תשובות בעת מלחמה (אנגלית), פדיון הבןCollected Responsa in Wartime, Pidyon Haben

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1Question:

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2Is it possible to have a Pidyon Haben in absentia, the child being elsewhere and the father in camp?

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3Answer:

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4Beth Joseph to Tur Yore Deah Hilchoth Pidyon B'chor quotes Sefer Mitzvoth Katan as follows:

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5"Even in another city where the first-born child is not present, the father can redeem him."

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6The question is referred to also in Isserles' note to Schulchan Aruch, Yore Deah 305,10. In discussing the questions of the ritual and the formulas to be recited by the father and the priest and the blessings to be recited, Isserles says, "Thus do we do in these provinces if the father is with the son, namely, he brings the son before the priest and tells him he has a first born, etc.; but if the father is not with the son, he redeems him merely by saying to the priest that he has a son and the priest says, "What do you desire more?' etc." The various corroborating references are given there.

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7It is clear, therefore, that the soldier may have a Pidyon Haben without the child being present.