Garlic and Sugar at a Pidyon ha-Ben

Ariella at Kallah Magazine Blog asks the reason behind the minhag to distribute garlic and sugar to the attendees of a pidyon ha-ben.

The question intrigued me, so I did a google search. Apparently, there's a well-known (aren't they all?) dictum that one who joins in the mitzvah of Pidyon HaBen is considered as if he has fasted 84 fasts. Shem MiShim’on (by R’ Shim’on Pollack) Yo”D 29 states that he doesn’t know where this idea comes from, but he has an arichus that tries to explain it. This being the case, by taking garlic and sugar, which are foods that go a long way, people can spread the mitzvah out to many other people. There may also be a symbolism in the sugar of sweet things to come and in the garlic of warding off evil spirits.

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As Seen in the Supermarket...

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