Комментарий к Шмот 21:6

אל האלהים means to the court. He (the slave) should take counsel with his vendors (the court) because it was they who sold him to him (the master) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 21:6:1).

THEN HIS MASTER SHALL BRING HIM UNTO ‘HA’ELOHIM’ — “to the court. The servant must take counsel with those who sold him.”⁵¹This section speaks here of one who was sold by the court for a theft which he had committed and was not able to pay for (further, 22:2). On refusing to go free at the end of his six years of service, the servant is to take counsel with his vendors [the court] “and they will advise him to go free, for when he is free he can serve G-d in more ways than he could as a servant etc.” (Zeh Yenachmeinu — commentary on the Mechilta). [Thus is the language of Rashi.] And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that the judges are called elohim because they uphold the laws of G-d on earth.
In my opinion Scripture uses these expressions: Then his master shall bring him unto ‘ha’elohim;’ the cause of both parties shall come before ‘ha’elohim,’⁵²Further, 22:8. in order to indicate that G-d will be with the judges in giving their judgment. It is He Who declares who is just, and it is He Who declares who is wicked. It is with reference to this that Scripture says, he whom ‘Elokim’ (G-d) shall condemn.⁵²Further, 22:8. And so did Moses say, for the judgment is G-d’s;⁵³Deuteronomy 1:17. so also did Jehoshaphat say, for ye judge not for man, but for the Eternal, and He is with you in giving judgment.⁵⁴II Chronicles, 19:6. Similarly Scripture says, G-d standeth in the congregation of G-d; in the midst of ‘elohim’ (the judges) He judgeth,⁵⁵Psalms 82:1. that is to say, in the midst of a congregation of judges He judges, for it is G-d Who is the Judge. And so also it says, Then both men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Eternal.⁵⁶Deuteronomy 19:17. And this is the purport of the verse, For I will not justify the wicked,⁵⁷Further, 23:7. according to the correct interpretation. In Eileh Shemoth Rabbah I have seen it said:⁵⁸Shemoth Rabbah 30:20. “But when the judge sits and renders judgment in truth, the Holy One, blessed be He, leaves, as it were, the supreme heavens and causes His Presence to dwell next to him, for it is said, When the Eternal raised them up judges, then the Eternal was with the judge.⁵⁹Judges 2:18.

אל האלוהים, before a judge or judges

והגישו אדוניו אל האלו-הים, “his master is to bring him to the Court.” The word אלו-הים here refers to a Court. Ibn Ezra writes that the reason why the judges in the Torah are often referred to not as שופטים but as “elohim” is because they are G’d’s agents on earth, carrying out His will. Nachmanides understands our verse to mean that the master is to bring the servant in question before a judge, a legally constituted tribunal, a site which enjoys the presence of the Shechinah and which inspires the judges to ensure that their verdict will be in line with G’d’s wishes. These judges are authorized by G’d to either exonerate or to condemn as evil, as guilty. (compare 22,8) Moses also stated: כי המשפט לאלו-הים הוא, “Justice belongs to G’d,” when he referred to the function of tribunals on terrestrial earth. (Deut.1.17) We also have an explicit verse illustrating this concept in Psalms 82,1, i.e. אלו-הים נצב בעדת א-ל, “G’d stands in the divine assembly.”

והגישו אל הדלת, “and he shall bring him to the door.” Had the Torah not added the words או אל המזוזה, “or to the doorpost,” I would have concluded that it did not matter whether the door be in an upright position at the time the awl was applied or not. The words או אל המזוזה provide conceptual linkage between door and doorpost. Just as the doorpost is upright, so the door must be in an upright position at the time of the piercing of the servant’s ear (Pessikta Zutrata).

