Immediately after Beneh Yisrael left Egypt, Hashem presented a number of commands that are intended to commemorate and memorialize this miraculous event. One of these mitzvot is pidyon ha’ben – the “redemption” of the firstborn. Hashem declared that on the night of Yetziat Mitzrayim , when He brought a plague that killed the firstborns of Egypt, but spared the firstborn of Beneh Yisrael , all bechorim (male firstborns) of Beneh Yisrael became holy. Forever more, every male firstborn in the Jewish Nation has a special status of kedushah (holiness), because the bechorim were miraculously saved from the plague in Egypt. In order for the boy to be able to live a normal life, he must be “redeemed.” This is done by the father giving a sum of money to a kohen , a mitzvah that applies even today. Interestingly, it is customary to make a festive celebration at the time of a pidyon ha’ben . The father does not just give money to a kohen – but he invites friends and family for a large meal, similar to the celebration of a berit milah . We might ask, why is this something celebrate? This infant was just “downgraded” from being consecrated for the service of Hashem, to the status of an ordinary person, who can live in an ordinary way. Why is this a cause for celebration? Shouldn’t this be a somber moment, as the child’s level of kedushah is lowered? One of the commentators explains that Judaism does not celebrate perfect, pristine holiness as an ideal. Some other religions believe that in order to live a spiritual life, one must disconnect entirely from physical life. We, however, believe in striving for kedushah from within our physical reality. This concept is expressed in the korbanot that were brought in the Bet Ha’mikdash . Non-Jews were allowed to offer sacrifices in the Bet Ha’mikdash – but only the korban olah , the sacrifice that was burned entirely on the mizbe’ah (altar). This is because the non-Jewish conception of kedushah is withdrawing from physical life. We, however, offer several different kinds of korbanot , including sacrifices that were eaten, some only by the kohanim , and some also by the person who brought the sacrifice. Because for us, eating is not contradictory to holiness. The Torah teaches us not to abstain from worldly enjoyment, but to uplift it, to elevate the mundane parts of life. This finds expression also in the observance of Shabbat. The Gemara (Betzah 16a) teaches that on Shabbat, we receive a נשמה יתירה – an “extra soul.” (This is why we smell besamim when Shabbat ends – to ease the distress of losing this “extra soul.”) Rashi explains, surprisingly enough, that this “extra soul” gives us an especially hearty appetite on Shabbat. We enjoy eating more on Shabbat because of our heightened level of kedushah . The Torah sees no contradiction whatsoever between spirituality and physical enjoyment. Kedushah means not that we abstain from physical enjoyment, but rather that we elevate it, by enjoying the world in a dignified, sanctified way. This is why we celebrate a pidyon ha’ben . Now that the child is “lowered” from his lofty status of kedushah , he is able to do the work that we Jews are supposed to do – living a physical life in a spiritual way, elevating the mundane aspects of our lives. This means that we cannot separate between our religious and mundane lives. Spirituality does not end when we leave shul, or when we go to work, or when we go on vacation. To the contrary, spirituality means that we go about our mundane lives in a holy way. It means ensuring to make time for tefilah and for Torah learning even when we’re away with the family on vacation, ensuring to recite all the berachot when we eat, and ensuring to conduct our business affairs honestly and respectably, as the Torah demands. Religion is not reserved for the shul, or for the yeshiva. It must inform every aspect of our lives, and elevate and enhance everything that we do throughout the day, each day of our lives.