(ב) דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם כִּ֤י תָבֹ֙אוּ֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י נֹתֵ֣ן לָכֶ֑ם וְשָׁבְתָ֣ה הָאָ֔רֶץ שַׁבָּ֖ת לַה'׃ (ג) שֵׁ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ תִּזְרַ֣ע שָׂדֶ֔ךָ וְשֵׁ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים תִּזְמֹ֣ר כַּרְמֶ֑ךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ֖ אֶת־תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃ (ד) וּבַשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗ת שַׁבַּ֤ת שַׁבָּתוֹן֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה לָאָ֔רֶץ שַׁבָּ֖ת לַה' שָֽׂדְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תִזְרָ֔ע וְכַרְמְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תִזְמֹֽר׃ (ה) אֵ֣ת סְפִ֤יחַ קְצִֽירְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תִקְצ֔וֹר וְאֶת־עִנְּבֵ֥י נְזִירֶ֖ךָ לֹ֣א תִבְצֹ֑ר שְׁנַ֥ת שַׁבָּת֖וֹן יִהְיֶ֥ה לָאָֽרֶץ׃ (ו) וְ֠הָיְתָה שַׁבַּ֨ת הָאָ֤רֶץ לָכֶם֙ לְאָכְלָ֔ה לְךָ֖ וּלְעַבְדְּךָ֣ וְלַאֲמָתֶ֑ךָ וְלִשְׂכִֽירְךָ֙ וּלְתוֹשָׁ֣בְךָ֔ הַגָּרִ֖ים עִמָּֽךְ׃ (ז) וְלִ֨בְהֶמְתְּךָ֔ וְלַֽחַיָּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּאַרְצֶ֑ךָ תִּהְיֶ֥ה כָל־תְּבוּאָתָ֖הּ לֶאֱכֹֽל׃ (ס) (ח) וְסָפַרְתָּ֣ לְךָ֗ שֶׁ֚בַע שַׁבְּתֹ֣ת שָׁנִ֔ים שֶׁ֥בַע שָׁנִ֖ים שֶׁ֣בַע פְּעָמִ֑ים וְהָי֣וּ לְךָ֗ יְמֵי֙ שֶׁ֚בַע שַׁבְּתֹ֣ת הַשָּׁנִ֔ים תֵּ֥שַׁע וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים שָׁנָֽה׃ (ט) וְהַֽעֲבַרְתָּ֞ שׁוֹפַ֤ר תְּרוּעָה֙ בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִעִ֔י בֶּעָשׂ֖וֹר לַחֹ֑דֶשׁ בְּיוֹם֙ הַכִּפֻּרִ֔ים תַּעֲבִ֥ירוּ שׁוֹפָ֖ר בְּכָל־אַרְצְכֶֽם׃ (י) וְקִדַּשְׁתֶּ֗ם אֵ֣ת שְׁנַ֤ת הַחֲמִשִּׁים֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וּקְרָאתֶ֥ם דְּר֛וֹר בָּאָ֖רֶץ לְכָל־יֹשְׁבֶ֑יהָ יוֹבֵ֥ל הִוא֙ תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֔ם וְשַׁבְתֶּ֗ם אִ֚ישׁ אֶל־אֲחֻזָּת֔וֹ וְאִ֥ישׁ אֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹ תָּשֻֽׁבוּ׃ (יא) יוֹבֵ֣ל הִ֗וא שְׁנַ֛ת הַחֲמִשִּׁ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֑ם לֹ֣א תִזְרָ֔עוּ וְלֹ֤א תִקְצְרוּ֙ אֶת־סְפִיחֶ֔יהָ וְלֹ֥א תִבְצְר֖וּ אֶת־נְזִרֶֽיהָ׃ (יב) כִּ֚י יוֹבֵ֣ל הִ֔וא קֹ֖דֶשׁ תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֑ם מִן־הַ֨שָּׂדֶ֔ה תֹּאכְל֖וּ אֶת־תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃ (יג) בִּשְׁנַ֥ת הַיּוֹבֵ֖ל הַזֹּ֑את תָּשֻׁ֕בוּ אִ֖ישׁ אֶל־אֲחֻזָּתֽוֹ׃
(2) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land that I assign to you, the land shall observe a sabbath of the LORD. (3) Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield. (4) But in the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath of complete rest, a sabbath of the LORD: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. (5) You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untrimmed vines; it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. (6) But you may eat whatever the land during its sabbath will produce—you, your male and female slaves, the hired and bound laborers who live with you, (7) and your cattle and the beasts in your land may eat all its yield. (8) You shall count off seven weeks of years—seven times seven years—so that the period of seven weeks of years gives you a total of forty-nine years. (9) Then you shall sound the horn [shofar] loud; in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month—the Day of Atonement—you shall have the horn [shofar] sounded throughout your land (10) and you shall hallow the fiftieth year. You shall proclaim release throughout the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee [yovel] for you: each of you shall return to his holding and each of you shall return to his family. (11) That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, neither shall you reap the aftergrowth or harvest the untrimmed vines, (12) for it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you: you may only eat the growth direct from the field. (13) In this year of jubilee, each of you shall return to his holding.
