Regarding the propitiousness of a pidyon (redemption):

Money is an aspect of judgment. As it is written (Deuteronomy 11:6), “and all the property at their feet”—this is a man’s money, which puts him on his feet (Pesachim 119a). Hence, money corresponds to the feet.

This is the meaning of (Isaiah 41:2), “met righteousness wherever he set his foot.” Moreover, “righteousness is holy Malkhut” (Tikkuney Zohar, Introduction). And Malkhut is an aspect of judgment, for “the judgment of malkhut is judgment” (Gittin 10b). Therefore, money is an aspect of judgment.

Now, it is necessary to mitigate the judgments at their root. The root of judgment is in Binah (Understanding), as it is written (Proverbs 8:14), “I am binah (understanding); I have strength.” Therefore, through the placing of hands on the money, the judgments are mitigated.

This is because there are three hands in Binah: there are two hands—the “great hand” and the “strong hand”—and the synthesis of the two is the “exalted hand.” Thus, by virtue of the money/judgments coming into the hands—the three hands that are in Binah—the judgments are mitigated at their root. For their root is Binah, in which are the aforementioned three hands.

Aperson must mitigate the judgment in this World of Action by means of the three hands that are in each of the three worlds which are higher than this World of Action—namely, Nearness, Creation and Formation.

When the judgment of the World of Action is mitigated by the three hands in Formation, it is mitigated by means of the Name of Forty-Two: Ana B’koach Gedulah…. This is because forty-two is equal to three times YaD (hand).

And in the World of Creation it is mitigated by means of the Name EHYeH and the Name YHV, which together are also equal to forty-two, three times YaD.

And higher up, in the World of Nearness, it is mitigated by means of the forty-two letters in the Name MaH—i.e., the simple spelling, the expansion, and the expansion of the expansion. Together they are forty-two letters, three times YaD.

Moreover, a person must try to avoid being stingy, so that the judgments should not remain with him. This requires extraordinary wisdom, to know how much the person must give so that the judgments do not remain with him.