EXOD521 The legal and moral distinction between Israelites and others is also made in the case of slaves. The term of service of a Hebrew slave is limited to six years, and he is manumitted in the seventh (Exodus 21:2, Deuteronomy 15:12). This restriction of slavery is surely based on Israel's own experience of harsh servitude in Egypt. Leviticus 25:39-42 goes further and effectively abolishes slavery for the Israelite; his status is rather as "a hired or bound labor" who sells his capacity for labor, but not as person, and he is manumitted in the fiftieth year of a fixed cycle, the Jubilee year. (Continued at [[LEV1093]] Leviticus 25:45 property OXFORD 47) (By Elaine Adler Goodfriend, “Ethical Theory and Practice in the Hebrew Bible)

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EXOD522 Observe the laws of the Hebrew servant. Having made us His Chosen People, Hashem wants us to purify our deeds and to crown ourselves with refined character traits. By doing so, we will merit His blessings. Of all the desirable character traits, kindness and mercy are particularly important. So that we cultivate these traits, Hashem commands us to behave with kindness and mercy towards those who are subservient to us.

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EXOD523 See [[DEUT1408]] Deuteronomy 24:18 slave DORFFDRAG 133-4

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EXOD524 R. Shimon said: He may have been sold, but was his wife sold! [i.e., Why even mention: "Then his wife shall go out with him"?] This teaches us that the master is obligated to feed his wife (Kiddushin 22a)

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EXOD525 He used to say: If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? and if not now, when? Pirkei Avot, Perek I, mishnah 14. We know the self is important: self-respect is basic, self-sufficiency and independence are essential for human dignity. It is this consideration which is evidently implied in the biblical law eved nirtzah [this and following verses]. The Jewish slave served his term of six years and then was released. During this period his master could give him a non-Jewish wife, and the progeny belonged to the master. If at the end of six years the man declared, "I love my master, my wife and my children; I do not wish to go free," then the Torah prescribes an elaborate and somewhat degrading ritual to be performed. The slave was taken to the door and a whole bored in his ear, and then he had to serve until the Jubilee Year. But what was his crime that he should be treated so? Surely his declaration of loyalty was suffused with love and a sense of service; why bore his ear? And why the title of opprobrium, eved nirtzah, "the servant with the bored earlobe"? But perhaps there is something radically wrong with the person who, offered freedom, prefers slavery. There is something unmanly and shameful about a choice which prefers dependence to independence. "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?"

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EXOD526 "ra'ah" connotes not finding favor in his eyes (Mechilta)

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EXOD527 Observe the laws of marrying a Hebrew maidservant. If the father of a Jewish girl is so poor that he sells her as a maidservant, Hashem shows great mercy on the girl and her father. He commands the buyer to marry the girl so that she does not remain a maidservant. Alternatively, the buyer must give the maidservant to his son in marriage. Otherwise, before she finishes her term of labor under the buyer’s care, he must help her to return to her father's house by allowing her redemption. All of these laws reflect the Holy One’s kindness towards His works and His great concern for unfortunate individuals.

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EXOD528 This teaches us that the mitzvah of marrying her takes precedence to that of redeeming her (Bechoroth 13a)

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EXOD529 Observe the laws of marrying a Hebrew maidservant. If a Jew acquires a Hebrew maidservant, he has a mitzvah to help her to return to the house of her father. He helps by cooperating when she, her father or some other member of her family comes to redeem her. On the basis of the original expected term of service and knowing the price that he paid her father for her, he calculates the worth of each year's work. Knowing the length of time that she had worked for him, he subtracts the worth of that time from the price that he paid for her and accepts the difference as the price of her redemption. He may not demand that she continue to work for him for the full term of the original transaction. Neither may he demand a higher redemption price in an attempt to profit as she goes free from him. Either type of behavior would show that he has an evil heart. Jews are expected to behave with mercy, dignity and refinement, so it is fitting for them to show kindness, especially towards their workers, even if the term of service had been only one day.

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EXOD530 He who acquires a Hebrew maidservant is forbidden to sell her. Hashem wants to bestow good upon His nation so He commands us to behave with pity towards one another. Feelings of pity are beloved to Him.

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