...I will make the land desolate, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled by it. And you I will scatter among the nations, and I will unsheath the sword against you. Your land shall become a desolation and your cities a ruin. Then shall the land make up for its sabbath years throughout the time that it is desolate and you are in the land of your enemies; then shall the land rest and make up for its sabbath years. Throughout the time that it is desolate, it shall observe the rest that it did not observe in your sabbath years while you were dwelling upon it.
אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בַּר פָּפָּא: כׇּל הַנֶּהֱנֶה מִן הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה בְּלֹא בְּרָכָה כְּאִילּוּ גּוֹזֵל לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וּכְנֶסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״גּוֹזֵל אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ וְאוֹמֵר אֵין פָּשַׁע חָבֵר הוּא לְאִישׁ מַשְׁחִית״. וְאֵין ״אָבִיו״ אֶלָּא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הֲלֹא הוּא אָבִיךְ קָּנֶךָ״, וְאֵין ״אִמּוֹ״ אֶלָּא כְּנֶסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״שְׁמַע בְּנִי מוּסַר אָבִיךָ וְאַל תִּטּוֹשׁ תּוֹרַת אִמֶּךָ״.
Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa said: Anyone who derives benefit from this world without a blessing, it is as if he stole from God and the community of Israel, as it is stated: “Whoever robs his father and his mother and says: It is no transgression, he is the companion of a destroyer” (Proverbs 28:24). The phrase, his father, refers to none other than God, as it is stated: “Is He not your Father Who created you, Who made you and established you” (Deuteronomy 32:6). The phrase his mother refers to none other than the community of Israel, as it is stated: “Hear, my son, the discipline of your father, and do not forsake the Torah of your mother” (Proverbs 1:8).
- Rashi (11th c. France)
…our Sages of Blessed Memory explained that a yovel is a type of sheep, the proof of which is in the phrase “shofarot ha’yovelim,” so the year is named after the type of shofar.
- Ibn Ezra (12th c. Spain)
...the year [is called] yovel [....] because of the freedom it brings. [...] It says in this verse, “proclaim liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants,” because free people can live wherever they want, and then it calls it yovel because every person is conducted (yuval) back to their ancestral holding…and Scripture uses a similar expression in numerous places…it should be understood as a time of “conveying".
- Ramban (13th c. Spain)
Yovel teaches about dominion and freedom, it comes from the root “b.l.l. ב.ל.ל” just like “belulot b’shamen, mixed with oil,” having to do with mixtures. This is because in the year of yovel, there is a mixture because there is a blending of domains [i.e. of public and private property], there is a blending of the order of domains in fields and over servants, one who acquires becomes like one who sells…unified freedom implies one unified domain for all of us – there is no upper or lower hand, no more or less than one another. The tool we use to announce this blending of domains is also called a yovel, and this is why it is called “the horn of the yovel.”
- HaKetav V’HaKabbalah (19th c. Germany)
According to its simple meaning, it is an expression of moving from one place to another place. This is why the antelope is also referred to as a yovel, because it is always moving from place to place.
