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Ask the Rabbi

Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon Rabbanit Sharon Rimon

A Pidyon HaBen in Isolation

was asked an interesting ques- Pidyon is ןֵּ ב ַ ה ןֹוי ְ ד ִּ פ ל ַ ע – “concern- 2. Next, the father says the berachot
tion about a one-month-old baby ing redeeming the first born.” It is (“Al Pidyon HaBen” and “Shehechi-
I and his mother who were both clear (according to the Rambam yanu”), and pays the Kohen the
infected with Corona and in isolation. and the Ran), that for mitzvot upon money. But how?
The baby is a firstborn and therefore which you recite the blessing לע
must be redeemed by a Kohen (Pidyon “concerning,” it is permissible to a. The father puts the special
HaBen). According to the instructions send a messenger to do the mitz- coins in an agreed-upon place,
of the authorities, a Kohen would not vah for you. beforehand. The Kohen takes
be allowed to come near their home – them before the Pidyon, having
not even near their door. They asked 3. When the money belongs to the the intention that they are not
me how they could do a Pidyon HaBen father (and not to the messenger), his yet. The Kohen places them
without a Kohen, with just the father, many Acharonim are of the opin- on his table and only after the
mother and baby present. ion that everyone – even the Rema father makes the blessing does
– agrees it can be done through he raise the money and acquire
The Torah states that the Kohanim a messenger. This is because the it.
must be given “matnot kehuna” (pres- messenger is not fulfilling the
ents of priesthood – one of which is the mitzvah of Pidyon HaBen for b. A second possibility is that
firstborn males, which then belong to the father, but simply delivering the Kohen sells his own spe-
the Kohen unless they are redeemed). the father’s money to the Kohen. cial coins, or something worth
It uses the language: “And he shall give Therefore, in the case where it is that amount, to the father - via
the Kohen the foreleg...” (Devarim 18:3). the father’s money, the messenger someone else. Then the Kohen
The Sifrei expounds (Devarim, Shof- can also say the corresponding is given the coins back, imme-
tim 165): “‘And he shall give the Kohen’ statements and do the handing diately after the berachot,
– to the Kohen himself.” enabling the father to use them
over. for the Pidyon HaBen.
Ostensibly, we might have understood
this to mean that the Kohen himself 4. When the messenger simply c. The third option is for another
transfers the father’s money to the
must enjoy the gift. However, some Kohen, but the father is the one Jew, not from the father’s
Sages have understood this to mean family, to bring the coins (or
that one cannot give these presents who recites the text of the Pidyon, something worth that amount)
it is the father doing all of the
through a messenger, but that “he” to the Kohen, immediately after
must hand them to the Kohen. This actions of the Pidyon. This sce- the berachot are recited.
is what the Rema rules (Yoreh Deah nario is even better than the previ- 3. After the Pidyon, the Kohen makes
1
ous one.
305:10) in the name of the Rivash (131): ן ֶ פָּ ג ַ ה י ִ ר ְּ פ א ֵ רֹו ּ ב on a cup of wine, in his
“The father cannot redeem his son Another option is for the father to meet home, and those hearing him via
from the Kohen through a messenger.” the Kohen elsewhere and redeem his Zoom should answer Amen. The
Despite the Rema’s ruling, it seems it son, without the baby being present. If custom of the Kohen making the
is possible to perform a Pidyon HaBen however, the father cannot physically beracha was either to give honor to
through a messenger, using the father’s meet the Kohen – because he too is in the Kohen (Panim Meirot 2:99), or
money: isolation or otherwise – one can do the to publicize the event.
Pidyon via Zoom:
1. Most of the Acharonim disagreed
with the Rema in his interpreta- 1. The ceremonial verbal conversa- 1 Rabbi Akiva Eiger on the Shulchan Aruch,
tion of the Rivash. According to tion with the Kohen can certainly Yoreh Deah, 305; Hafla’ah – Ketubot 74a;
Avnei Miluim 38:5, etc.
their opinion, the Rivash himself be done via Zoom. This is not an
admitted that one can redeem via integral part of the Pidyon. It was
a messenger. instituted by the Geonim and is a Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon is Head of
verification that the baby needs to Mizrachi's Shalhevet Educational Advisory
2. The wording of the beracha for the be redeemed. Board and Chairman of Sulamot

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