Parshas Chayei Sarah 5787
בכורות מו.
פדיון הבן
Meforshim discuss, if a בכור never had a פדיון הבן and is now a גדול and wants to be פודה himself, but his father is around and wants to be פודה him, who has קדימה the father or the son? The gemara [קידושין כט] says, if a father wasn’t פודה his בכור, the בכור is obligated to be פודה himself when he becomes a גדול.
The חינוך says: even if the father wasn’t פודה his son when he was a קטן and he is now a גדול and is מחוייב to redeem himself, the חיוב on the father still (also) remains. Whoever does the פדיון first is זוכה. The חינוך explains, this is מבואר from the pasuk "וכל בכור אדם בבניך תפדה". This is משמע that the father is responsible to be פודה his son regardless of the son’s age. This is also מבואר from the gemara in קידושין. The מנחת חינוך explains that the חינוך is referring to [דף כט] where the gemara brings a braisa that lists the obligations a father must do for his son. One of the items on the list is to marry him off (להשיאו) and to redeem him (לפדותו). So, just like the חיוב להשיאו is when the son is a גדול, so too, a father is responsible for פדיון הבן even after his son is a גדול. He adds that this is also מבואר from the sugya there that discusses a case where the father and son haven’t had a פדיון yet; who should the father redeem first? (הוא ובנו לפדות, הוא קודם). ע"ש.
The רשב"א was asked: what is the דין regarding a בכור that never had a פדיון הבן and as a גדול wants to redeem himself. The רשב"א answers, it is פשוט to me that "לא פקע זכות האב לעולם", and it is also מסתברא that if the father now wishes to be פודה his son, he has קדימה over the son. The שו"ע in [יו"ד ש"ה,סי' י'] says, if one is פודה himself, he changes the נוסח הברכה from אקב"ו על פדיון הבן, to- אקב"ו לפדות בכור. The רמ"א disagrees and says even if one is פודה himself, he still says "על". The rule is, a ברכה made on a mitzvah that is not incumbent on that person to do, the נוסח would be to say "על". For example, a מוהל doing a מילה on behalf of the father would say "על המילה". Because it is not his personal obligation. But if the father himself was the מוהל, he would say למול, not "על המילה". The ריב"ש in [ס' קלא] brings the Rambam [ביכורים פי"א,הל' ו,ז] that the נוסח הברכה for a אב that is פודה his son is "על", but if one is פודה himself he says "ל". The ריב"ש explains, when the father is פודה his son, it is a mitzvah that may be done by the son when he becomes a גדול. So based on the rule above, it is appropriate to say "על". But when the בן is a גדול and wants to be פודה himself, at this point it may only be performed by the בן, so it is appropriate for him to use the נוסח of "ל". He continues, that we see this, from the דין of הוא לפדות ובנו לפדות הוא קודם. So, because the father’s פדיון has קדימה we see that really the responsibility of the son’s פדייה is on the בן, but since he is a קטן and not responsible, the father does it for him. But if both need to be done, the father’s comes first. This explanation of שיטת הרמב"ם by the ריב"ש, is saying that the רמב"ם does not hold like the above חינוך and רשב"א, who both say that the חיוב פדיון הבן of the אב, is never פקע even once the בן is a gadol. (ועיין בין הריחיים יבמות נד)