Why welcome the baby? He isn't doing a Mitzva and doesn't even need to be there.

@DoubleAA Baby doesn't need to be present at a pidyon??? Source? "Flip-side" argument - I don't think a chuppah is required either, so technically, the chattan & kallah don't need to "be there" either.

Are you serious?

@DoubleAA Yes, this is a serious question. Is chuppah required?

Nissuin is required to be fully married. Entering a Chuppah might be Nissuin halachipedia.com/index.php?title=Nesuin.

@DoubleAA Fine. You've confirmed my argument, in a sense. Chuppah is prob. the most common method of nissuin, but it's not the only one. It's irrelevant to my question. In a brit, the baby isn't performing the mitzvah; the father is. Pidyon has same idea - the father is performing the mitzvah. In both cases, what mitzvah is there to perform if the baby isn't actually there? I'm missing your main point of this discussion.

A Brit is about doing a Mitzva with the child's body. How is that remotely parallel to a dad giving a Kohein coins? Should we welcome in the coins?

OK. And the chuppah affects the body???

@DanF No.

What does affecting the body have to do with anything?

Fine. So, what are we arguing about, here? There are other criteria that for some reason cause the greeting to be said at both the brit and the wedding but not a pidyon. So, what's the commonaility with the brit and chuppah that has it and that's not part of the pidyon?

@DanF The person being greeted is the center of attention. They are relevant. Going on. To do.

This was a pointless conversation. I asked you a question and now we are back to it again.

It may have been pointless, DoubleAA. I tried to follow your points; I missed them. Sorry ... that happens, sometimes.

Just answer the original comment and thereby motivate your question.

I would, if I understood your point in "he doesn't need to be there"

What is unclear about it? The kid is doing nothing and doesn't need to be there. He's essentially irrelevant to everything going on.

Why greet him and not the caterer?

he's being redeemed. Unless, you're implying that the father can redeem the baby separately without the baby having to be physically there to redeem. I think that's what I asked you, originally.

@DanF Of course the kid doesn't need to be there to be redeemed. I asked you if you were serious and you didn't say you were serious about that.

I am serious. How do you know this info? I have never seen a father redeem his son without the baby being there.

Aside from dozens of cases of people redeeming things without them being there (land in Beit Din, Maaser Sheni, Korbanot that get mixed up or lost, etc.), the extreme cases is Mishna Bekhoro t8:6 of a bechor who dies after 30 days.

The dad still redeems him. You don't suppose they exhume the body to do so?

OK. That last sentence is a convincing piece of info that I did not know, previously. Suggestion - I would be fine if you summarize the essence of the discussion along with what you cited and make it an answer. Does that make sense?

@DanF It makes sense, but I don't know that this is the reason that Barukh haBa isn't used, so I won't post it as an answer.

I hold no copyright on the Mishna though so you can do whatever you want.

In any event I still encourage you to edit to better motivate your question.

OK. I agree. Thanks for the info, and sorry, that we missed the point, earlier. Take care. What you suggested very well, COULD be the reason.

@DoubleAA I have not read the chat posts after this one, but: Note that a pidyon is performing a mitzva on the child's body also. (Though as you note he doesn't need to be present.)

If the reason we say it (or part of the reason) is that the person needs to be present (which seems to be what you're thinking, @DoubleAA ), then indeed it would apply to b'ris and chupa but not pidyon. But I don't know that that's the reason.

cc @DanF

@msh210 ? Why? The body could be completely destroyed and the Mitzva still applies.

@DoubleAA Well, on the child's self.

Or, more briefly, on the child.

Anyway, by now I have read the chat messages after that one.