What is a Pidyon Haben?
A Pidyon Haben (often mispronounced as Pid-in-a-ben or Pidgin Haben) is the Redemption of the First Born ceremony which takes place on the thirty-first day of life. (It is not done at the same time as the Brit Milah ceremony, which is performed on the eighth day.) In a brief service performed by a Kohen (not a rabbi, unless the rabbi happens to be a Kohen), this ceremony harkens back to the tenth plague — the slaying of the first born. Because the first born of the Egyptians were killed and the Jewish first born were saved, we redeem our first born sons through this ceremony. All Israelite first born are consecrated to G-d. There is a brief dialog between the father of the baby and the Kohen, at the conclusion of which, the child is redeemed with five silver coins. If the child is not the first born, if the parents are descended paternally from Kohen or Levi (i.e.
