Why Pidyon?

Freedom from Spiritual Confinement

According to Maimonides, the mitzvah of pidyon shevuyim — the "redemption of captives" — is the "highest form of charity, superseding all others." Maimonides ruled that funds must be diverted from Hebrew schools, synagogues, and other community needs to physically and spiritually redeem a Jewish prisoner.

While the shvuyim (prisoners) covered by this mitzvah are physically incarcerated, there is another set of prisoners considered in halacha: the tinok shenishba ben ha-goyim, the child raised with no Jewish eduction. The Talmud brings the question: "A child raised ignorant of Judaism — what is his liability for having violated shabbos?" These spiritually captive Jews, raised without the benefit of Torah, are the Jewish prisoners of our time.

Pidyon is dedicated to freeing the spiritually captive Jews of our time. Our philosophy, goals, and methods are as follows:

• Only Torah provides freedom from spiritual confinement.
• Expose the tinok shenishba to Torah and let him learn.
• The tinok shenishba should be taught Torah with all of its sophistication. Spiritual ignorance can only be defeated through the wisdom of Torah.
• Develop and promote innovative programs and education materials that reveal the beauty and truth of Torah.
• Kiruv must bring the tinok shenishba to learn Torah and halacha. It isn't enough just to get people to go through the motions and feel good. Yiddishkeit is about coming closer to Hashem, and the way we come closer to Hashem is by learning Torah and doing mitzvot. To do mitzvot properly, we have to know the rules -- to learn halacha.
• The tools of modernity — technology and multi-media among others — should be used to appeal the modern tinok shenishba. Fluency with these tools is an asset to facilitate introduction to Torah.

Pidyon needs you to help support our educational efforts. Money raised is used for:

• Development of educational programs and materials, including classes, lectures, and seminars;
• Expenses associated with program execution;
• Gifts of religious articles to those who cannot make such purchases themselves;
• Telephone, internet, and miscellaneous office expenses.

We hope you will join us and we thank you for your support.

Pidyon, Inc. is a 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to redeeming the spiritual captives of our time. Contributions to Pidyon are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. For more information, or to support Pidyon, contact us privately.

Copyright © 2005-2008 Pidyon, Inc. All rights reserved.
Permission is hereby granted to reference this material provided that proper citation is included. It is also permitted to copy or archive small selections of this material for reasonable personal use. With the exception of such personal use, this material may not be copied, archived or distributed in any form without the explicit written permission of Pidyon, Inc.. Violation of this copyright is g'neivat da'at and is punishable both in Olam HaZeh and Olam HaBa.

Pidyon is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

..................