Pidyon haben
| Halakhic texts relating to this article | |
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| 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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Priestly covenant |
The pidyon haben (Hebrew: פדיון הבן) or redemption of the first-born son is a mitzvah in Judaism whereby a Jewish firstborn son is "redeemed" with money.
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. Another object of equivalent value may also be used.
Pidyon haben is a relatively rare ceremony. A family does not perform the ceremony if their firstborn is either a girl, or born by caesarian section, or preceded by a miscarriage (although some early miscarriages do not count as miscarriages), or if either grandfather is a Kohen or a Levite.