28 Jan PARASHAT BO: ELEVATING THE MUNDANE

Immediately after Beneh
Yisrael left Egypt,
Hashem presented a
number of commands
that are intended to
commemorate and
memorialize this miraculous event. One
of these mitzvot is pidyon ha’ben – the
“redemption” of the firstborn. Hashem
declared that on the night of Yetziat
Mitzrayim, when He brought a plague that
killed the firstborns of Egypt, but spared the
firstborn of Beneh Yisrael, all bechorim of
Beneh Yisrael became holy. Forever more,
every male firstborn in the Jewish Nation
has a special status of kedushah, because
the bechorim were miraculously saved from
the plague in Egypt. In order for the boy
to be able to live a normal life, he must be
“redeemed.” This is done by the father giving
a sum of money to a kohen, a mitzvah that
applies even today.
Interestingly, it is customary to make a festive
celebration at the time of a pidyon ha’ben.
The father does not just give money to a
kohen – but he invites friends and family for a
large meal, similar to the celebration of a berit
milah.

We might ask, why is this something
celebrate? This infant was just “downgraded”
from being consecrated for the service of
Hashem, to the status of an ordinary person,
who can live in an ordinary way. Why is
this a cause for celebration? Shouldn’t this
be a somber moment, as the child’s level of
kedushah is lowered?
One of the commentators explains that
Judaism does not celebrate perfect, pristine
holiness as an ideal. Some other religions
believe that in order to live a spiritual life, one
must disconnect entirely from physical life.
We, however, believe in striving for kedushah
from within our physical reality.
This concept is expressed in the korbanot that

were brought in the Bet Ha’mikdash. Non-
Jews were allowed to offer sacrifices in the

Bet Ha’mikdash – but only the korban olah,
the sacrifice that was burned entirely on the
mizbe’ah. This is because the non-Jewish
conception of kedushah is withdrawing
from physical life. We, however, offer
several different kinds of korbanot, including
sacrifices that were eaten, some only by
the kohanim, and some also by the person
who brought the sacrifice. Because for us,
eating is not contradictory to holiness. The

Torah teaches us not to abstain from worldly
enjoyment, but to uplift it, to elevate the
mundane parts of life.
This finds expression also in the observance
of Shabbat. The Gemara (Betzah 16a) teaches
that on Shabbat, we receive a neshama yeteira
– an “extra soul.” (This is why we smell
besamim when Shabbat ends – to ease the
distress of losing this “extra soul.”) Rashi
explains, surprisingly enough, that this “extra
soul” gives us an especially hearty appetite on
Shabbat. We enjoy eating more on Shabbat
because of our heightened level of kedushah.
The Torah sees no contradiction whatsoever
between spirituality and physical enjoyment.
Kedushah means not that we abstain from
physical enjoyment, but rather that we elevate
it, by enjoying the world in a dignified,
sanctified way.
This is why we celebrate a pidyon ha’ben.
Now that the child is “lowered” from his lofty
status of kedushah, he is able to do the work
that we Jews are supposed to do – living a
physical life in a spiritual way, elevating the
mundane aspects of our lives.
This means that we cannot separate between
our religious and mundane lives. Spirituality

does not end when we leave shul, or when
we go to work, or when we go on vacation.
To the contrary, spirituality means that we
go about our mundane lives in a holy way.
It means ensuring to make time for tefilah
and for Torah learning even when we’re
away with the family on vacation, ensuring
to recite all the berachot when we eat, and
ensuring to conduct our business affairs
honestly and respectably, as the Torah
demands. Religion is not reserved for the
shul, or for the yeshiva. It must inform every
aspect of our lives, and elevate and enhance
everything that we do throughout the day,
each day of our lives.