THE BIBLICAL MAIMONIDES Exodus 21 21:1. And these are the judgments which you shall set before them. — Whoever judges with the laws of the gentiles and their courts—even if their laws are the same as Israelite laws—is considered a wicked person and as if he has disgraced and rebelled against the Torah of Moses our teacher, as it says, “And these are the judgments which you shall set before them” — before them and not before gentiles; before them, and not before commoners (Sanhedrin 26:7).1 … judgments [mishpatim]… — [Maimonides does not quote this verse in this passage but does define the word mishpat:] The noun mishpat denotes the act of deciding upon a certain action in accordance with justice which may demand either mercy or punishment (Guide 3:53; see also the discussion of the meaning of yashar at 15:26). 21:2. If you buy a Hebrew servant… — We are commanded concerning the law of the Hebrew servant, as God, may He be exalted, said, “If you buy a Hebrew servant….” And the majority of laws of this commandment has already been explained explicitly in the Torah, and the details of this commandment are fully explained at the beginning of Kiddushin (14b, ff.) (ShM, Pos. 232).2 FURTHER: The Hebrew servant mentioned in the Torah refers to an Israelite who was forcibly sold by the courts or who voluntarily sold himself. How so? If he stole [something] and does not have the means to repay the principle, the court sells him, as we have explained in Hilkhot Geneivah. And the only Israelite whom the court sells into slavery is a thief. And regarding the fact that the court sells him, the verse states, “If you buy a Hebrew servant…” (Exod. 21:2). And regarding him it says in Deuteronomy, “When your Hebrew brother will be sold to you…” (15:12). How does he sell himself? If an Israelite has become extremely impoverished, the Torah has given him permission to sell himself, as it says, “When your brother will become impoverished and be sold to you” (Lev. 25:39). And it is not proper to sell oneself and to hoard his property or buy merchandise or vessels or give the money to creditors. He may only sell himself when he needs money to eat. And it is not proper to sell oneself unless he has no possessions remaining, not even clothing—then he may sell himself (Avadim 1:1). … six years shall he serve… — … that is to say, six years of service from the day that he is sold until the completion of six years, even if there is a sabbatical year within those six years, and that is what is said, “six years shall he serve,” and sometimes on the seventh [as well].3 And if the Jubilee year falls within those six years, then he goes free (PhM Kiddushin 1:2). … and on the seventh he shall go free for nothing. — It is a mitzvah for the master to say to the slave, “Go out” when he leaves. However, even if he does not say this, the slave still goes free for nothing, and he does not need a writ of manumission. And even if the slave was sick and the master had spent a lot [of 1 Maimonides here combines both opinions, that of Rabbi Tarfon and an anonymous teaching (BT Gittin 88b). 2 The phrase ki tikneh, which literally means “if you buy,” is here understood not as a mere conditional, but as a conditional commandment. 3 BT Arakhin 18b, Niddah 48a; JT Kiddushin 1:2; Mekhilta. See also Avadim 2:2. © Alec Goldstein, 2019 1 THE BIBLICAL MAIMONIDES money to heal him], the slave still owes him nothing, as it says, “he shall go free for nothing” (Avadim 2:12). It is a commandment to say to him, “Depart!” when he leaves. Even if he [the master] does not say this, he still goes free and he does not need a writ of manumission. Even if the slave had been sick and the master had spent significant funds [to heal him], the slave still owes him nothing, as it says, “he shall go free for nothing” (Avadim 2:12). 21:3. If he came in my himself, he shall go out by himself; if he was married, then his wife shall go out with him. — A master is obligated to provide sustenance for the wife of every Hebrew servant. This is when his wife is a nesu’ah, but not if she is an arusah or a shomeret yavam. However, if she was among the forbidden marriages, even if she is only among the secondary prohibitions, then the master is not obligated to sustain her, as it says, “his wife [shall go out] with him” — meaning a woman who is suitable to be married to him. The master is also obligated to provide the servant’s sons and daughters with their sustenance. When a court sells him, it is stated, “If he was married, then his wife shall go out with him.” And would you think that once he was acquired, then his wife should also be indentured? Rather this phrase teaches [something else, namely] that the master is obligated to sustain her. And regarding someone who sold himself, it is stated, “And he shall depart from you, he and his children with him” (Lev. 25:41). And regarding a servant sold to a Gentile, it is stated, “and he shall go out in the Jubilee year—he and his children with him” (v. 54). This applies to whether he had a wife and children at the time he was sold, or if he acquired a wife and children after he was sold—so long as he married with the master’s consent. However if he got married without the master’s consent, then he is not obligated to provide her with sustenance (Avadim 3:1). 21:4. If his master will give him a wife… — If the court has sold someone into slavery, then his master has to give him a Canaanite bondmaid as a wife. This applies to the master, as well as the master’s son if the master dies—he is supposed to give him a Canaanite bondmaid. And we compel him to do this, so that he will give birth to slaves through her. And she is permitted to him all the days of his servitude, as it says, “If his master will give him a wife….” And if someone sells himself into slavery, he is not permitted to take a Canaanite bondmaid—just like any other Israelite (Avadim 3:3; see also PhM Kiddushin 1:2).4 FURTHER: [A master] may not give him two bondmaiden, and he may not give one bondmaid to two of his Hebrew servants in the way he gives them to Canaanite servants, as it says, “will give him a wife” 5 (Avadim 3:5). … and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master and he will go forth alone. — Regarding a maidservant, it states, “the woman and her children will belong to her master,” which teaches that her children have the same status as she does (Yibbum ve- Ḥalitzah 1:4; see also PhM Yevamot 2:5). 4 Later Maimonides writes, “Even if his master gives him a Canaanite bondmaid, he may not separate him from his wife and children, as it says, ‘his wife with him’ (Exod. 21:3)” (Avadim 3:5). 5 The Hebrew word ishah can be translated as either “woman” or “wife,” so the phrase im adonav yitten lo ishah can mean “If his master will give him a wife” of “will give him a woman” — “a woman” implies one wife, not more. © Alec Goldstein, 2019 2 THE BIBLICAL MAIMONIDES 21:5. And if the servant plainly says, “I love my master, and my wife, and my children and I do not want to go out free.” — “If the servant plainly says [amor yomar]” — until he says it and repeats it; “the servant” — while he is still a servant. However, if he makes the declaration after six years, his ear is not pierced (see v. 6), unless he makes the statement and repeats it at the end of six years of servitude, at the beginning of the last perutah [of his servitude]. How so? For example, if there is still the value of a perutah left in the day of the servant’s time, or a little bit more [then the declaration and repetition is valid]. However if there is less than perutah’s worth of time left [in the time of his service], then it is as if he made the declaration after six years [have elapsed] (Avadim 3:10; see also PhM Kiddushin 1:2). FURTHER: [His ear should only be pierced:] If his master has a wife and children, but he does not have a wife and children, his ear should not be pierced, as it says, “I love my master, and my wife, and my children” (Avadim 3:11). 21:6. And his master shall bring him to the judges, and he shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost… — How is the ear pierced? The master brings him to a court of three judges, and he says his words in their presence, and the master brings him at the end of six years to the door or to the doorpost when they are standing [as part] of a building—either the master’s own door or doorpost, or belonging to anyone else.