Question:
Could you please explain why at a Pidyon HaBen ("Redemption of the Son") ceremony the firstborn child "costs" five silver shekels, why not ten or fifty?
Answer:
The source for an Israelite's obligation to redeem his firstborn son through giving the Kohen (priest) five shekels is the Book of Numbers (18:15-16): "You shall redeem the firstborn of man . . . the redemption [shall be performed] from the age of a month, according to the valuation, five shekels of silver."
Several explanations are given for the specific amount of silver shekels (approximately 100 grams of pure silver) used for the Pidyon HaBen. The following two are from the Talmud and Zohar, respectively:
1) Joseph – Rachel's firstborn son – was sold by his brothers for twenty silver pieces, the equivalent of five shekels. This established that the standard "price" for a (firstborn) human is five shekels, which are given to the Kohen, G‑d's representative, to redeem the child.
2) The number five is symbolic of the Hebrew letter hei (which has the numerical value of five), which was added to Abraham's name when the time came for him to father Isaac—and the Jewish nation (see Genesis 17:5). G‑d's choice of the Jewish people as His nation, which resulted in the consecration of the firstborn and the subsequent mitzvah to redeem them, was in the merit of our forefather Abraham. We, therefore, have an allusion to Abraham at the Pidyon Haben.
Best wishes,
Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson
