q•MIONNOmmormean ■■■■■ ••••• ■•■•■■•■•■ ••••• ■■•■■■••■•• Passover Greetings HOLIDAY GREETINGS ACME AWNING CO. Bauman-Roggin . Agency . Canvas - Metal - Fiberglas Estimates Cheerfully Given 16400 W. 12 Mile, Suite 205 Southfield 48076 18326 Jchn R TO 9-6000• 4•■•■■ •••• ■ •••• ■•••■■•■••■■•••■■ •INN• il•• . ■•■••■ Don H. Appel and .Ben Roggin BECKER BROS. PRINTING CO. ADVANCE GLOVE MFG. CO . 901 W. II (she., ft,r_ilti , Hi', Passover Greetings Office and factory Forms Commercial and Office Stationery Established 1915 Lafayette 21820 Wyoming, Oak Park, Mi. 544-2544 WO 2-3444 HAPPY PASSOVER El? (;1?1...I.,11\(;.• I' AUTO CITY GLASS CO. BLUESTEIN BROS. Auto Glass Installed Insurance Work Glass Tops — Mirrors Dealers in Scrap Materials 3195 BELLVUE WA 2-2720 16431 W. 7 Mile R.d. Detroit, Mich. 48235 VE 8-5745 Happy Passover To All Our Friends and Customers MODERN BAKERY MR. AND MRS. MARTIN WEISS AND FAMILY 13735 W. 9 Mile Rd., Oak Pork 26060 Greenfield--.-Lincoln Center Closed Passover Week HAPPY PASSOVER OPTICAL CENTER Ferndale 930 E. LEWISTON B est 41• ■■ •111. JO 4-6313 ■ =1•111 ■ 11111111. ■ ish es on a ssover PARQUET FLOOR CO. 897-9514 8170 LIVERNOIS iirtipy Holiday STEVE PETIX • For Men Who Demand the Finest C'D Custom Tailoring Detroit-Birmingham Passover Greetings . SUPERIOR OLDS 15000 W. 7 Mile Road 342-7000 11110 perry PER Y Drug Stores Wishes All Their Friends and Customers A HAPPY PASSOVER 50—Friday, April 5, 1974 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Israel Coin, the Pidyon HaBen, r Honors Rite f or First-Born Son By ROBERT MESSING (Copyright 1974, JTA, Inc.) (Editor's note: Robert Mes- sing is a member of the board of trustees of the American- Israel Numismatic Associa- tion, the parent organization of 26Israel coin clubs across the United States that. meet on a monthly basis.) The tradition of redeeming the first-born son, pidyon haben, one of the oldest cere- monies known to the Jewish people is the name of a coin minted in Israel in honor of this rite. As the children of Israel were departing. from Egypt on their way to be- coming a free people, they were bidden by the Almighty to "sanctify unto me all the first-born whatsoever openeth the womb among the chil- dren of Israel" (Exodus: 13, 2). The reason was that in order for Israelites to leave Egypt, 10 plagues had to be inflicted on the Egyptians. The 10th plague was the killing of the first-born of the Egyptians while sparing the first-born of Israel. As a result, God acquired a spe- cial ownership over the first- born. (Numbers: 13:13). With the building of the sanctuary, and the formation of a class of priests—koha- nim and Levites from the tribe of Levi—God appointed new servants of the temple in the place of the first-born sons. To accomplish this ex- change, Moses was enjoined: "Number all the first-born of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names."-. (Numbers: 3, 40). When the list was made of all the first-born and of the chosen Levites, Moses found that the first-born numbered 22,273, exceeding by 273 the count of the Levites where- upon it was commanded that 273 first-born sons be re- deemed, each with five of the silver pieces, the unit of weight known as shekalim. But how could Moses righteously s e 1 e c't from among the first-born sons those individuals to be re- deemed? Tradition' has it that he mixed together 22;000 ballots on Which he wrote "Levi" and 273 ballots on which he wrote "five she- kalim." All the 22,273 ballots were put