אל האלהים means to court. The view holding that even the ear of a self-sold slave may be pierced would still agree that this verse of “bring him next to the door. . .” speaks of a slave sold by the court for his theft — since all agree that the verse “If you buy a Hebrew slave” speaks of a slave sold by the court for theft. Piercing a self-sold slave’s ear is learned from a gezeirah shavah between the word שכיר , “hireling” (Devarim 15:18), and שכיר (Vayikra 25:50). The reason a self-sold slave’s ear is pierced is because [his ear heard Hashem say,] “For to Me are the B’nei Yisrael servants.” (Re’m)

V .6. über die Bedeutung האלהים als Richter siehe Bereschit 1, 1. Wir haben dort die Verwandtschaft des Wortes mit dem Grundbegriff אלה als Pron. Demonstr. plur. nachgewiesen, demzufolge das Recht als das eine Vielheit unter die Einheit eines alle gemeinsam beherrschenden Prinzips bringende Moment und das Gericht als dessen Handhaber und Vertreter begriffen wird. Die durch אלהים bezeichneten Richter müssen מומחין und סמוכין sein, d. h. ihre Rechtskunde muss erprobt und anerkannt und ihnen die Befugnis zur Vertretung des Rechts durch Vertreter des Rechts erteilt worden sein. Diese Befugniserteilung (סמיכה) muss in Übertragung bis zum ersten Vertreter des jüdischen Rechtes, bis zu Mosche, hinaufreichen, und kann nur im jüdischen Lande auf dem Boden des jüdischen Gesetzes, wo eben "die Vielheit aller sichtbaren Verhältnisse der Herrschaft des einen Gottesrechtes unterstellt und zu unterstellen sind", geschehen (siehe רמב׳׳ם IV סנהדרין הל׳).

ורצע אדוניו את אזנו במרצע, “his master must pierce his ear with an awl;” why did the Torah choose the awl as the tool with which to pierce this servant’s ear? The numerical value of the letters in the word מרצע equals 400. It is to remind that servant that seeing that G–d had redeemed the Jewish people from 400 years of slavery, it is unbelievable that he should choose being enslaved to a human master voluntarily. G–d had stated categorically in Leviticus 25,55 כי לי בני ישראל עבדים, “for the Children of Israel are meant to be bound by a master- servant relationship only with their G–d,” not with any human being. If this man chooses to become indentured to a human master he deserves to be punished physically. (Talmud, tractate Kiddushin, folio 22, and Tossaphot on that folio.

אל הדלת או אל המזוזה, “against the door or doorpost of the courthouse; we find an example of this in Deuteronomy 17,5: והוצאת את האיש ההוא אל שעריך, “you are to take out that man to your gates, (court);” This procedure is designed to give publicity to the irrational behaviour of this Jewish “slave;” let all the people passing the courthouse know who it is that has preferred life as a slave with a gentile slave to life as a free Israelite. He will have no chance to escape this status before the next Jubilee year.

אל הדלת או אל המזוזה TO THE DOOR OR TO THE DOORPOST — From this statement you might think that the doorpost is also a proper thing upon which the servant’s ear may be pierced! Scripture, however, states, (Deuteronomy 15:17) “[Then thou shalt take an awl], and thrust it through his ear and into the door” — into the door but not into the doorpost. If this be so, what is the purpose of Scripture stating here “[to the door] or to the doorpost”? By this juxtaposition it only compares the door with the doorpost. What is the characteristic of the doorpost? It is something perpendicular! So, too, the door must during the act of performation be in a perpendicular position (on its hinges), not detached as, for instance, lying on the ground (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 21:6:2; Kiddushin 22b).

