "redeemed".^[8] The father^[9] of the child must "redeem" the child from a known kohen^[10] representing the original Temple priesthood, for the sum of five silver shekels,^[8] or equivalent in country's currency (if it has silver currency of the correct weight).

This redemption ceremony is performed when at least thirty days have passed since the child's birth. If the 31st day falls on Shabbat or a festival, the redemption is delayed, because any sort of business transaction is not allowed on those days.^[11] The elapsed days are counted from sunset to sunset, and the day of birth counts as the first day. While the redemption could be performed immediately after dark on the 31st night, it is usually done the next day; but if the 31st day is a fast day, it is done the previous night, so that it can be accompanied by a festive meal.^[12] It is also possible to hold the ceremony on the 30th day itself, if it will be impossible to perform it the next day, so long as at least one synodic month has passed since the moment of birth.^[13]

If a first-born son reaches bar mitzvah age without having been redeemed, he is responsible for arranging the mitzvah himself as soon as possible.^[14]

Exemptions

Redemption is required for "the first to exit the womb" (Exodus 13:2) so it is not performed if a daughter is born first. If a woman gives birth to a second son vaginally when the first son was born by caesarean section, that child is not redeemed either.^[15] Also, a first-born male does not require redemption if his birth was preceded by an earlier miscarriage by the mother that occurred after the third month of pregnancy. However, if the miscarriage occurred during the first 40 days of pregnancy, redemption is required. If the previous miscarriage occurred after forty days, but before the fetus developed distinguishing characteristics, redemption of the first-born is still required, but the blessing said by the father is omitted.^[16]

The procedure does not apply when the father is a kohen or Levite, and does not normally apply when the mother is the daughter of one.^[17] The reason is that the Levites, as substitutes for the first-born, are pledged to minister and assist the kohanim in divine service, and cannot be redeemed from this service obligation.

The first-born son from a Levite's daughter is not redeemed (whether or not the father is Jewish).^[18] Similarly, the first-born son of a kohen's daughter, as long as the father is Jewish.^[19]

The poskim (rabbinic authorities) debate whether or not a first-born son who is a Jewish convert (whose biological mother is not considered to be his mother) or from a caesarean section has the laws of a bechor.^[20][21]

Bat kohen

Some sources state that a bat kohen (daughter of a priest) may accept pidyon haben money, just as a priest may, but this option is not accepted in practice.^[22]

Ceremony

In the traditional ceremony, the father brings the child to the kohen and recites a formula, or responds to ritual questions, indicating that this is the Israelite mother's firstborn son and he has come to redeem him as commanded in the Torah. If the family is Sephardic, the kohen asks the mother if the child is indeed her firstborn son and if she did not miscarry in the past. The kohen asks the father which he would rather have, the child or the five silver shekels which he must pay. The father states that he prefers the child to the money, then he recites a blessing and hands over five silver coins (or an equivalent amount of total silver). The kohen holds the coins over the child and declares that the redemption price is received and accepted in place of the child. He then blesses the child. (Note: The kohen would not receive the child if the father would refuse to redeem the boy. The function of the question is merely to formally endear the mitzvah to the father.^[23])

The ceremony traditionally takes place before a minyan of 10 men. The child is sometimes presented on a silver tray, surrounded by jewelry lent for the occasion by women in attendance. This is to contrast with the golden calf, when gold and jewelry was used for a sinful purpose.^[24]

The event starts by beginning a festive meal (unlike a brit milah or wedding where the meal comes after the ceremony).^[25] If the family is Sephardic, the event starts with the ceremony. Guests in some places are given cloves of garlic and cubes of sugar to take home: these strongly flavored foods can be used to flavor a large quantity of food which will in some sense extend the mitzvah of participation in the ceremony to all who eat them.

Coins

Contemporary religious authorities believe that the Shekel HaKodesh (Holy Shekel) of the Temple was larger and of purer silver content than the standard shekel used for trade in ancient Israel. Halakha requires that the coins used have a requisite total amount of actual silver. There are varying opinions as to the correct amount of silver, they fall in between 96.15 grams and 102 grams. Coins which do not contain the requisite amount of silver do not result in a valid redemption.

The Israeli Mint has minted two sets of coins for this purpose: an edition of 20.57 gram silver commemorative coins, five of which would come to 102 grams of silver,^[26] and a special edition 26 gram silver commemorative coins, five of which would come to 130 grams of silver.^[27] Pre-1936 American silver dollars (commonly known as Morgan dollars or Peace dollars) weigh 26.73 grams of 90% silver content and hence contain 24.06g of pure silver, although such coins have become increasingly rare (modern U.S. coins contain no silver). Four American Silver Eagle coins, specially minted coins sold to collectors and investors which contain 31.1035 grams of 99.9% pure silver, or five of the above-mentioned specially minted silver coins of Israel are commonly used for pidyon haben in the United States. One may use silver bullion as well; it is not necessary for it to be a coin per se.

Moreover, it is not mandatory to redeem the son in silver coins, and the ceremony can be held using any object worth the same value as five silver coins in the same day, other than banknotes, which, according to the Shulchan Aruch, are considered to be a promissory note, that is not acceptable for the ceremony.^[28]

Although the silver coins are the payment to the kohen under torah law and are one of the twenty-four kohanic gifts, they are sometimes returned by the kohen to the family as a gift for the child, although halachic authorities stipulate that, for the pidyon to be valid, the choice of returning the coins as a gift rest entirely upon the kohen whereas pressuring the kohen to do so would render the redemption invalid.^[29]

Pidyon Certificate

Some kohens officiating for the pidyon ceremony will present the father with a "Pidyon HaBen Certificate" of the pidyon transaction, the certificate will usually be framed for display and may serve as a receipt (and evidence) that the transaction was done according to halacha (i.e. the kohen was not pressured to return the coins), with the kohen and two witnesses ("Eidim") affixing their signatures at the time of the ceremony.

See also

• Fast of the Firstborn

References

Bibliography

• Levenson, Jon D. (1 January 1993). The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-06511-6.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pidyon haben.

• "The redemption of first-born". chabad.org. Customs for Pidyon HaBen.
• Grodnitzky, Reuvena Leah (7 March 2008). "Three Brazilian men participate in ancient practice typically reserved for infants". chabad.org.
• "Assorted Halachos". The Mitzvah of Pidyon Haben.
• "Calculator for five coins' rate". MyPidyon.co.il. updated automatically