- Ha’Emek Ha’Davar (19th c. Russia/Poland)
וספרת לך שבע שבתת שנים שבע שנים וכו' והעברת שופר תרועה וכו' ושבתם איש אל אחזתו וכו' בשנת היובל הזאת תשבו איש אל אחזתו. ענין שמיטה ויובל הוא נגד המדות הנזכרות במס' אבות [פ"ה,מ"י] שלי שלך, שלך שלך. שמיטה, היא נגד מדות שלי שלך, היינו אף כי הארץ נתן לבני אדם שיש לאדם קנין בארץ שיוכל להוציא לו ממנה כל הטובות שבעולם, כי כל מיני טובות שבעולם נכללים בארץ כמ"ש (קהלת ג',כ') הכל היה מהעפר, ובשביעית יתן הארץ להש"י, כי הוא שובת ממלאכה ומעבודת הארץ של רשות על פי רצון ה' וישמור פקודותיו, וזה יקרא שלי שלך, היינו שהאדם מקנה להש"י כל קנינו בארץ. ויובל הוא נגד מדות שלך שלך שמצות יובל הוא שישוב איש אל אחוזתו ואיש אל משפחתו, כי באמת אלקים עשה את האדם ישר בארץ וחילק נחלה לכל אחד ואחד כפי מעלתו השייך לו בשורשו, וכן הציב איש על דגלו ואמר עליהם עבדי הם, אך מחמת שהם בקשו חשבונות רבים עד שזה יזכה לעלות ולהרחיב את גבולו ולקנות חבירו לעבוד בו, וזה ירד ולמכור מאחזתו עד שמוכר עצמו, אך ביען כי דבר ה' יקום לעד ולא ישתנה ח"ו ע"י מעשה בני אדם, אכן על משפטי ה' שיעברו על האדם לא יגיעו לעומק שורשו, כי ברא הש"י עת לכל דבר שישוב לאחזתו, ואת שנת היובל ברא בכדי שאז ישוב כל איש אל מקומו ואחזתו השייך לו מאת ה' כמו שנאמר שנת היובל קודש יהיה לכם....
The idea of the Shemita year and the Jubilee year corresponds to the characters mentioned in Avot (Avot 5:10) - what is mine is yours, what is yours is yours. That is, even if the land was given to human beings, to the point that there is such a thing as acquisition of the land, that one can take from the land all the good things in the world - you know, that all good things in the world come actually from the land, as it says "all came from the dust" (Kohelet/Eccl. 3:20). And in the seventh [year/day], [when] one gives the land to the Holy One of Blessing, since one stops from working and tilling the land because of God's desire, and one observes God's commandment, one is called "mine is Yours" - that is, a person acquires for the Holy One of Blessing all one's possessions in the land. And the Jubilee corresponds to "Y/yours is Y/yours" since the mitzvah of the Jubilee is that a person returns to their holding and to their family, because in truth E-lohim made humans be on the earth, and distributed to each human an inheritance that corresponds to one's soul-root, and set each under their banner, and said to them: you are My servants. But due to the many desires of making many accounts, until one comes to expand one's boundaries and even acquires one's friends as servants, and this [friend] goes down and sells [the friend's] inheritance to the point that eventually [the friend] sells their own person, it was [necessary to establish that] God's word will exist forever and that it wouldn't, God forbid, change because of the deeds of humans, therefore even though they transgressed the laws regarding humans, [the transgression] does not reach the soul-root, since the Holy One created times when everything returns to their holding, and the [laws of the] Jubilee year were created so that every person will return to their place and the inheritance that belongs to them.
שִֽׁמְעָ֥ה־תְפִלָּתִ֨י ׀ ה' וְשַׁוְעָתִ֨י ׀ הַאֲזִינָה֮ אֶֽל־דִּמְעָתִ֗י אַֽל־תֶּ֫חֱרַ֥שׁ כִּ֤י גֵ֣ר אָנֹכִ֣י עִמָּ֑ךְ תּ֝וֹשָׁ֗ב כְּכָל־אֲבוֹתָֽי׃
"Jubilee" - Even if one did not cease working the land, even if one did not blow the Shofar, [it would still be the Yovel]. But does that apply even if one did not set free the slaves? The Torah says, "It is," the words of R' Yehudah. R' Jose says, "Jubilee" - even if one did not cease working the land, even if one did not free the slaves. Is it still true even if one did not blow the Shofar? Torah says: "It is." R' Jose says, "Since one verse pegs [Yovel] to blowing the Shofar and another ties it to freeing the sleeves, even so, one can say that there could be a Jubilee without freeing slaves (as maybe no one owned any slaves), but it would be impossible to say that you can have Yovel without the Shofar!
