You have a month to prepare…
- Without a Cohen (priest), there is no groom for joy… Arrange with a Cohen who is familiar with the ceremony, so he knows how to conduct it properly. Of course, it is recommended to find a Cohen who knows how to flow with the crowd and conduct the ceremony in a pleasant and friendly manner.
- Most Cohanim who know how to redeem hold in their possession real coins of five shekels. The coins should be bought from the Cohen according to the value of the money at the time of redemption. During the ceremony, the Cohen will receive them back in exchange for the baby.
- The real guest of honor – the baby – should be brought to the ceremony dressed festively and adorned with jewelry. It is advisable to bring him in on a silver tray or a beautiful pillow.
- Bring wine (or natural grape juice) and a goblet to the ceremony, on which the Cohen will bless the ceremony and the baby.
- It is recommended to have ten Jewish men over the age of 13 (a Minyan) during the redemption. If you do not have a Minyan, you can also perform the ceremony without them.
How to choose a Cohen?
Cohen families can be identified by family names, like Cohen, Kohen, Kahana, Azulai, Katz. However, note: not every person named “Cohen” is necessarily a Cohen, and not every Cohen necessarily carries a family name that indicates this. Usually, the person himself knows whether he comes from a Cohen family or if his family name is coincidental (Priesthood is passed down through inheritance only from father to son, not from mother to son or from father to his daughter).
If family members do not personally know a Cohen, they can turn to synagogues in their area and ask the Rabbi, the Gabbai, or synagogue goers to refer them to a Cohen. The Cohanim are familiar figures in the synagogue because they have defined roles in the prayer.
The ‘Shekels’ and the Redemption Sum
The firstborn son is redeemed for five shekels of silver that his father gives to the priest. A shekel of silver is not the shekel used in today’s Israeli market, but a coin made of pure silver that was used among the people of Israel in ancient times, and it is called a “sela”. The weight of each sela is about 20 grams of pure silver.
The accepted custom is to use pure silver coins that have a decoration and a special inscription for the sake of the redemption. The State of Israel issues these coins specifically for the purpose of the ceremony, and they can be obtained from the Government Company for Medals and Coins. In stores for Judaic artifacts, it is possible to buy less prestigious sets at cheaper prices, which also bear decorations.
In fact, the infant can also be redeemed without special coins, but with anything made of pure silver and is of at least the same value, such as silver cups or silver candlesticks (in Morocco they used to use silver and gold bracelets). It is not possible to use silver notes, checks, any kind of securities, or real estate equivalent value.
In order to calculate the current value, one should multiply 100 grams of pure silver, which is 3.21507 ounces of silver, by the wholesale price per ounce of silver according to the updated silver index. The value obtained should be converted from dollars to shekels according to the exchange rate.
How to redeem?
- Bring the baby on a silver tray.
- Lay the baby on the table and pour a cup of wine for the priest.
- The father holds the redemption money, stands with the priest next to the baby and says to the priest: “My Israeli wife gave birth to this firstborn son”.
- The priest asks the father: “In which do you prefer, your firstborn son or the five selas you are obligated to give me for the redemption of your firstborn son?“.
- The father answers: “I prefer my firstborn son, and here are the five selas for the redemption I owe”.
- The father blesses: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us on the redemption of the son” and then blesses: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season”.
- The father gives the priest the redemption money and the priest blesses the cup of wine and drinks it.
- The meal is a mitzvah meal, and one should eat meat and drink wine at it.
It is worth participating
Participating in the Redemption of the Son meal is a great privilege. Our sages, of blessed memory, say that anyone who enjoys the redemption meal – it is atonement like fasting eighty-four fasts.
It is customary to distribute pieces of garlic to the participants, as this is something that can be used to season many foods and thus allow more people to eat from the redemption meal.
