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The Pidyon Ha’ben ceremony, one of the 613 commandment, is a ritual practiced today, its source in Numbers 18: 15-16.

The father redeems his first-born son from temple service by giving the local cohen 5 shekalim coins (approximately $50 US dollars).

Who needs to do pidyon ha’ben?

The father is obligated to do this biblical commandment until his son turns 13 years old, then it is the son’s responsibility.

For whom does pidyon ha’ben need to be performed?

The baby must be a firstborn son of a Jewish woman.  She may not have had any other pregencies that lasted longer than 40 days.  The birth must have been natural, not through c-section.  The father may not be a cohen or levi, and the mother may not be a bat cohen, or bat levi.

When may the the pidyon ha’ben ceremony not be performed?

The baby must be at least 30 ½ days old (the full cycle of the moon), and at least more than 30 halachic days old (i.e. 31 halachic days old).

To calculate 30 ½, count forward 30 days from the time of birth and add 12 hours.

To calculate 30 halachic days, a complete day is at the completion of sunset, and the next halachic day begins when the stars appear (approximately 1 hours after sunset).  Therefore, if a baby is born a few minutes before sunset, before sunset he is one halachic day old.  After the stars appear he is 2 halachic days old.  The next night when the stars appear, he will be 3 halachic days old.

Relevant example: A baby is born on December 31^st at night.  The pidyon haben may take place during the evening on January 30^th.  If the baby is born on January 1^st during the daytime, then the pidyon haben may not take place before the daytime of January 31^st.