Pidyon HaBen
The redemption of a qualifying firstborn son of Israel through five silver shekels given to a Kohen.
The Firstborn of Israel Is Sacred to God
Pidyon HaBen begins with the status of the firstborn himself: a qualifying firstborn son of Israel who opens the womb is sacred to God. The Torah does not describe merely a monetary obligation upon the father. Of the firstborn it says simply: “He is Mine.”
The sanctity of the firstborn rests upon him, and the Torah commands that he be redeemed. The word redemption therefore describes the act itself: the firstborn of Israel who is sacred to God is redeemed through the five silver shekels given to the Kohen.
“Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first opening of every womb among the Children of Israel… he is Mine.”
“And those to be redeemed, from one month you shall redeem, according to the valuation of five silver shekels by the sacred shekel.”
The Sanctity of the First
The sanctity of Israel’s firstborn belongs to a broader pattern in the Torah: the first is consecrated to God. The first portion is set apart before ordinary use and given according to the order established by the Torah.
The Firstborn of Israel
A qualifying firstborn son of Israel who opens the womb is sacred to God and is redeemed through the five silver shekels given to the Kohen.
The First of the Dough
The first portion of the dough is separated as the priestly gift of Challah.
The First of the Land
The first produce and other designated gifts likewise enter the sacred order established by the Torah.
Why Is the Firstborn of Israel Redeemed Through a Kohen?
At the Exodus, God sanctified the firstborn of Israel to Himself. He later took the tribe of Levi in place of every firstborn in Israel, and from Levi, Aharon and his sons were chosen for the Kehuna.
The sanctity of Israel’s firstborn did not disappear. The Torah commands that a qualifying firstborn son be redeemed and establishes that the redemption takes place through five silver shekels given to the Kohen.
The Kohen is therefore not merely an officiant hired to conduct a ceremony. He stands on the receiving side of the redemption in the role established by the Torah.
The Father Redeems His Son from the Kohen
Rambam defines the structure of the mitzvah directly: in the act of redemption, the Kohen is regarded as though he has already acquired the firstborn, and the father acquires him from the Kohen with five sela.
The meaning is straightforward: the firstborn son himself is the one being redeemed. The father brings his son before the Kohen, and the child stands before him as a firstborn of Israel sacred to God. The father gives the Kohen the five sela and thereby redeems his son from him.
The coins are therefore not payment for the Kohen’s attendance, and the proceeding is not merely symbolic. It is the actual redemption established by the Torah: the firstborn in exchange for the five sela.
In the order of Pidyon HaBen, the Kohen asks the father which he prefers: his firstborn son, or the five sela that he is obligated to give for his redemption.
The father answers that he wants his firstborn son and gives the Kohen the five sela.
These words express the act taking place: the father chooses his son and redeems him from the Kohen.
Four Foundations
Opening the Womb
The obligation applies to a qualifying firstborn son of Israel who is the first to open his mother’s womb.
The Thirty-First Day
The redemption is performed after the child has completed thirty full days, beginning on the thirty-first day of his life.
The Five Sela
The father gives the Kohen the required value of five sacred shekels in silver valid for the redemption.
Redemption from the Kohen
The five sela are transferred outright to the Kohen, and through them the father redeems his firstborn son.
When Does the Ordinary Pidyon HaBen Obligation Not Apply?
There is no ordinary redemption obligation where the child is not the first opening of the womb, or where the father or mother has a status that exempts the child, such as a father who is a Kohen or Levi, or a mother who is a bat Kohen or bat Levi.
A previous pregnancy, miscarriage, Caesarean delivery, or uncertainty concerning whether the child is peter rechem requires review according to the facts of the case.
Lemashcha — Bring the Firstborn to the Kohen
Pidyon HaBen is performed before the Kohen: the father brings his firstborn son to him and gives him the five sela in order to redeem his son.
This also expresses the Torah principle lemashcha — with distinction and dignity: the gifts of the Kehuna are given to the Kohen with honor.
Igud HaKohanim instructs that, where practicable, the family should come to the Kohen — at his residence or another place where he receives the redemption — and bring the firstborn before him.
This preserves the simple structure of the mitzvah: the firstborn is brought to the Kohen, and the father redeems him with the five sela.
The Five Sela Remain with the Kohen
Because the five sela are the redemption payment itself, they are given to the Kohen as an outright gift, without condition and without any obligation to return them.
The coins are not props displayed for the ceremony and then automatically returned to the father. Upon transfer, they become the Kohen’s property.
No advance arrangement, expectation, or pressure should be created for the Kohen to return them. The genuine transfer to the Kohen is an integral part of the redemption.
Preparing for a Pidyon HaBen?
Locate a Kohen
A family seeking a Kohen may contact Igud HaKohanim for assistance locating a suitable Kohen in its area, drawing upon the Kohen Registry and the review framework of Project Malachi.
Contact Us to Locate a KohenAre You a Kohen? Register Your Lineage
Kohanim are invited to document their priestly lineage, family tradition, and supporting evidence in the Igud HaKohanim Kohen Registry.
Register with the Kohen RegistryCustoms of Pidyon HaBen
The ceremony order, traditional text, festive meal, wine, blessing of the child, and other customs are addressed separately.
Review Pidyon HaBen CustomsQuestions About Pidyon HaBen?
Questions concerning peter rechem, the obligation, timing, selection of a Kohen, or the redemption payment may be directed to Igud HaKohanim.
Contact Igud HaKohanimFoundational Sources
Principal Torah, Talmudic, and later sources underlying the framework presented on this page.
- Exodus 13:2, 12–15 — “Sanctify to Me every firstborn,” “He is Mine,” the sanctity of the first opening of the womb, and the redemption of Israel’s firstborn.
- Numbers 3:12–13 — the Levites taken in place of every firstborn among the Children of Israel.
- Numbers 8:16–18 — the Levites given to God in place of the firstborn of Israel.
- Numbers 18:8, 15–16 — priestly gifts and the redemption of Israel’s firstborn with five silver shekels.
- Numbers 15:20–21 — the first of the dough.
- Deuteronomy 18:3–5 — designated gifts of produce and fleece given to the Kohen.
- Mishnah and Talmud, Bekhorot — laws of the firstborn of Israel, peter rechem, and the five sela.
- Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandment 80 — the Kohen is regarded as though he has already acquired the firstborn, and the father acquires him with five sela.
- Rambam, Hilchot Bikkurim, Chapter 11 — laws of redemption of Israel’s firstborn.
- Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 305 — laws of Pidyon HaBen.
- Responsa of the Rosh, Rule 49, Responsum 1 — bringing the child before the Kohen and the traditional exchange of words.
- Chullin 132b — the principle of lemashcha, giving with distinction and dignity.
- Yam Shel Shlomo, Kiddushin 1:54; Mahari Bruna 122 — the dignity of the Kohen and the form of receiving the redemption.
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