AND HE SHALL SERVE HIM ‘L’OLAM’ (FOREVER). Our Rabbis interpreted⁶⁰Mechilta here on the Verse. this to mean until the jubilee year. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that “the meaning of olam in the Sacred Language is ‘time.’ It hath been already, ‘l’olamim’ which were before us means ‘the times’ [or ‘the ages’] which were before us.⁶¹Ecclesiastes 1:10. And there he may abide ‘ad olam’⁶²I Samuel 1:22. [cannot mean ‘forever,’ for Samuel did not stay all his life in Shiloh; it must therefore mean ‘until a certain time,’ i.e., until he comes of age]. This is why the Rabbis have said, and he shall serve him l’olam means up to the time of the jubilee year, for of all appointed seasons in Israel the jubilee year is the most remote, and the going out to freedom is as if the world was made anew for him. The sense of the verse is then, that he should return to his status in his first time, when he was free.” The student learned [in the mystic lore of the Cabala] will understand that l’olam is to be taken in its usual sense [i.e., forever], for he who works until the jubilee year has worked all the days of old.⁶³Isaiah 63:9. See also above Note 23. In the words of the Mechilta:⁶⁰Mechilta here on the Verse. “Rabbi⁶⁴The epithet for Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi, the redactor of the Mishnah, or as he is often known Rabbeinu Hakadosh, “Our holy teacher,” or simply “Rabbi.” says: Come and see that olam cannot mean more than fifty years, for it is said and he shall serve him ‘l’olam,’ which means until the jubilee year.” Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra forgot that which he wrote with understanding in another place.⁶⁵In his commentary to Leviticus 25:40-41, Ibn Ezra wrote on the verses, He shall serve with thee unto the year of jubilee. Then shall he go out from thee…: “This is what the Rabbis have received by tradition concerning the verse, and he shall serve him ‘l’olam,” meaning that he is to serve him until the jubilee year.” Thus Ibn Ezra did understand the verses there and found in them Scriptural proof that olam means fifty years, whilst here he wrote that it means “time.” Apparently, “he forgot” — as Ramban puts it — “what he wrote with understanding elsewhere.”

אל הדלת או אל המזוזה, in public view, as a sign of servitude. The door and doorpost described are made of wood even if the house in question is of stone so that the procedure of piercing the ear against such a background poses no problem.

והגישו אל הדלת, “he shall bring him to the door.” According to the plain meaning, seeing that the court holds its session publicly as we know from Ruth 4,1 where the judges sat near the city’s gate, the servant’s ear would be pierced on the door of the city’s gate. This would ensure maximum publicity of the person’s new status. Some commentators say that the point of the procedure is to indicate by the hole in the servant’s ear that this individual is charged with guarding the “door, entrance” to the home of his master Other commentators claim that the procedure itself as well as where it took place, will ensure that this servant could never claim that the hole in his ear was self-inflicted, as his master by bringing him to the door where the procedure had been performed can demonstrate that the height of the mark left on the door by the chisel that pierced his ear matches exactly the height from the floor to the servant’s ear.

ורצע אדוניו, “and his master will perform the piercing.” only the master himself, not his son or his agent or even an agent of the court (Mechilta).
את אזנו, “his ear;” not her ear; this excludes piercing the ear of a female (Kidushin 15).
במרצע, “with the awl.” the Torah does not say be-martzea, with any awl, but the vowel patach under the letter ב means that there is a special awl for this procedure (kept by the court?).

Till the Jubilee. . . Because in the verse it is written לעולם , instead of simply עולם , [Rashi knew that] it means until the yovel. For Rashi already proved that עולם means yovel, thus] לעולם means until the yovel. Whereas עולם would mean an entire 50 years.

Indem das והגישו wiederholt wird, so ist es klar, dass das Hinführen des Knechtes zu dem Gerichte noch eine besondere Absicht haben müsse. In der מכילתא heißt es: שימלך במוכריו, "damit er sich mit seinen Verkäufern berate". Es ist zweifelhaft, ob hier der Knecht oder der Herr als Subjekt zu verstehen sei, der Knecht, damit ihm womöglich das Gericht abrate, oder der Herr, damit er die fernere Behaltung des Knechtes und dessen רציעה nur auf Ermächtigung des Gerichtes übe. Raschi fügt die Worte: שמכרוהו — .לו hinzu, und scheint damit die letztere Auffassung zu bezeichnen.

ועבדו לעולם, “and he shall serve him “forever.” The word עולם here means: for the same length of time as the Levites perform their duties in the Temple. The word is used in this connection for the prophet Samuel whose mother had “given him” to G–d, i.e. to the Temple and the High Priest when he was 2 years old. Samuel died at the age of 52. (Samuel I 1,22) It follows that the length of time someone must serve a master when the Torah calls it לעולם, is no longer than 50 years.

