DEUT818 In many modern economies, workers dismissed for reasons of health, etc., are compensated for the loss of income by severance pay. This is a form of compensation long practiced by Jewish communities. A modern application may be seen in the case of the principal of the Belz School in Haifa. This school is not part of the state school system, but rather a private institution financed primarily by donations and tuition. After years of service, the principal was dismissed and claimed severance pay. The court upheld his claim, basing its decision on the interpretation of the biblical injunction to grant a terminal payment to the Hebrew bondsman on the conclusion of his services (Deuteronomy 15:14).