By Rabbi Haim Jachter | December 24, 2020
A Bewildering Mitzvah
A pidyon haben is a joyous and pain-free occasion. All agree that we recite Shehechiyanu on this special occasion. However, many find this mitzvah to be exceedingly bewildering. Does the kohen own the baby? Does the father purchase his baby from the kohen?
Why are there so many exemptions from this mitzvah to the extent that a pidyon haben is relatively uncommon? The child must be a firstborn male, the father cannot be a kohen or levi, the mother may not be a bat kohen or bat levi, the birth must have been a natural one, and there must not have been a prior miscarriage. In honor of the recent pidyon haben of my grandson Shmuel David Perton, let us try to comprehend this puzzling mitzvah.