in one container and each man drew his lot from it. Every man that drew a ballot of "five she- kalim" had to. be redeemed. Then Moses took the five shekels from the 273 men, called shekels of the sanc- tuary or holy shekels, and gave them to Aaron the high priest. The first pidyon haben took place approximately 3,200 years ago in the Sinai wilderness. From that day on, the redemptive injunction is a duty of every Jewish father of a first-born son except for the priests and the Levites. The redemption ceremony takes place on the 31st day after the child's birth: if that day falls on a Sabbath or on a holy day, it is de- ferred until the next day. Sages and scholars hold that, to match the original silver shekalim, the five coins should together amount to between 93 and 100 grams of pure silver. The Bank of Israel, however, to avoid the slightest doubt, has chosen to mint five coins weighing 'together 130 grams, 117 being pure silver, and thus the bid- ding is more than wholly ful- filled. A handsomely decorated certificate in Hebrew, signed by the two chief rabbis of Israel, and with an English version, comes with the set, attesting officially that the coins are fit for the ancient rite. r BRENT'S HAIR FASHIONS GEORGE W. GRAY I I, INSURANCE I um a lluppw P l.'-'i)I 1.3? 18326 Woodward, Detroit I 15411 W. 9 Mile Rd. Oak Park 543-2211 Should a father fail to re- deem his first-born son with- in the stipulated _period, he may redeem him later, but should he neglect the duty entirely, the son must him- self repair the omission once he comes of age. , Every priest has com- petence to carry out the ceremony and may, if he wishes, return the coins to the father as a gift, after- ward. In Israel, the Bank of Is- rael has minted a coin which is called pidyon haben — redemption of the first-born son — and this modern cur- rency has given back to an ancient and meaningful cus- tom its pristine Hebrew char- acter.., Minted annually, it show the year of issue, and not only authentically an- swers the requirements of the prescribed religious ri- tual, but becomes a treas- ured collector's item. p IN.'-01 1,1? Thr 17u. l'omp/p/r/1 883-1900 Pos.sw.er Holiday Good Cheer Our Frictiih unit CHARLES M. CLAPSADDLE GURWIN'S AUTO BODY KLINIC 33 Vernier Rood Grosse Pointe Shores TU 4-3980 7 711 W. 8 Milt: Rd. \ 4-810 int.! LN 4-;ISI I /or tt HOLIDAY GREETINGS Edith Eckstat, R.E. Pri.s.so •er KARL GUTMAN CUSTOM TAILOR I and Albert Wolgin, R.E. Hair Removed Forever WO 3-3047 WO 3-0922 1309 David Broderick Tower I 27031 Southfield Rd. L Lathrup Village, Mich. 352 2555 - Best II iNhes For Holiday Good Wishes The P(tssorer FEDERAL ALLOYS CO. Herman Jaffe Photography 2930 .Denton Southfield at 13 Mile Rd. 646-8484 Passover reetings Passorer Brs1 II iNhes JOS. FRENKEL CO. JEFFERSON STEEL CO. WAREHOUSE 1221 Twelfth 23250 SHERWOOD 539-3700 Warren, Michigan Detroit, Mich. , Happy Passover to Our —1 Friends and Relatives MORRIS FRIEDMAN AND SONS Plumbing — Heating Contractors L I 24605 John R, Hazel Park LI 4-2454 566-1547 ...I glit Leo tKni• c Notograpky • Weddings • Bar Mitzvas • Movies • Portraits 26571 W. 12 Mile Rd. Southfield 352-7030 Holiday Good Cheer GLOBE PARCEL SERVICE INC. Gift Parcels For Overseas Countries PEKIN PAVILION RESTAURANT 7437 East Jefferson, Detroit 331-9262 824-2464 4:arr. - I 111111111 --- (.1usier Liquor Beer and V. in,. 6460 Michigan TO 5-7560 ■ 1111111111•111 ■ . -- BEST' WISHES= for HAPPY = ... 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