The Jewish people, like most religious groups, had special rites and responsibilities for firstborns. The firstborn of any species, man or beast, was offered to God. Whereas some ancient peoples ...

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BEIT SHEMESH, Israel (AP) — Shortly after sundown, Yaakov Tabersky presented his firstborn son on a silver platter to a Jewish priest in a ceremony harking back to the biblical exodus from Egypt. The ...

The Torah, in the Book of Numbers, explains pidyon haben (redemption of the firstborn son; Numbers 3:40–51). Originally, the eldest son in each family was designated to serve in the Temple. After the ...

As we approach Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Yamim Noraim, it is a time for reflection, tefillah, and seeking kapparah. What better way to enter these holy days than by connecting with the ...

Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, calls us to self-reflection, forgiveness, and repentance. It is also a time to look outward to the hundreds of thousands of people in Israel who cannot afford ...

Pidyon haben should not be different than ma’aser sheini, he argues, concerning which the Rambam writes (in the fourth perek of Hilchos Ma’aser Sheini) that a person can redeem another’s ma’aser sheni ...