Chaya's Mitzvah Project: Pidyon Haben

For my Mitzvah Project, I learned about the Mitzvah of Pidyon Haben. Before starting this project, I had heard of the Mitzvah and some of the minhagim that go along with it, but didn’t have a real understanding of it. What I learned from my research was that the Mitzvah of Pidyon Haben originates from Shemot:13:13-15, where it states, “Every firstborn of man among your sons, you shall redeem...”, as well as in Bamidbar:3 45-47, where is is written, “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborns among the children of Israel . . . You shall take five shekels per head, according to the holy shekel, by which the shekel is twenty gerahs”.

Some rationales for this mitzvah are given in the different statements of great Jewish thinkers. The Rambam states in Sefer Hamitzvot that “the first born is redeemed from the Priest, who has as it were a title to him, and is bought from him for five selas.” This is saying that the Kohein has an actual possession over all firstborns and technically, they belong to the mishkan/beit hamikdash, so it is necessary to physically buy them back from the Kohein to regain possession of them. Another interpretation is that of Rashi who said that Hashem originally made it that the firstborn from each family would be a kohein for the beit hamikdash. But after the golden calf, only the Leviim chose Hashem over idol worship, and therefore, everyone else was stripped of their Kohein status, and from then on, the kohanim only came from the tribe of Levi. Eliyahu Kitov, a contemporary Jewish thinker,suggested that Hashem gave the mitzvah of pidyon haben as a reward to the Jewish people for fulfilling the mitzvot of Brit milah and the korban pesach even under difficult conditions. We are being honored as a nation for being loyal to Hashem, who sanctifies the firstborns.

I learned that the baby must be the firstborn born to parents who are both neither kohanim or Leviim, and who was born on time, healthy, and naturally. The mitzvah has to be carried out when the baby is at least thirty days old, and should be done as soon as possible. The obligation for this mitzvah is on the father, so it is his responsibility to carry out this mitzvah. At the ceremony, the father brings his son before a kohein, gives the kohein the equivalent of 5 selahs (5 American silver coins) and recites a special bracha. The kohein accepts the money and circles it around the child’s head while reciting a passuk, and then placed his hands on the child’s head and blesses him. The ceremony cannot be on Shabbos or Yom Tov, and a festive meal should be served. It is a custom to bring the baby to the kohein on a silver tray adorned with jewelry.

Researching the mitzvah of Pidyon Haben has given me a deeper understanding of what a special mitzvah this truly is. Since the criteria are so specific, only about one out of ten families have the opportunity to do this mitzvah, which makes is incredibly special. Pidyon Haben is a fascinating mitzvah that one should definitely perform if they are lucky enough to have the opportunity to do so.