Pidyon HaBen

{Note:  Pidyon HaBen (redemption of the firstborn son) is a Jewish ceremony wherein the father of a firstborn male redeems his son by giving a Cohen (a descendant of Aharon, the High Priest) five silver coins, thirty days after the baby’s birth}. 

The following article was written by Tal Gilad in Hebrew and translated into English by Bat-Zion Susskind-Sacks.

From here to there, I find myself, one day in a Pidyon HaBen ceremony, at some friends’ home. The last time that I attended such an event was at my son’s Pidyon HaBen which too place twenty years ago.

I must admit that I do not get excited by events in which the subject of the event is not asked whether he wishes to be there or not. The same is, more or less,  true for weddings but there, at least one still has the theoretical option to jump out the window and escape to Ben Gurion airport, a privilege which one does not have at the age of one month. Make no mistake, I am all for it, I just pity the baby and his parents surrounded by salivating aunts and uncles who possess a sense of humour older than wine.

Still, a pleasant surprise awaited me as soon as I arrived, when I realized that the ceremony will be conducted by my dear friend, Yechiel Safra (yes, that same one from the programme “It is Language Time”), one of the most amazing people that I was fortunate to meet.

 It was clear that this occasion, was not going to be boring. However, one glance at the audience, raises doubts in me: the scenery is entirely secular, most of whom look younger than the spectacled-bald-enlightened breed that is travelling to attend critiquing an exhibition in Berlin.

The parents themselves look like children, a bit stressed, trying to smile. The father is still not certain about handling the child, gets advice and light reproof from female relatives. Oy, how well I remember this.

The ritual commences and I realize how convenient it is to be a guest and not a frightened parent. You can listen and even understand when the mother is reading certain explanations from her notes. And then she invites Safra. The well experienced fox stands up and while walking starts chanting with his thundering voice, the proper Biblical trope, “And G-d spoke unto Moshe…..” I am always envious of people who do not need a microphone and who were blessed with the voice that I only have when I have a cold. The sudden attack finds the spectacled-bold unprepared and in need of that split second to grasp the cynicism. They tense up and you realize that it suddenly interests them. No, it is more than mere interest. It is something that is reminiscent of methods used to locate spies: someone behind them utters something in their native tongue and checks to see who instinctively turns, before they contemplate their move. No use trying, Judaism is there, in all of them, underneath a crust that is much thinner than we believe.

Safra does not hold the baby and does not raise him upward, as they did to my son twenty years ago, a moment where my blood froze and a decision to become a Buddhist ripened. It turns out that it is not an essential or inseparable part of the ceremony. For a second, I retroactively get upset but in no time return to the present. Here, the parents continue to hold the baby. And those who remember what being a fresh parent knows how comforting it is to all involved.

“Firstborn son, you shall redeem after thirty days,” I did not know the explanation it formed the Hebrew acronym of “Bresheet,” (in the beginning). The origin of the text is, of course, associated with the tenth plague that preceded the Exodus from Egypt, which spared the firstborn sons of Bnei Yisrael. “And each of firstborn sons you shall redeem.” Jews enjoy doubting themselves. There is a cosmopolitan halo about it. The Exodus from Egypt? No proof! We are enlightened, scientific, and hopelessly sober.

Many of the researchers who are, with all due respect, no less scientific and sober than the bald-spectacled above, are fairly certain that the Exodus from Egypt did take place. A blend of shreds evidence, the Egyptian Ipouwer Papyurs which even the enlightened of the enlightened will have to chuckle while reading the text and at least say: “ This, of course, proves nothing, yet it is interesting” and, mainly, the use of that very rare commodity, common sense.

There is no reason for the presence of such a popular story if it has no basis in reality. Nations do not invent story that describe themselves as originating from slaves who had escaped. It is a story that outlines  an ongoing, not always complimentary, story which involves many people and generally sounds credible.

The ceremony continues, a mixture of light and heavy, the course of redeeming the baby is performed according to all rules and regulations. What would you prefer the baby or the shekels? Surprisingly enough, the father elects to have the baby and we reach the stage of Birkat Cohanim.

And then comes the genuine great surprise.

Some of the participants (not only the uncle with the kippah from Nes - Tziona which everyone seems to have) mumble lines from the blessings along with Safra. I know because I learned it from my son. But where in the world does a Tel Aviver who produces a feature and has a cat, know it? And here – unbelievable, or, in fact, why not – there appears a little tear. Not one facial muscle moves, the young man sits with folded hands, no one would have noticed if not for the wipe, as if by happenstance, of the eye and quickly reverts to folding his arms. Someone once told me that there is not one person in Yisrael who is secular.

Safra concludes, explains a few points and leaves us all with a smile. The mother ends with a few Torah words and everyone’s attention is shifted to the plates. All of this in less than a quarter of an hour, a feel-good timeout and unveils in you what you truly are. Secular or observant, Leftist or Right wing, a believer or very lucid. A Jew.

Shabbat Shalom.

Am Yisrael, the People destined to Eternal Life

This week’s Torah portion dwells mostly on the death of Ya’akov, his funeral and burial. It is entitled “Vayechi…” -  and he lived. 

As many know, the Torah portions generally get their name from the first word of the portion. That is the case in this week’s portion.

Considering the main subject and the content of the reading, which deals with death and the rituals associated with it why was the name “Vayechi” chosen?

And herein lies the beauty of Judaism.

“You shall choose Life,” is an inalienable principle in Judaism. Death is inevitable, as we all know. The question that we all need to ask is, “Have we lived a life to its fullest? Has it been lived and guided by a proper moral compass, padded with values, and saturated with gratitude for its gifts?”

The good work that people do in their life continues to live long after their physical death. If children internalize and imitate the good example of their parents, then their teachers, be it parents or strangers, continue to live through them.

That, dear readers, is the reason Ya’akov summoned his children to his death bed. The Torah portion tells us what he told each one of them. The Oral Torah, however, gives us an account of what happened behind the scenes.

It seemed, according to Chaza”l, that Ya’akov was worried about posterity and wanted to know if all his offspring  observe their faith and, like him, follow his belief in the G-d of Yisrael, a concern he expressed on that occasion. The Oral Tradition further tells us that his children responded by saying, “Hear oh, Yisrael, the Lord, our G-d is One.” Thas way, they confirmed and reassured Ya’akov that his G-d, the G-d of Yisrael will always be their G-d. That calmed and soothed their father who, in turn answered “Blessed be the name of His kingdom forever and ever,” (which is part of the Shema and its blessings but, interestingly enough, never appears anywhere in the Tanach). It was, so we are told, a form of relief and acknowledgement of their piety.

Ya’akov’s name, as we all remember was changed following his nocturnal struggle with a strange man. Following that encounter, he received a blessing, "Your name will no longer be Ya’akov, but Yisrael, because you have struggled with G-d and with humans and have overcome." (Genesis 32:28). He was blessed with the gift of eternity for no matter who or what his adversaries or those his descendants face are, they shall always prevail.

With Ya’akov’s children remaining devoted to his legacy and his faith, he could join his forefathers knowing that it was not merely for the sake of remembering him. It was the gift of eternity that was bestowed upon him and his progenies after him. By following the path that Ya’akov paved, his contributions, genuine and virtuous way of life and his life’s work will continue to thrive through them and eventually through us as well. His spirit will never die.

The title for this Parasha is, hence, most appropriate. Yisrael (AKA Ya’akov) will linger and continues to live among us. His legacy will guide us and light our course, in what can more than often be a world shrouded in darkness, and ensure that we continue to fulfill what we were destine to be, the People of Eternity

Shabbat Shalom.