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Oak Park had celebrated both his own
and his son’s Pidyon HaBen within an
11-year time span. Kotsias first heard
about the mitzvah when he was 16 years
old. He asked his rabbi, Rabbi Moshe
Shechter, if he should have one.
“It’s pretty rare,” Rabbi Shechter
warned. “
Are your parents a Kohein or a
Levi? Did your mother have a miscarriage
before you were born? Were you born by
C-section?”
All Kotsias’ answers were negative; he
indeed met all the qualifications.
“My father is not Jewish. He couldn’t do
it for me … So I redeemed myself!” said
Kotsias.
In front of close family and friends,
Kohein Sam Handelman asked Kotsias
if he’d like to redeem himself for five sil-
ver coins, which he duly did. They then
enjoyed a festive meal.
“It was a very cool experience,” Kotsias
remembered.
In 2019, Kotsias and his wife, Abby,
were first-time parents to their son Zeke,
now 5, who also met all the requirements
for Pidyon HaBen. Kotsias was thrilled to
be able to repeat this unusual mitzvah.
Many of the same people who’d been
in attendance just 11 years previously,
including Rabbi Shechter, watched as the
family hosted yet another Pidyon HaBen
ceremony. Kohein Sam Handelman again
had the honor of redeeming the newest
Kotsias.
Abby and Daniel Kotsias laid Zeke on
a trademark silver tray, as many have the
custom to do, and attendees draped their
jewelry on the baby. According to Aish.
com, this custom is meant “to show love
for the mitzvah.”
“The whole mitzvah of Pidyon HaBen
is kind of hard to understand,” added
Daniel Kohn. “Still, I think of Pidyon
HaBen as a nice moment in time when a
set of brand-new parents publicly express
appreciation to Hashem for their first-
born son.”
A recent family picture of Daniel and Abby Kotsias with their sons Zeke, Judah and Tali
Zeke Kotsias at his Pidyon HaBen on a tray,
draped in jewelry
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