There was much gold and glitter at a recent pidyon haben (redemption of the firstborn son) ceremony in Rehovot! The child being “redeemed” was the grandson of the heads of two powerful Hassidic dynasties, Sassov and Spinka. Pidyon haben is an ancient ritual whereby a firstborn son must be “redeemed” from a priest, or kohen. It is the child’s father who must redeem him from the Temple priesthood, today represented by a kohen, by...

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