עבדות

At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which he hath lent unto his neighbour; he shall not exact it of his neighbour and his brother; because the LORD’S release hath been proclaimed. Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it; but whatsoever of thine is with thy brother thy hand shall release. Howbeit there shall be no needy among you—for the LORD will surely bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it— if only thou diligently hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all this commandment which I command thee this day. For the LORD thy God will bless thee, as He promised thee; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee. If there be among you a needy man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates, in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying: ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand’; and thine eye be evil against thy needy brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin in thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing the LORD thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee, saying: ‘Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy poor and needy brother, in thy land.’ If thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, he shall serve thee six years; and in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when thou lettest him go free from thee, thou shalt not let him go empty; thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy winepress; of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee; therefore I command thee this thing to-day.

וזכרת כי עבד היית וגו׳ AND THOU SHALT REMEMBER THAT THOU WAST A SLAVE [IN THE LAND OF EGYPT … AND THE LORD BROUGHT THEE FORTH FROM THERE … THEREFORE HE COMMANDS THEE TO KEEP THE SABBATH DAY] — On that condition He freed you — that you should be a servant to Him and observe His commandments.

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai would expound this verse as a type of decorative wreath [ḥomer], i.e., as an allegory: Why is the ear different from all the other limbs in the body, as the ear alone is pierced? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: This ear heard My voice on Mount Sinai when I said: “For to Me the children of Israel are slaves” (Leviticus 25:55), which indicates: And they should not be slaves to slaves. And yet this man went and willingly acquired a master for himself. Therefore, let this ear be pierced. And Rabbi Shimon bar Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi would likewise expound this verse as a type of decorative wreath: Why are the door and a doorpost different from all other objects in the house, that the piercing is performed with them? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: The door and the doorpost were witnesses in Egypt when I passed over the lintel and when I passed over the two doorposts of houses in which there were Jews (Exodus, chapter 12), and I said: “For to Me the children of Israel are slaves,” and they should not be slaves to slaves. And I delivered them at that time from slavery to freedom, and yet this man went and acquired a master for himself. Therefore, let him be pierced before them, as they are witnesses that he violated God’s will.

A Hebrew slave spoken of in the Torah is an Israelite whom the court sold into servitude forcibly, or one who sold himself voluntarily. If, for example, a man committed a theft and has no means to pay the value of the stolen object, the court sells him, as we have stated in the section concerning theft. With the exception of a thief, the court may not sell any Israelite. When the Torah says: "If you buy a Hebrew slave" (Exodus 21:2), it refers to one whom the court has sold. Of such a one it is written in Deuteronomy: "If your fellow Hebrew is sold to you" (15:12). The person who voluntarily sells himself into slavery is an Israelite who has become exceedingly poor, and the Torah has permitted him to sell himself, as it is written: "If your brother becomes poor and sells himself to you" (Leviticus 25:39). He is not permitted to sell himself and put the money away or buy merchandise or utensils with it, or give it to a creditor. He can sell his freedom only if he needs the money for food. One is not permitted to sell himself unless he has nothing left, not even clothing. Only then may he sell himself. We have already explained that a woman may not be sold by the court for theft, nor may she sell herself.— — If the court sells a Hebrew slave, it sells him only to an Israelite or to a true proselyte. So too, if one voluntarily sells himself, he must not sell himself to a heathen, or even to a resident alien who renounced idolatry. If, however, he broke the law and sold himself even to an idolater, or even to the idol itself [to take care of it], he is sold, as it is written: "If he sells himself to the resident alien … or to an offshoot of an alien's family" (Leviticus 25:47). Offshoot alludes to one who sells himself [to be of service] to the idol itself. If one comes and tells you: "I am going to sell myself to a heathen," you are not obligated to pay attention to him unless he has sold himself already. But after he has sold himself to a heathen, even though he has broken the law and acted wrongfully, it is a duty to redeem him, so that he may not become assimilated with idolaters, as it is written: "After he has sold himself he should be bought back." Whether he sells himself or is sold by the court, he must not be sold publicly at an auction place or in a backstreet, as slaves are generally sold, for it is written: "They must not be sold as slaves are sold" (Leviticus 25:42). He should rather be sold privately and politely. It is forbidden to work a Hebrew slave ruthlessly. What is meant by ruthless work? It is work that has no definite time or limit, or needless work designed only to keep the slave working and occupied. Hence, the sages have said: The master should not tell the Hebrew slave: "Pluck weeds under the vines until I arrive," because he has not given him a time limit. He should rather tell him : Pluck weeds until a certain hour or up to a certain place. Nor should he say to him: "Dig up this place," when he does not need it. It is even forbidden to tell him to prepare a glass of hot or cold water for him if he does not need it. By doing this he breaks a prohibitive law, as it is written: "You shall not rule over him ruthlessly" (43). This implies that the Hebrew slave is to do for the master only what is time-marked and needed. An Israelite who bought any Hebrew slave is forbidden to impose upon him humiliating tasks, performed by slaves only, such as making him carry his clothing to the bathhouse, or take off his shoes, as it is written: "Do not subject him to the treatment of a slave" (39). He must treat him as a hired worker, as it is written: "You must let him stay with you as a hired servant and a resident alien" (40).— — This applies only to a Hebrew slave, who feels humiliated by having been sold. It is, however, permissible to impose the work of a slave upon an Israelite who has not been sold, since the latter is doing this work voluntarily and with his own consent. [Regarding] people that do not behave well, it is permissible to subjugate them with force and enslave them. [If there is] a king that rules that anyone that does not give the fixed tax, [and that therefore] he is enslaved to whoever pays the tax [for him], it is permissible to use him more than necessary. But not like a [Caananite] slave. [But] if he does not behave well, it is permissible to use him as a [Caananite] slave. The master must treat his Hebrew male and female slaves as his equals as to food, drink, clothing, and shelter, as it is written: "Because he fares well with you" (Deuteronomy 15:16), meaning that you should not eat white bread, and the slave black bread; you should not drink old wine, and he new wine; you should not sleep on a feather bed, and he on straw; you should not live in the city, and he in the village; or you in the village, and he in the city, as it is written: "He shall come out from staying with you" (Leviticus 25:41). Hence, the sages have declared: "He who has bought a Hebrew slave is like one who has acquired a master for himself" (Kiddushin 20a). He should treat him brotherly, as it is written : "You must not lord it over your brothers the children of Israel" (Leviticus 25:46). Nevertheless, the slave should behave as a slave in the servile work he does for his master. The laws pertaining to Hebrew female and male slaves are applicable only when the law of the jubilee year applies, regardless of whether it is a Hebrew slave who has sold himself or one whom the court has sold. We have already explained as to when jubilees were discontinued.

