“אך פדה תפדה את בכור האדם” (י”ח,ט”ו)
The רמ”א (יו”ד סימן ש”ה סעיף י’) says that there is a מנהג to make a סעודה in honor of the פדיון הבן. The מהר”מ מרוטנברג says that one makes a סעודה- לפרסומי מילתא – to publicize the mitzvah. Therefore the מהרי”ל says that one should try to have ten people at the seuda. The source for this minhag is from Rashi in Babba Kama. The Gemara there says רב ושמואל ורב אסי איקלעו לבי ישוע הבן – Rashi explains this to mean that they came to the משתה of a פדיון הבן. ישוע מתרגמינן פורקן כמו פדיון”” – The word ישוע is translated as redeemed, the same translation as the word פדיון. Tosfos offers a different explanation that it is talking about the סעודת הברית. The תרומת הדשן explains that even though תוס’ brings another פשט he still agrees that this was the minhag. The ביאור הגר”א sends us to תוס’ in מועד קטן דף ח:. Tosfos there discusses if it is permissible to have a סעודת פדיון הבן during חול המועד. It is clear that even according to Tosfos the minhag is to have a סעודת פדיון הבן.
The תרומת הדשן rules that this is a סעודת מצוה. The רמ”א in הלכות פדיון הבן doesn’t call it a סעודת מצוה. However he does so in או”ח סימן תקנ”א סעיף י’. There in Hilchos תשעה באב the Rema writes ובסעודת מצוה כגון מילה ופדיון הבן וסיום מסכת וסעודת אירוסין אוכלים בשר ושותים יין כל השיכים לסעודה – during the nine days one may eat meat and drink wine by a seudas mitzvah which includes the seuda of a פדיון הבן. The רמ”א (או”ח סימן רמ”ט סעיף ב’) also writes that a seudas pidyon haben may be eaten on Erev Shabbos even though other meals are prohibited. The לבוש explains because it is a seudas mitzvah. The ים של שלמה ודברי חמודות bring a proof that it is a seudas mitzvah from the Gemara mentioned earlier that רב ושמואל ורב אסי were at the seuda of a פדיון הבן. The Gemara in חולין (צה:) says that רב never had any הנאה from a סעודת הרשות. The אור זרוע says it is unlikely to say that רב didn’t eat there. It must be that the seuda of a pidyon haben is a seudas mitzvah.
The minhag is to start the seuda and do the pidyon in middle of the seuda. The מהר”י ברונ”א explains that if the pidyon is done first there won’t be any פרסום for the mitzvah. At the same time one should not eat the seuda beforehand because it is not yet considered a seudas mitzvah. For this reason the pidyon haben is done immediately following washing. The מנהג הספרדים is to first have the pidyon haben and only afterwards sit down to wash. The מנהג ירושלים is that only the כהן washes before the pidyon and everyone else washes afterwards. The שבט הלוי says that even for those who have the minhag to first wash, if more people will be able to be by the pidyon if it is done before the washing, then it should be done first since it will be done ברוב עם.1
Prepared by R’ Avrohom Yehoshua Ziskind
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1Sources:פדיון הבן כהלכתו