Misvot #568-569: Laws of Gentile Servants that Escapes From His Master to Eretz Yisrael

The Torah commands in Parashat Ki-Teseh (Debarim 23:16), “Lo Tasgir Ebed El Adonav” – that when a servant flees from his master, it is forbidden to bring him back to his master. This is understood as referring specifically to the case of a gentile servant who escapes from his master outside the Land of Israel, and travels to the land. In such a case, it is forbidden to bring the servant back to his master outside Eretz Yisrael, even if his master is Jewish. It goes without saying that the servant may not be returned if his master is a pagan, as he would then go back to a life of pagan worship. When a servant flees from his master to Eretz Yisrael, the Bet Din forces the master to deliver a Shetar Shihrur (emancipation document), releasing the servant from his state of subservience, whereupon the servant becomes a full-fledged convert. The court also forces the servant to sign a document committing to compensate his master for the money lost by granting him his freedom. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that the Torah issues this command in order to show respect to Eretz Yisrael. As the Land of Israel is a place of greater spirituality, a servant who flees there should not be taken away and returned to his land of origin, and should instead be allowed to remain in the special land which G-d has given the Jewish People. The Sefer Ha’hinuch follows the view that the institution of Ebed Kena’ani (gentile servants), at least in principle, applies even nowadays, and he thus writes that this command is applicable in all times. He adds that it is binding upon both men and women. One who brings a servant who had fled to Eretz Yisrael back to his master transgresses this prohibition. However, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, the violator is not liable to Malkut, because it is not definite at the time he commits the forbidden act that the command will be violated. If the master decides not to take the servant back, and chooses instead to release him, then the person who returned the servant will not have been in violation of this command. Therefore, the violator cannot be definitively warned of the consequences of the act beforehand, and, as such, he is not liable to Malkut. In the next verse, the Torah adds a separate prohibition – “Lo Tonenu” – which forbids mistreating the servant in such a case, either verbally or financially. As a newly-freed servant, convert, and foreigner, he is vulnerable and disadvantaged, and therefore, while it is of course forbidden to mistreat anybody, the Torah issues a special prohibition forbidding improper treatment of this servant. The Sefer Ha’hinuch notes that the Torah refers here to a servant who had accepted upon himself the obligations of the Torah. When a gentile becomes a Jew’s servant, he undergoes Berit Mila and immersion, and his process of conversion is completed upon being released. This prohibition in all places and at all times, and is binding upon both men and women. A person who mistreats a released servant, either verbally or financially, transgresses this Biblical command. The violator is not liable to Malkut, even if he mistreated the servant through an action, because it is possible to transgress this command without performing an action (i.e. through verbal abuse). Although we do not have servants nowadays, there are a number of important lessons that we learn from these commands. First, just as a servant who comes to the Holy Land is not to be returned to his master, and must instead be allowed to remain and reap the spiritual benefits of Eretz Yisrael, we, too, are required to always strive for growth, and to put ourselves in a position to grow. We should ensure to remain in places and frameworks that facilitate spiritual achievement, and to never allow ourselves to regress. Secondly, of course, the Torah here teaches us about the special sensitivity that we must have when dealing with people who are weak and vulnerable. We are to exercise extra special care when speaking or working with those who are fragile to ensure that we do not cause them any sort of pain, and we must do everything we can to give them the help and encouragement that they need.