What is Pidyen Rashash??
Reb Chaim Vital performed this renowned pidyon twice a year for himself. He writes in his sefer Pri Eitz Chaim, “Thousands of times this segula has been tried and proven.”
While the Arizal revealed this powerful pidyon, it was the holy Rashash who instructed us on how to perform it. The Rashash wrote that one should set aside 160 pure silver coins, recite special kabbalistic tefilos, and donate these coins to talmidei chachamim who are moser nefesh to learn Torah.
The 160 coins, equivalent to the numerical value of “eitz,” symbolize man, who is likened to a tree, an “eitz” hasadeh. Through this segula, the person receives a pidyon nefesh (redemption of his soul) where judgment is transferred from the person to the coins and the person receives a new tzelem Elokim.
The pidyon Rashash is cited and referred to in countless sefarim. Many illustrious gedolim and rebbes have quoted and performed the renowned Pidyon Rashash.
The sefer Shemen Sason writes that for whoever the Pidyon Rashash is performed will certainly live through the year! Who can deny themselves the promise of life?!
The Sefer Sha’arei Rachamim describes the Pidyon Rashash as a segulah received from Eliyahu HaNavi himself.
The segula is tremendously potent every time, and specially Every Erev rosh Chudesh . When the Ropshitzer Rav was sick, the Ateres Tzvi even wrote to the Zera Kodesh that he will perform the pidyon for him and “certainly, certainly, certainly, you will merit a yeshua!”
We are living in desperate times. Klal Yisrael is looking out for refuos, shidduchim, nachas, parnasah, etc. It is mekubal that often there are wonderful hashpaos and yeshuos waiting to come down, but we are not worthy of them. Once the Pidyon Rashash is performed, we are pure, with a new tzelem Elokim, clearing the path for the hashpaos tovos to descend.
In the time of the emperor Napoleon, the holy Chasam Sofer did the Pidyon Rashash for all the residents of Pressburg, and although all the homes were destroyed in the war, not one Yid perished. It was a truly wonderful miracle.
The holy Maggid of Mezritch did the Pidyon Rashash for an esteemed woman who was critically ill and she miraculously recovered.
When the holy mekubal Rav Mordechai Sharabi was asked to pray on behalf of Jews who were very ill, he would do the Pidyon Rashash for them and would say “it is a proven segula.”