Pidyon Shvuyim

The Mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyim (Hebrew: פדיון שבויים, literally: Redemption of Prisoners) is considered an important commandment in the Jewish Halakha. The aim of this Mitzvah, which is the most important of the Mitzvot of Tzedakah [Maimonides, Hilchot Matanot Aniyim 8:10 , Mishneh Torah] , is to bring about the release any Children of Israel held captive by gentiles. The Mitzvah carries a great humanitarian value in the framework of functional community life.

= Source =The Rambam writes::"The redeeming of captives takes precedence over supporting the poor or clothing them. There is no greater mitzvah than redeeming captives for the problems of the captive include being hungry, thirsty, unclothed, and they are in danger of their lives too. Ignoring the need to redeem captives goes against these Torah laws::“Do not harden your heart or shut your hand against your needy fellow” (Devarim 15:7); “Do not stand idly by while your neighbor’s blood is shed” (Vayikra 19:16). And misses out on the following mitzvot: “You must surely open your hand to him or her” (Devarim15:8); “...Love your neighbor as yourself” (Vayikra 19:18); “Rescue those who are drawn to death” (Proverbs 24:11) and there is no mitzvah greater than the redeeming of captives." [Maimonides, Hilchot Matanot Aniyim 8:10 , Mishneh Torah, as cited at: http://www.babaganewz.com/teachers/pdfs/2701lesson.pdf]

The Shulchan Aruch adds::"Every moment that one delays in freeing captives, in cases where it is possible to expedite their freedom, is considered to be tantamount to murder." [Shulchan Aruch (Y”D 252:3), as cited at: http://www.torahmitzion.org/heb/resources/show.asp?id=435]

= Limitations in the Practice of the Mitzvah =Despite the importance of the Mitzvah, it should be performed within a number of boundaries, the most significant of which is:

:"One does not ransom captives for more than their value because of Tikkun Olam (literally: "fixing the world"; for the good order of the world; as a precaution for the general good) and one does not help captives escape because of Tikkun Olam." [Mishna, Gittin 4:6, as cited at: http://www.myjewishlearning.com/daily_life/GemilutHasadim/Social_Welfare/PidyonShvuyim.htm]

One of the aims of this restriction is to avoid encouraging kidnappers, or those seeking financial gain by capturing any of the Jewish people and demanding a Kofer in exchange, due to the knowledge of how sensitive the Children of Israel are to rescuing their prisoners are any price. There are certain instances in which this restriction does not apply, such as when a man wishes to pay an excessive sum for his freedom, or when the prisoner is a Talmid Chacham, or when a husband is attempting to earn the freedom of his wife. [Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 252:4]

A prominent example of the practice of this restriction in reality was the affair of the arrest of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, a Gadol of Ashkenazi Jewry in the 13th Century, who forbade his pidyon from prison citing the aforementioned restriction, despite the fact that according to the Halakha it was permitted to pay a substantial sum for his release.

Another restriction is that if a person repeatedly causes his own capture time after time, a pidyon is no longer required after the third time. This refers to a situation a person has sold themselves, or has been taken to prison due to a crime committed intentionally. This restriction only applies when the life of the captive is not in danger; if his captors desire to kill him, a pidyon is mandatory. [Maimonides, Hilchot Matanot Aniyim 8:13 , Mishneh Torah] [Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 252:7]

= Relevance to Israeli Captives = References =