Gratitude and Focus 

Hakaras hatov is the foundation of Yiddishkeit. Our very name, Yehudim, reflects our essence of being grateful people. There are particular mitzvos that tap into the incredible energy of gratitude; many of them are connected with the gift of beginnings. One such mitzvah is pidyon haben, the redemption of the firstborn son.

Parents who are both descended from Yisraelim must redeem their firstborn son on the 31st day of his life, provided he was born by natural birth. The child has left the status of nefel and is considered viable. A firstborn is redeemed by the father giving five sela’im to a Kohein. Originally, the firstborns were gifted with the responsibility of serving Hashem. When all the Jews, including the firstborns, sinned with the golden calf, this job was transferred to the loyal tribe of Levi.

Since the child is technically a Kohein, he needs to be “replaced” by a Kohein from the tribe of Levi, and this is accomplished by the father redeeming the son with the five silver coins. The Novominsker Rebbe adds that the pidyon haben also serves as a reminder that during Makkas Bechoros, Hashem established that we are the “beni bechori Yisrael,” the chosen nation of Hashem. Therefore, we redeem the firstborn specifically from the mother, since she’s the one who establishes the fact that a child is Jewish and part of the chosen nation of Hashem.

There are two main reasons why the redemption is done with specifically five sela’im. Meshech Chochmah suggests that it’s based on the amount for which the brothers sold Yosef, the bechor of Yaakov. Sefer Ta’amim U’minhagim suggests that when the exchange was made in the desert between the firstborns and the  Leviim, the “remaining” firstborns paid five sela’im to redeem themselves.