Mishpatim: Slavery in the Torah

• Published date: 17 February 2023
• Publication title: Israel National News (Israel)

The Torah portion of Mishpatim deals primarily with laws governing society - personal damages, lending money and articles, manslaughter, kidnapping, and so on. Overall, they fit in well with a modern sense of justice. The laws dealing with slaves, however, are difficult for us to digest

* Why does the Torah distinguish between a mortally wounded slave who dies immediately, and one who lingers for a day or two?

* Is a slave truly "his master's property"?

* In general, does the Torah look favorably on the institution of slavery?

His Master's Property

Slavery, Rav Kook explained, is like any other natural phenomenon. It can be used properly and responsibly, or it can be abused. As long as some people are wealthy and powerful, while others are poor and weak, the wealthy will hire out the poor to do their labor and will control them. This is the basis of natural servitude, which exists even if slavery as a formal institution is outlawed.

For example, coal miners are de facto slaves to their employer, and in some ways worse off than legal slaves. The mine owner often cares more about his profits than his workers. He allows his miners to work without proper light and ventilation, in poorly built mines. The owner is not perturbed that his workers' lives are shortened due to their abysmal working conditions. He is not overly troubled that the mine may collapse, burying alive thousands of miners - he can always hire more.

Yet, if these miners were his legal slaves for whom he paid good money, then the owner would look out for their lives and welfare just as he watches over his machines, animals, and the rest of his property. For this reason, the Torah emphasizes that a slave is his master's property. When it is in the master's self-interest to look after his slave's welfare, the servant can expect a better, more secure future.

Why does the Torah distinguish between a slave who dies immediately after being struck by his master, and one who lingers for a day? The verse specifically mentions that the master struck with a rod, an indication that his intention was not to harm the slave, but to discipline him. If the slave dies due to mistreatment at the hands of his master, we take into...