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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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