או אל המזוזה, “or against the doorpost;” Rashi comments on this that the Torah draws a parallel between “door” and “doorpost;” both are upright. What Rashi means is that the doorpost is compared to the door only in respect of their both being upright. The definitive aspect of this procedure is found in Deuteronomy 15,17, where the Torah stipulates that the ear of the person who is going to have it pierced is to be adjacent to the door at that time. This is proved by the Jerusalem Targum which translates the word או in our verse as meaning אשר, “which is;” there are similar constructions to this, as in 21,36 או נודע כי שור נגח הוא, where the word או also means אשר, i.e. “an ox which is known to be aggressive.” The author quotes more examples. In our verse here, Rashi prefers an allegorical explanation based on the Mechilta, i.e. the ear which had heard G-d say at Mount Sinai: ”do not steal,” and which had heard G-d say: “the Children of Israel are My slaves,” needs to be reminded of this by being pierced after having opted to ignore both of these statements by G-d. Our author corrects the reference to “do not steal” from the Ten Commandments, as that commandment speaks of stealing persons, i.e. kidnapping. Therefore the version found in Leviticus 19,11 is preferred as there the Torah speaks of the theft of objects. Also, the prohibition in the Ten Commandments carries a death penalty as opposed to the version of theft discussed in Leviticus. In that version the ordinary penalty is to make restitution of twice the value of the stolen objects; if the thief is unable to come up with the money, then he [his labour, Ed.] is sold by the court to someone willing to buy him and to abide by the Torah’s rules concerning how to treat him. The reason why Rashi chose the prohibition of stealing when he had so many others to choose from, is because the thief displayed greater fear of the Lord than many other kinds of sinners, as he committed his sin in secret when insulting G-d by being more afraid of the police seeing him than of G-d seeing what he did. Moreover, the Jewish servant choosing to continue serving his master in spite of living with a non Jewish mate and raising non Jewish children, has demonstrated that he does not care what G-d had said nor what G-d’s servant, his master, has said. Hence his deliberately “faulty” hearing is being punished.

ורצע אדניו את אזנו במרצע AND HIS LORD SHALL BORE HIS EAR THROUGH WITH THE AWL — “His ear” means his right ear. Or perhaps this is not so, but Scripture means his left ear? Scripture however uses the term אזן here and it uses אזן in another passage, thereby suggesting an analogy based upon verbal similarity; viz., here it is said “and his lord shall bore his ear (אזנו) through”, and of the leper it is said, (Leviticus 14:25) “and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear (אזנו הימית) of him that is to be cleansed”. — How is it in that latter passage? It is the right ear! So here, too, it is the right ear. — What is the reason that the ear had to be pierced rather than any other limb of the servant’s body? Rabban Jochanan ben Zaccai said: That ear which heard on Mount Sinai, (Exodus 20:13) “Thou shalt not steal” and yet its owner went and stole and was therefore sold as a slave — let it be pierced! Or, in the case of him who sold himself from destitution, having committed no theft, the reason is: That ear which heard on Mount Sinai what I said, (Leviticus 25:55) “For unto Me the children Israel are servants” and yet its owner went and procured for himself another master — let it be pierced! (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 21:6:3; Kiddushin 22b). Rabbi Simeon interpreted this verse like a jewel (i. e. giving it an ethical signification): In what respect are door and doorpost different from all other objects in the house that they should be singled out for this purpose? God, in effect, said: door and doorpost that were eye-witnesses in Egypt when I passed over the lintel and the two doorposts, freeing Israel from slavery, and when I said, (Leviticus 25:55) “For unto Me the children of Israel are servants” — servants to Me but not servants of servants (of human beings), and yet this man went and procured another master for himself — let him be pieced in their presence (i. e. let them be eye-witnesses now when this man voluntarily prolongs his state of slavery)! (Kiddushin 22b.)

לעולם. According to the plain meaning of the text, “for the rest of his life.” This is also the meaning of the word לעולם in Samuel I 1,22 when Chanah announced her intention of handing over her son Samuel to the High Priest Eli.

ועבדו לעולם, “he will continue in service to his master until the Jubilee year.” Seeing that the word לעולם in our verse cannot possibly mean: “forever,” the alternate meaning of this word in Scripture is: “until the Jubilee year,” and is applied here. Ibn Ezra explains that the word לעולם in the Holy Tongue describes a certain period of time as we know from Kohelet 1,10 כבר היה לעולמים, “it has already existed in antiquity.” In this verse it refers to a well-known point in time, one that recurs every 49 years. In terms of time cycles in the Jewish calendar, or history, it is the longest such cycle, and therefore the word לעולם, commonly translated as “forever, without end,” is most appropriate. At the end of this cycle a new עולם, “world,” opens up before this servant.

