There are two ceremonies we have been putting off for quite some time – Micah’s pidyon ha ben and our housewarming ceremony. We decided to hold a barbeque on Labor Day weekend and take care of the ceremonies at the same time. We called our party “Two Ceremonies and a BBQ.”

Essentially, according to ancient Jewish tradition, the duties of the priesthood were prescribed to the first born son. Following the exodus from Egypt, the duties of the priesthood were taken away from the first born sons and given to the descendants of Aaron (the tribe of Levi). Nevertheless, because there was still some sense of sanctity belonging to the first-born sons, it became necessary to “redeem” these children from their priestly duties. The ceremony is traditionally held at least 30 days after birth. A descendant of Aaron (a “Kohen”) performs the ceremony and asks if the parents wish to redeem their son. The parents pay five silver coins to the Kohen and say two blessings:

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His mitzvot, and instructed us regarding the redemption of a son.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.

The Kohen then gives a blessing over the child and a blessing over wine. Everyone sings a congratulatory song, and the ceremony is done. The entire exchange takes about five minutes. Below is the ceremony broken into three parts (I was unable to post the video in its entirety on the blog). The first part is the explanation and the ceremony, the second part is the blessing over the wine (minus the frenzied search for the wine glass we forgot to pour in advance) and the third part is a rousing chorus of Siman Tov u’Mazel Tov (translation: good sign, good fortune for all of us and all Israel).