Pidyon haben
Jewish ceremony
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.
"Redemption" is achieved by paying five silver coins to a Kohen, a descendant of the priestly family of Aaron, on behalf of the firstborn son. Alternatively, an object of equal value can be used. Pidyon haben is a relatively uncommon ceremony. Families do not perform it if the firstborn is a girl, born by caesarian section, preceded by a miscarriage (though some early miscarriages are not considered miscarriages), 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:
You shall set apart for יהוה every first issue of the womb: every male firstling that your cattle drop shall be יהוה’s.
But every firstling ass you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. And you must redeem every male first-born among your children.
And when, in time to come, a child of yours asks you, saying, "What does this mean?" you shall reply, "It was with a mighty hand that יהוה brought us out from Egypt, the house of bondage.
When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, יהוה slew every [male] first-born in the land of Egypt, the firstborn of both human and beast.
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