GEN814 The Talmud speaks of redeeming captives as a mitzvah rabbah, a great commandment Baba Batra 8b.  The first Jew to do so was Abraham. … Rabbenu Bachya ben Asher, author of Kad HaKemach, noted that because of the significance of this commandment, God referred to it in the first of the Ten Commandments, when He declared: “I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage” Exodus 20:2.  In Rabbenu Bachya’s words, “God did not describe Himself as the One ‘who created heaven and earth’ because He wanted to mention the commandment to redeem captives – 600,000 of them in this case – which is greater than the might wonder of Creation.” … Maimonides rules that “the ransoming of captives has precedence over the feeding and clothing of the poor.  Indeed, there is no greater commandment than the ransoming of captives, for not only is the captive included in the category of the hungry, the thirsty, and the naked, but his very life is in danger Laws of Gifts to the Poor 8:10.  Specifically because captives’ lives are at stake, the Shulchan Aruch rules that not only is this a preeminent mitzvah, but that speed is a necessary component in its fulfillment: “Every moment one puts off redeeming captives, where it is possible to do so sooner, is like shedding blood Yoreh Deah 252:3.  TELVOL 2:249-250