פרשת בהר - בחקותי תשי"ג - דיני עבד עברי

If thy brother be waxen poor, and sell some of his possession, then shall his kinsman that is next unto him come, and shall redeem that which his brother hath sold.

And if thy brother be waxen poor, and his means fail with thee; then thou shalt uphold him: as a stranger and a settler shall he live with thee.

And if thy brother be waxen poor with thee, and sell himself unto thee, thou shalt not make him to serve as a bondservant.

And if a stranger who is a settler with thee be waxen rich, and thy brother be waxen poor beside him, and sell himself unto the stranger who is a settler with thee, or to the offshoot of a stranger’s family,

And if thy brother be waxen poor with thee, and sell himself unto thee, thou shalt not make him to serve as a bondservant.

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.

Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.

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.