Hi Rabbi, I dont know much about pidyon nefesh. -Does everyone do it? - Is there a minimum amount? -Does it have to be in the form of money or personal items can be donated for this purpose? -how to do it really Ty for sharing your Torah knowledge with me.

Shalom, Thank you for your question. While I am certainly no expert on the subject of Pidyon Nefesh, let me share with you the teachings of my Rabbi and teacher, Rav Shlomo Aviner, shlitah. He writes that there is no source for this practice in any of the basic Jewish traditional teachings (The Tanach, Mishna, Talmud, Midrash, Shulchan Aruch etc), until very recently, where the idea is mentioned in the writings of the Chidah, The Rashash, and the Ben Ish Chia. In our generations there are many Rabbis who preform such a “pidyon” – that is the giving of charity in order to bring about some form of salvation or blessings. Many Chassidic Rebbes also have the practice of receiving a “kvitel” which is a written petition for a blessing, accompanied by a donation to charity. Not every organization, or “Rabbi” who advertises that they can perform a “pidyon” can be trusted, and each one should be investigated to make certain that they are really trustworthy and honest. It is true that we find in the Tanach (Shmuel 1, 9, 8) that King Shaul gave money to the prophet Shmuel – but this is not a real source for the practice of “pidyon nefesh”. Firstly, Shmuel was a prophet, a status that we do not have today (see the letter at the end of the work Tanya). Secondly, the amount was a very small sum indeed. And lastly, the case involved was just lost donkeys, and not a situation that needed a real salvation. None the less, it is possible that by giving charity a person can “change” their heavenly decree – as we say in the festival prayers (taken from Midrash Berashit Rabba 44,12) that “repentance, prayer and charity can alter an negative [heavenly] decree”. So, together with repentance and prayer, giving charity can bring about a new and “better” decree. With this understanding, we see that just by giving the charity alone, it is not enough. The person giving the charity (as well as the Rabbi receiving and distributing it) need to repent and add prayers – preferably saying Tehillim (Psalms). There is no fixed amount of charity to be given. A poor person who gives a small amount is equivalent to a rich person giving a lot. It depends on the amount of sacrifice made. Of course, it is impossible to “force the hand of Hashem”- and one is not to expect that a pidyon nefesh will have guaranteed results. Our Rabbis rejected the idea that one should feel that their prayers must have positive results (see Brachot 32b and Tosafot there). Rather, one adds their prayers, charity and repentance, and the good L-rd will do what He sees fit. So, if one wants, they can turn to any trustworthy Rabbi, who will pass the pidyon nefesh on to charity, after adding their prayers, in order to perform a pidyon nefesh. Having quoted all of the above (translated from a class given by Rav Shlomo Aviner shlitah), let me add, that for most mainstream Orthodox Jews, the concept of “pidyon nefesh” does not play a major part in their service of Hashem (and more often than not, no part at all). While charity is certainly a major pillar of our lives, and prayer and repentance daily features of our connection with Hashem – we do these things out of the framework of a “pidyon nefesh” understanding of expecting, or hoping for, a given outcome. May you be blessed with all that is good. Blessings.