בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְותָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסוק בְּדִבְרֵי תורָה:
Blessing for Torah Study
Barukh Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh Ha'Olam Asher Kideshanu Bemitzvotav Vetzivanu La'asok Bedivrei Torah
Blessed are you Adonai, our God, Sovereign of Eternity, who has made us holy through Your mitzvot (sacred calls) and called upon us to immerse ourselves in the words of Torah.
(יב) וַאֲנִ֞י הִנֵּ֧ה לָקַ֣חְתִּי אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֗ם מִתּוֹךְ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל תַּ֧חַת כׇּל־בְּכ֛וֹר פֶּ֥טֶר רֶ֖חֶם מִבְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְהָ֥יוּ לִ֖י הַלְוִיִּֽם׃ (יג) כִּ֣י לִי֮ כׇּל־בְּכוֹר֒ בְּיוֹם֩ הַכֹּתִ֨י כׇל־בְּכ֜וֹר בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֗יִם הִקְדַּ֨שְׁתִּי לִ֤י כׇל־בְּכוֹר֙ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מֵאָדָ֖ם עַד־בְּהֵמָ֑ה לִ֥י יִהְי֖וּ אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃ {פ}
(12) I hereby take the Levites from among the Israelites in place of all the male first-born, the first issue of the womb among the Israelites: the Levites shall be Mine. (13) For every male first-born is Mine: at the time that I smote every [male] first-born in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every male first-born in Israel, human and beast, to Myself, to be Mine, יהוה’s.
(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) קַדֶּשׁ־לִ֨י כׇל־בְּכ֜וֹר פֶּ֤טֶר כׇּל־רֶ֙חֶם֙ בִּבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בָּאָדָ֖ם וּבַבְּהֵמָ֑ה לִ֖י הֽוּא׃
(1) יהוה spoke further to Moses, saying, (2) “Consecrate to Me every male first-born; human and beast, the first [male] issue of every womb among the Israelites is Mine.”
(יד) וְהִבְדַּלְתָּ֙ אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֔ם מִתּ֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְהָ֥יוּ לִ֖י הַלְוִיִּֽם׃ (טו) וְאַֽחֲרֵי־כֵן֙ יָבֹ֣אוּ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם לַעֲבֹ֖ד אֶת־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וְטִֽהַרְתָּ֣ אֹתָ֔ם וְהֵנַפְתָּ֥ אֹתָ֖ם תְּנוּפָֽה׃ (טז) כִּי֩ נְתֻנִ֨ים נְתֻנִ֥ים הֵ֙מָּה֙ לִ֔י מִתּ֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל תַּ֩חַת֩ פִּטְרַ֨ת כׇּל־רֶ֜חֶם בְּכ֥וֹר כֹּל֙ מִבְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לָקַ֥חְתִּי אֹתָ֖ם לִֽי׃
(14) Thus you shall set the Levites apart from the Israelites, and the Levites shall be Mine. (15) Thereafter the Levites shall be qualified for the service of the Tent of Meeting, once you have purified them and designated them as an elevation offering. (16) For they are formally assigned to Me from among the Israelites: I have taken them for Myself in place of all the first issue of the womb, of all the male first-born of the Israelites.
(לט) כׇּל־פְּקוּדֵ֨י הַלְוִיִּ֜ם אֲשֶׁר֩ פָּקַ֨ד מֹשֶׁ֧ה וְׄאַׄהֲׄרֹ֛ׄןׄ עַל־פִּ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑ם כׇּל־זָכָר֙ מִבֶּן־חֹ֣דֶשׁ וָמַ֔עְלָה שְׁנַ֥יִם וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים אָֽלֶף׃ {ס}
(39) All the Levites who were recorded, whom at יהוה’s command Moses and Aaron recorded by their clans, all the males from the age of one month up, came to 22,000.
שאל קונטרוקוס השר את רבן יוחנן בן זכאי בפרטן של לוים אתה מוצא עשרים ושנים אלף ושלש מאות בכללן אתה מוצא עשרים ושנים אלף ושלש מאות להיכן הלכו א"ל אותן שלש מאות בכורות היו ואין בכור מפקיע בכור מאי טעמא אמר אביי דיו לבכור שיפקיע קדושת עצמו
§ With regard to the abrogation of the sanctity of the firstborn in the wilderness by the Levites, the Gemara relates that Kontrokos the officer asked Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai: In the individual count of each family of Levites you find that there were 22,300 (see Numbers 3:22–34). But in the collective count of the entire tribe you find a total of 22,000, as it is stated: “All the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000” (Numbers 3:39). Where, then, did the other three hundred Levites go? Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him: The total sum includes only those Levites who redeemed the Israelite firstborn. Those additional three hundred Levites were themselves firstborns, and a firstborn Levite cannot abrogate the sanctity of a firstborn Israelite. The Gemara asks: What is the reason? Abaye says: It is sufficient for a Levite firstborn to abrogate his own firstborn sanctity.
Rabbi Isaak Klein
Undoubtedly, the original reason for the redemption of the firstborn was the feeling that he belonged to God or was dedicated to God. It expressed the pious awareness that our first obligation is always to God... Among the children of Israel, it meant that the firstborn was given to the priest to assist him in the sanctuary. His redemption was a means of retaining the idea of our primary obligations to God while at the same time keeping the firstborn son home with the family.
Rabbi Barbara Penzer
Because the essential ritual of the pidyon symbolically represents "redeeming" children from service to God, the ceremony reminds us that we do not "own" our children's bodies or souls.
Rabbi David Teutsch
While all children are unique and to be valued equally the significance of the first child is distinctive... There is psychological and emotional wisdom in the acknowledgment of the profound transformation that a first child creates in the family. The importance of continuing to acknowledge that transformation through ritual, symbol, and prayer is worth considering.
Moreh Derekh
The Pidyon Haben ceremony puts us in touch with the special relationship that God has with all that issues first from the womb. All first fruits have a unique bond with the force of creation and, lest we are tempted to credit ourselves with the awesome power of creation, we must set them aside for the Creator.
The first issue of the womb of Israel has an additional bond to God—the bond of redemption, having been spared by God when all the firstborn of Egypt were killed. Pidyon Haben marks both the uniqueness of the relationship and the transition which occurred in the desert where the Levites replaced the firstborn.