Pidyon Ha-ben

Plural  Pidyon Ha-bonin, or Pidyon Ha-bens,   Jewish ceremony in which the father redeems his wife's firstborn son by offering to a cohen (a male Jew descended from the first priest, Aaron) the equivalent of five silver shekels (ancient coins). The ceremony, which normally takes place 30 days after the child's birth, dates from Old Testament times, when the firstborn sons of the Israelites were spared from death on the