This week’s parsha (13:13) concludes with the mitzvah of pidyon haben, in which we are commanded to redeem a firstborn male child by giving five silver coins to a Kohen. The Seforno writes (13:2) that the reason for this mitzvah is to remove the baby’s kedusha [sanctity] so that he will be permitted to engage in mundane activities, just as a firstborn animal may not be used for any form of labor due to its inherent holiness (Devorim 15:19).
According to this understanding of the mitzvah, Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky questions why we make such a festive celebration at a pidyon haben. The child being redeemed was kadosh from the time of his birth, and through his father giving money to a Kohen, he will now be allowed to take out the garbage. Why should we rejoice at a ceremony that desecrates someone who used to be holy?
Rav Yaakov explains that there is a fundamental difference between Judaism and other religions. Other religions believe that there is an unbridgeable dichotomy between the spiritual and physical realms. Some things are holy, while others are secular, but the worlds are inherently irreconcilable and can never overlap or coexist. They view the concept of enjoying the pleasures of this world as an indulgence of man’s base instincts, so a person who wishes to be holy must take vows of poverty and chastity.
In contrast, Judaism teaches that we should not deny ourselves physical enjoyment. Rather than abstaining from marriage and good food, we aim to elevate and transform them, as Shlomah writes in Mishlei (3:6), “You shall know Hashem in all your ways.” When done according to the Torah’s guidelines and with the right intentions, eating and sleeping become part of our service of Hashem, just like Torah study and prayer.
Along these lines, Rav Yissocher Frand cites Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch, who points out that Sefer Vayikra begins by discussing the laws governing the various korbanos [sacrificial offerings] and concludes (Vayikra 27:32) with maaser beheima [the animal tithe], which is eaten not by a Kohen, but by the Israelite owner of the animal. This teaches us that an ordinary Jew who is not a member of the priestly class can eat a juicy steak as an act of piety and kedusha.
The only sacrifice that a gentile can bring to the Beis HaMikdosh is a korban olah [burnt offering], which is completely burned on the mizbayach, as he cannot comprehend how it is possible to serve Hashem by eating meat. While non-Jews believe that there is a fundamental conflict between the realms of spirituality and physicality, Judaism maintains that they are not only not contradictory, but uplifting the secular is one of the highest forms of sanctity.
Similarly, Rabbi Uri Zohar writes that before he became religious, he resented observant Jews because so many of them were wealthy, enjoying their large homes and fancy kosher restaurants. Had they voluntarily deprived themselves of the pleasures of this world in the name of religion, he could have at least respected their lifestyle, but the notion that saying berachos before eating food and affixing mezuzos to one’s house makes them spiritual was completely foreign to him.
Rav Yaakov uses this concept to explain that the simcha of a pidyon haben comes from the fact that a baby who was born holy is now being redeemed to enable him to engage in earthly labor, for the first time giving him the opportunity to imbue these mundane acts with kedusha. As the Kohen passes the money over the child’s head, he alludes to this by stating, “May this son enter into life, into Torah, and into fear of Heaven,” as the only way to bridge the gap between the two worlds is through Torah and fear of Heaven. (R’ Ozer Alport)