Another take: blowing the Shofar is the responsibility of the Beit Din, but freeing the slaves is up to each of us.
But all this appears to me to be incorrect. For the meaning of shofroth ha’yovlim is “the horns of the rams,” and Yonathan [ben Uziel] also translated there: “shofroth [made] of rams’ horns.” It is also so stated in the Gemara: “What intimation is there that the term yoveil is an expression for a ram? In Arabic they call a ram yovlo.” Now the Shofar used on the Day of Atonement [in the Jubilee year] does not necessarily need to be a ram’s horn, for all shofroth (horns) are valid on it, and in the opinion of our Mishnah and all the Tannaim (Sages of the Mishnah), the commandment is [preferably to be performed in the year of the Jubilee] with the horn of wild goats. If so, why then would the [Jubilee] year be called “the year of the ram?”
Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the meaning of yoveil is like “sending forth.” In my opinion, Scripture does not call the year yoveil with reference to the blowing [of the Shofar], but with reference to “the liberty” [that it brings to the inhabitants of the Land]; for this term is not mentioned in the first verse which states, Then shalt thou make proclamation with the blast of the horn. But when He stated [in the verse before us] and ye shall proclaim liberty throughout the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof, meaning that they shall all be free to reside wherever they please, He continued by saying ‘yoveil hi,’ that it is a year in which every man is “carried away” to his possession, and his feet “transport him” to his family afar off to sojourn. This term [yoveil] is used in connection with many subjects. Thus: ‘yuval’ (there shall be brought) a present unto the Eternal of hosts, and it is further stated: and on ‘yuval’ it spreadeth out its roots; streams and ‘yivlei mayim’, which mean “channels through which water is conveyed.” And the Land shall yield ‘yevulah'; and neither shall ‘yevul’ be in the vines also signify a kind of “bringing” [of produce or fruits], just as they are called t’vuah [“produce,” which is of the root “bringing”]. Similarly in Aramaic [as will be explained]. Thus: and carry it quickly the Targum renders: “v’ovil quickly.” Thus the meaning of it shall be ‘yoveil’ unto you is “it is a year which ‘brings’ [liberty] and it shall be so to all of you, that you shall come and return every man unto his possession, and every man unto his family.” And He stated again [in the following verse], A ‘yoveil’ shall that fiftieth year be unto you meaning that the fiftieth year shall be to you only for yoveil [“bringing” liberty], and not for anything else, and ye shall not sow, neither reap, but instead it shall be holy and every man shall return unto his possession, so that the year shall be for all of you a yoveil [bringing everyone back to his possession and family], as its name indicates.
And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the term d’ror (liberty) is related to the expression, ‘dor’ (a generation) passeth away, ‘v’dor’ (and a generation) cometh. Similarly, yoveil means that everyone will return to the yoveil (source) whence his roots are, and this shall be unto you, [until that time].
יובל לשון דרור וחירות, ולשון הובלה, שבשנה זו הכל מובל וחוזר למקומו: העבדים לביתם והקרקעות לבעליהן. וזהו שנאמר (ויקרא כה, י): "וְקִדַּשְׁתֶּם אֵת שְׁנַת הַחֲמִשִּׁים שָׁנָה וּקְרָאתֶם דְּרוֹר בָּאָרֶץ לְכָל יֹשְׁבֶיהָ, יוֹבֵל הִוא תִּהְיֶה לָכֶם, וְשַׁבְתֶּם אִישׁ אֶל אֲחֻזָּתוֹ וְאִישׁ אֶל מִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ תָּשֻׁבוּ". וכן נחל נקרא יוּבַל, שכשם שהנחל זורם מטבעו למקומו, כך בשנת היובל נפקעים השעבודים וכל עבד יוּבל אל משפחתו, וכל שדה מובלת לבעליה (רמב"ן, ראב"ע).
