The Bible Says What? ‘You must buy back your firstborn’
Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers looks at a controversial passage of Jewish texts and looks at a Reform response
The birth of a first child is an incredibly proud moment for a parent. Anyone would agree it would be cruel to take that child and demand a monetary ransom for their return – yet that is exactly what the Torah tells us to do.
This is a process called the redemption of the first-born. In principle, the first-born child – specifically a son, in the Torah – had a duty to commit themselves to the service of God.
In the book of Bamidbar, we are told that instead of carrying out this duty, the whole tribe of Levi would take the place of all first-born children.
They would serve God in the Mishkan (the portable Temple in the wilderness) and later the Temple.
The Levites would not do this automatically though – the child still had to be redeemed from the duty by giving the Levites five shekels of silver. It may seem like a steep price just to keep your own child, but it was the price set and is a ritual that some Jews still practice symbolically to this day.
This redemption process gives an important message about our duty to the community.
While it made sense for the children of Israel to have a tribe dedicated to the running of the ritual processes the community needed, it was important that everyone else didn’t then think they had no wider responsibility.
The redemption was an immediate reminder that everyone has a duty to the community.
We, too, must remember that it is not just clergy or lay leaders who owe themselves to serve the community.
Our Jewish communities become holy communities when we all do our bit and are there to support one another.
- Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers serves Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