Aus Dewarim 15, 17 ונתת באזנו ובדלת wissen wir, dass das Durchbohren nur an der Türe und nicht an dem Pfosten zu geschehen habe, aus ורצע אדניו את אזנו, dass nur das Ohr bis an die Türe zu durchbohren sei. (מכילתא, Kiduschin 22 b.)

ורצע אדוניו, “and his master will proceed to pierce his ear;” the practical use of this procedure is that if he were to escape from his master during the years to come, the mark left on his ear will serve as evidence that he is an escaped slave. He will also not be confused with a Canaanite, as Jewish law forbids mutilating any part of a gentile’s body. Besides, when it comes to proving this when the escaped slave is positioned against the door where his ear had been pierced, the height of the hole in the door will match the hole in the slave’s ear when he is positioned there.

ועבדו לעלם AND HE SHALL SERVE HIM FOR EVER — This means until the Jubilee. Or, perhaps this is not so, but לעולם means for ever as is its usual meaning? Scripture however, states, (Leviticus 25:10) “[And ye shall sanctify the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof] and ye shall return every man unto his family”. A comparison of these two passages tells us that a period of fifty years is termed עולם. This does not, however, imply that he has to serve him a whole period of fifty years, but that he has to serve him until the year of the Jubilee (the fiftieth year) whether this be close at hand or far ahead (Kiddushin 15a; Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 21:6:6).

ועבדו, hier heißt es nicht, wie V. 2 ועבד, sondern ועבדו. Der עבד נרצע hat nur dem Herrn und nicht auch nach dessen Tode dem Sohne zu dienen. Das ועבדו לעולם kann übrigens nur den Sinn haben: so weit an ihm liegt, muss er immer in seinem Dienste bleiben. Er hat die Fähigkeit verloren, seine Entlassung zu bewirken. Bis dahin war seine Dienstpflicht eine begrenzte, sie ging nicht über das sechste Jahr hinaus, und auch innerhalb dieser Frist konnte er sich jederzeit durch Rückzahlung des Kaufgeldes nach Abzug des bereits Abgedienten frei machen. Das in dem folgenden Gesetz der אמה עבריה eingeräumte גירעון כסף) והפדה) kam auch ihm zugute (Kiduschin 14 b). Allein fortan hat er aus sich keine Rechtsbefugnis mehr, sich frei zu machen. "Er hat ihm auf immer zu dienen", und erlangt seine Freiheit nur mit dem Tode des Herrn oder mit dem "Heimbringejahr", dem "יובל", das "jeden wieder zu seinem Erbe und jeden zu seinem Herde heimführt", ושבתם איש אל אחזתו ואיש אל משפחתו תשובו (Wajikra 25, 10).

את אזנו, “his ear;” the reason why this part of the body has been chosen by the Torah for this procedure is that if the slave were to protest that he had inflicted this hole upon himself, he would not be believed, as it is impossible for him to have done so.

Betrachten wir dies Gesetz, das das göttliche Wort an die Spitze seiner Rechtsordnungen gestellt, so gibt es wohl kein zweites, das wie dies so ganz geeignet wäre, uns einen Einblick in die Tendenz und in den ihrem ganzen innersten Wesen nach von allen andern Gesetzgebungen grundverschiedenen Charakter der göttlichen Rechtsinstitutionen zu gewähren. Es ist dies durchaus der einzige Fall, in welchem das göttliche Gesetz eine Freiheitsstrafe diktiert — (wir werden sehen, dass auch dieser nicht als "Strafe" zu begreifen ist) — und wie diktiert es sie? Es statuiert die Unterbringung des Verbrechers in eine Familie, wie wir einen zu bessernden Knaben unterbringen würden, und mit welchen Kautelen umgibt es diese Unterbringung, damit das moralische Selbstbewusstsein des Verbrechers nicht zerknickt werde, damit er sich, trotz seiner Erniedrigung, noch immer als Bruder geachtet und behandelt fühle, Liebe erwerben und Liebe geben könne, wie lässt es ihn in Verbindung mit seiner Familie, und wie sorgt es, dass nicht seine Familie durch sein Verbrechen und dessen Folgen dem Elend preisgegeben sei! Indem es ihn der Freiheit und damit der Möglichkeit beraubt, für die Seinen zu sorgen, legt es diese Sorge denen auf, denen für die Zeit seiner Unfreiheit seine Kräfte zu gute kommen.

