עבדות וחירות

Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them. If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he come in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master give him a wife, and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. But if the servant shall plainly say: I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free; then his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.

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).