Yovel is derived from language meaning "liberation" and "freedom." But also from "motion," as on this year, all are moved to return to their place, the slaves to their homes and the fields to their [original] owners. This is why it was said, "[A]nd you shall hallow the fiftieth year. You shall proclaim release throughout the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: each of you shall return to your holding and each of you shall return to your family." A stream is also called a Yuval, and just as a stream, by its very nature, flows to its place, so on the Jubilee year, does each slave return to their family and each field return to its [original] owners.
From Rosh haShanah to Yom Kippur, the slaves were not (yet) set free, but they were also not worked by their masters. The fields were (also) not yet returned to their [original] owners. But the slaves would eat and drink and be merry, bedecked with crowns on their heads. Once Yom Kippur arrived, the Beit Din instituted the Shofar, and the slaves were freed [to return] to their homes, and the fields were returned to their [original] owners.
מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה לִתְקֹעַ בַּשּׁוֹפָר בָּעֲשִׂירִי לְתִשְׁרֵי בִּשְׁנַת הַיּוֹבֵל. וּמִצְוָה זוֹ מְסוּרָה לְבֵית דִּין תְּחִלָּה (שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כה ט) "וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ שׁוֹפַר תְּרוּעָה") וְכָל יָחִיד וְיָחִיד חַיָּב לִתְקֹעַ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כה ט) "תַּעֲבִירוּ שׁוֹפָר". וְתוֹקְעִין בַּשּׁוֹפָר תֵּשַׁע כְּדֶרֶךְ שֶׁתּוֹקְעִין בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה. וּמַעֲבִירִין שׁוֹפָר בְּכָל גְּבוּל יִשְׂרָאֵל:
It is a positive commandment to blow the Shofar on the 10th day of Tishrei (Yom Kippur) during the Jubilee year. This commandment was first communicated to the Beit Din, as it was said,"Send forth a Shofar to blast"), but each and every individual also has to blow, as it was said, "You shall send forth the Shofar." You blow the Shofar nine times, like on Rosh Hashanah, and it goes throughout within the entirety of Israel.
The year of Shmita...promotes a sense of fellowship and peace through the suspension of cultivation, even for the needy of your people, for one is not allowed to exercise private ownership over any of the seventh year produce. And this is undoubtedly a primary factor in promoting peace since most dissension originates from the attitudes of 'mine is mine,' one person claiming 'it is all mine' and the other also claiming 'it is all mine.' But in the seventh year all are equal, and this is the real essence of peace.
Rabbi Ephraim ben Aaron Luntschitz (1550-1619) was a rabbi, poet and Torah commentator. He is best known for his Torah commentary, Kli Yakar.
[...]
In our opinion, it is not only a matter of an ever-readiness for traveling, but, in fact, of continuous, perpetual, incessant movement. The Ark must travel because the Law, the Torah, is in becoming. Meaning is never there where it is given. [...] Being, for the Torah, is to be journeying. And the journey is not limited to a place. Journeying is a nonplace.
- Marc Alain Ouaknin, The Burnt Book
...in this respect [it] stands out against paganism: to be pagan is to settle, to plant oneself in the earth, so to speak, to set oneself up through a pact with permanency that authorises the sojourn and that certifies the certainty of the soil. Nomadism answers to a relationship that possession does not satisfy.
- Maurice Blanchot, The Infinite Conversation (as quoted by Ouaknin)
עֶבֶד עִבְרִי נִקְנֶה בְכֶסֶף וּבִשְׁטָר, וְקוֹנֶה אֶת עַצְמוֹ בַּשָּׁנִים וּבַיּוֹבֵל וּבְגִרְעוֹן כֶּסֶף. יְתֵרָה עָלָיו אָמָה הָעִבְרִיָּה, שֶׁקּוֹנָה אֶת עַצְמָהּ בְּסִימָנִין. הַנִּרְצָע נִקְנֶה בִרְצִיעָה, וְקוֹנֶה אֶת עַצְמוֹ בַיּוֹבֵל וּבְמִיתַת הָאָדוֹן:
וְהִתְנַחַלְתֶּ֨ם אֹתָ֜ם לִבְנֵיכֶ֤ם אַחֲרֵיכֶם֙ לָרֶ֣שֶׁת אֲחֻזָּ֔ה לְעֹלָ֖ם בָּהֶ֣ם תַּעֲבֹ֑דוּ וּבְאַ֨חֵיכֶ֤ם בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אִ֣ישׁ בְּאָחִ֔יו לֹא־תִרְדֶּ֥ה ב֖וֹ בְּפָֽרֶךְ׃ {ס}
you may keep them as a possession for your children after you, for them to inherit as property for all time. Such you may treat as slaves. But as for your Israelite kin, no one shall rule ruthlessly over another.