את אזנו, it was customary to mark someone who had not conducted himself as he should, by piercing his ear. From this custom evolved the practice to do this to thieves.

Freiheitsstrafen, mit aller der Verzweiflung und sittlichen Verschlechterung, die hinter den Kerkermauern wohnen, mit all dem Jammer und Elend, die sie über Weib und Kind des Gefangenen bringen, kennt das göttliche Gesetz nicht. In dem Umkreis seines Reiches sind die traurigen Zwingerwohnungen des Verbrechens fremd. Es kennt nur eine Untersuchungshaft, und auch die konnte nach der ganzen vorgeschriebenen Gerichtsprozedur, und namentlich bei der völligen Zurückweisung eines jeden Indizienbeweises, nur von kürzer Dauer sein.

במרצע, “with an awl;” I have heard the following allegorical explanation of why this tool was chosen by the Torah for this procedure; (Compare Torah shleymah by Rabbi Menachem Kasher on the source item # 137) The cost of an awl used to be 400 coins of a certain denomination. G-d had decreed 400 years for Abraham’s descendants to be strangers and slaves, but He had subsequently decreased the length of their serfdom. This slave who could have gotten his freedom, instead volunteered to lengthen his period of serfdom.

Allein auch dieser einzige Fall, in welchem es einen Verlust der Freiheit infolge eines Verbrechens statuiert, kann nicht als "Strafe" begriffen werden. Indem es den Dieb nur für den Ersatz des gestohlenen Wertes, nicht aber auch für die Aufbringung der auf Diebstahl stehenden Geldstrafe (כפל, Zahlung des doppelten Wertes), zu sechsjährigem Knechtesdienst verurteilt, kann das Motiv dieser Bestimmung unmöglich Strafe sein. Sie ist nichts als einfache Konsequenz aus der Ersatzpflicht. Ersatzpflicht ist aber nicht Strafe, ist vielmehr nur Wiederaufhebung des Verbrechens, das so lange fortdauert, als die verbrecherisch oder rechtswidrig geübte Eigentumsbeschädigung nicht wieder gut gemacht ist. Wer sich an jemandes Eigentum vergreift, der ist in demselben Augenblick, und wenn ihn auch kein Gericht dazu verurteilt, durch seine Tat, mit seinem Vermögen, oder, wo dies nicht vorhanden, mit der Quelle des Vermögens: mit seiner Arbeitskraft, der Verpflichtung verfallen, den von ihm gebrachten Schaden zu restituieren. Also, dass es vielmehr der Erklärung bedarf, warum das Gesetz nur in diesem einen und nicht bei jedem Falle des Unvermögens zur Ersatzpflicht das Gericht, wie das Vermögen, so auch die Arbeitskraft des Beschädigers verwerten lässt, eine Beschränkung, die in der Erwägung ihr Motiv finden dürfte, dass eben Diebstahl die direkteste Höhnung des Eigentumsbegriffes und zwar gerade in dem Momente ist, in welchem der Eigentümer sein Eigentum der Rechtsachtung eines jeden Menschen anvertraut (siehe zu V. 37). Mit dem Begriff des Eigentums beginnt die Weltstellung des Menschen und in seiner Achtung dokumentiert sich die Persönlichkeit des Menschen als Mensch. Wir begreifen, wie eben nur beim Diebstahl die ganze Persönlichkeit des Diebes der Ersatzpflicht dienstbar gemacht wird.

ועבדו, ”and he is to serve him (his master)” only for his original master, not his son or daughter, if he dies prematurely. This verse is the source of the statement in the Mechilta :“A Jewish “slave” serves his master (during the first six years) or his master’s son, but not his master’s daughter. If he had his ear pierced, or if it was a female Jewish “slave,” neither will serve after the master has died.