It is permissible to work a heathen slave relentlessly. Even though it is lawful, the quality of benevolence and the paths of wisdom demand of a human being to be merciful and striving for justice. One should not press his heavy yoke on his slave and torment him, but should give him to eat and drink of everything. The sages of old were in the habit of sharing with the slave every dish they ate, and they fed the cattle as well as the slaves before they themselves sat down to eat.— — Nor should a master disgrace his servant by hand or by words; the biblical law surrendered them to servitude, but not to disgrace (Niddah 47a). He should not madly scream at his servant, but speak to him gently and listen to his complaints.— — Cruelty is frequently to be found only among heathen who worship idols. The progeny of our father Abraham, however, the people of Israel upon whom God bestowed the goodness of the Torah, commanding them to keep the laws of goodness, are merciful toward all creatures. So too, in speaking of the divine attributes, which he has commanded us to imitate, the psalmist says: "His mercy is over all his works" (Psalm 145:9). Whoever is merciful will receive mercy, as it is written: "He will be merciful and compassionate to you and multiply you" (Deuteronomy 13:18).

Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a bondman that is escaped from his master unto thee;

And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within they gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are in the midst of thee, in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt; and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.

Another interpretation: "And he saw their suffering" that they did not have rest. He went and said to Pharaoh, " One who has a slave, if he does not rest one day a week, he will die! While your slaves, if you don't allow them rest one day a week , they will die!" He said to them, "Go and do for them as you are saying." Moses went and established the Sabbath day for them to rest. "And he saw an Egyptian man." What did he see? R. Huna say in the name of Bar Kaprah, for 4 things the Israelites were redeemed from Egypt, one was for not changing their names (Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah, Vayikra Rabba 32). And from where do we learn that they didn't engage in adultery? Because it happened once and the verse publicized it, as it's written: And his mother's name was Shlomit bat Divri etc. (Lev 24:10). Our teachers say there were taskmasters among the Egyptians and officers from the Israelites, one taskmaster appointed over ten officers. One officer appointed over ten Israelites. And the taskmasters would go to the houses of the officers at daybreak to make them go call the workers. Once an Egyptian taskmaster went to [do so to] an Israelite officer and he set his eye on his wife who was beautiful without blemish. He called the man and brought him out of his house, then the Egyptian returned and had relations with his wife and she thought that he was her husband and became pregnant from him. Her husband returned and found the Egyptian leaving his house. He asked her, Did he touch you? She said yes, but I thought he was you. When the taskmaster saw that he suspected him he returned him to hard labor and struck him and sought to kill him. Moshe saw this and looked at him and saw with Ruah Hakodesh what he did in the house, and saw what would be done in the field, and said surely he deserves death, as it is written: One who strikes a man shall die. And not only this, but moreover he slept with the wife of Datan and therefore deserved killing, as it says: The adulterer and adulteress shall surely die (Lev 20:10), and that is why it is written: And he turned this way and that etc., he saw what he did to him at home and what he did to him in the field.