(א) ...בעבד כנעני מדבר, אבל עבד עברי ישראל אינו כספו אלא בשכיר בתושב יהיה עמך, ודינו בישראל לכל דבריו, אלא שמוסר לו רבו שפחה כנענית.
(1) ....The subject of our verse is a gentile slave. A Jewish servant, by contrast, not being the personal property of his master, is treated legally in all respects as if he were a hired hand, with the exception of his master (employer’s) right to give him a gentile slave as his wife.
את עין עבדו. כנעני, אבל עברי אינו יוצא בשן ועין...
The eye of his bondman. This is about an Eved Canaani. An Eved Ivri doesn't go free for a permanent injury to his tooth or eye...
אחד ההורג את ישראל או ההורג עבד כנעני הרי זה נהרג עליו. ואם הרג בשגגה גולה.
The same law applies if he kills a Jew or a Canaanit slave-- he is put to death. And if he killed un-intentionally, he goes into exile.
מה בין עבדו לעבד אחרים. שעבדו יש לו רשות להכותו לפיכך אם הכהו הכאה שיש בה כדי להמית ונטה למות ועמד עשרים וארבע שעות ואחר כך מת לא היה נהרג עליו אע"פ שמת מחמת המכה שנאמר לא יוקם כי כספו הוא...
What is the difference between his own slave and a slave that belongs to another? He is allowed to hit his own slave. Therefore, if he hits him to kill him, and he survives at least 24 hours before dying, the owner does not deserve the death penalty because the slave is his property...
אבל המכה עבד שאינו שלו. אפילו מת לאחר כמה ימים מחמת המכה הואיל והכהו כדי להמית הרי זה נהרג עליו כשאר בני חורין.
But if one hits a slave that belongs to another, even if the slave dies from the wound several days later, since he hit him with fatal force, he is put to death for this like he would be had he struck a free man.
יראה לי [ב] שהמכה את עבדו בסכין וסייף או באבן ואגרוף וכיוצא בהן ואמדוהו למיתה ומת אינו בדין יום או יומים אלא אפילו מת לאחר שנה נהרג עליו. לכך נאמר בשבט שלא נתנה תורה רשות להכותו אלא בשבט ומקל ורצועה וכיוצא בהן ולא בהכאת רציחה.
One who strikes his slave with a knife, sword, stone, fist, etc. enough to kill him, and his slave died, the law of "one or two days" doesn't apply. Even if the slave died a full year later [he is still liable]. The Torah specified "With a rod," to give him permission to strike with a rod, staff, strap, etc. but not a murderous blow.
עשרים וארבעה ראשי אברים שבאדם כולם אין מטמאין משום מחיה ואלו הם ראשי אצבעות ידים ורגלים וראשי אזנים וראש החוטם וראש הגוייה וראשי דדים שבאשה....ותני עלה בכולם עבד יוצא בהם לחירות
There are 24 major human body parts...fingers, hands, legs, ears, nose, the male sexual organ, and nipples....We learn that the loss of any of them would cause a slave to go free.
(א) וכי יכה. צוה השם שיצא העבד חפשי תחת עינו או שנו. שלא יהא אדוניו אכזרי שיכנו מכה נמרצה. כי אם ישחית עינו או אפי' שינו יצא מרשותו חפשי ויאבד ממונו
If he should smite. God commanded that the slave goes free on account of his eye or tooth so that his master won't be cruel to hit him vigorously. If he knocks out his eye, or even his tooth, the slave goes free and there is no reimbursement to the master.