ועבדו לעולם, “and he will serve him forever.” Mechilta Nezikin section 2 accepted that the meaning of the word “forever” in this context is “until the advent of the next Jubilee year.” This would be the fiftieth year of the cycle during which the servant had his ear pierced. A period of fifty years has been called עולם already in ancient times and we find a reference to it as having this meaning in Samuel I 1,11 where Samuel’s mother Chanah vows that after she had weaned her young son she would bring him to the Temple to reside there עד עולם, “forever.” Clearly, seeing no one lives forever, she did not mean that the word לעולם is to be understood as literally “forever.” She referred to the active life span of a Levite who is forced to retire at the age of 50 as we know from Numbers 8,24. Samuel was a Levite, of course. Samuel only lived for a total of 52 years, the last 50 of them after his mother had dedicated him to be a servant of G’d as she had vowed before becoming pregnant with him (Jerusalem Talmud Berachot 4,1). The Torah’s direction that the Hebrew servant be freed at the advent of the Jubilee year is effective regardless of how many or how few years before that year the servant in question was acquired.
Another way of interpreting the word לעולם is: “as long as the world exists.” In that event the connection with the שנת היובל would be the יובל הגדול, a concept mentioned in Psalms 105,8 דבר צוה לאלף דור, “He gave a command which is in effect for 1000 generations.” A “generation” in that case would be considered a period of 50 years. When Solomon (Kohelet 1,4) spoke of והארץ לעולם עומדת, that “the earth will endure for a period called עולם,” he referred to these 1000 generations mentioned in Psalms. The word עולם in our verse then would refer to the “world of the great Jubilee.” I shall discuss this in greater detail in my commentary on Leviticus 25,8.

Es resultiert aber diese Verurteilung zum Knechtsdienste so sehr nur aus der Ersatzpflicht, es ist das Gesetz so weit davon entfernt, damit eine Bestrafung diktieren zu wollen, und so sehr ist ihm die persönliche Freiheit ein heiliges Gut, dass nur, wenn der zu ersetzende Wert dem Werte einer sechsjährigen Arbeit des Diebes adäquat ist oder darüber hinausgeht, das Gericht dessen Verkauf vollziehen darf; denn nur in diesem Falle ist im Momente der Tat durch dieselbe die ganze Persönlichkeit des Täters diesen Folgen seiner Tat verfallen. Geht der Wert seiner Arbeitskraft über den zu ersetzenden Wert hinaus, so vergriffe sich gleichsam das Gericht an einem aliquoten, nicht der Unfreiheit verfallenen Teil der Persönlichkeit (Kiduschin 18 a). Übrigens kann nach der מכילתא der Bestohlene überhaupt auf den Verkauf des Täters verzichten und sich mit einem Schuldbriefe bis zum bessern Vermögensstande desselben begnügen.

לעולם, according to Rashi, this word does not mean: “forever, i.e. the rest of his life,” but until the onset of the next Jubilee year. To the question that possibly the Torah did indeed mean that the “slave” in question would now have to remain a “slave” for the remainder of his life, the question is that in that event what was the point of the Torah having to write in Leviticus 25,46: והתנחלתם אותם, “you may leave them as an inheritance to your children,” (Canaanite slaves)? If even a Jewish “slave” could be inherited by your children, surely the Torah did not have to tell us that the same was true for bodily owned Canaanite slaves? Clearly therefore the Torah meant that such a Jewish slave would continue to the end of his natural life, usually no longer than seventy years in the status he had acquired as a result of having had his ear pierced. The Torah’s example here assumes that the thief had been about 20 years of age at the time he committed his crime, so that he had a life expectancy of another 50 years. It follows that the term לעולם, is another way of saying “for up to 50 years.” If the Torah had written: לעולם ועד, it would have meant: “until he dies.” This could have been supported by Samuel I 1,22, where the mother of Samuel tells her husband that she will hand over her son to the High Priest Eli, and she clearly meant by that “for the rest of his life.” In the event, Samuel died at 52 years of age, 50 years after having been handed over to Eli. Rashi, on that verse, explains that she prophesied that Samuel would die at that age, without having been aware that her words had been a prophecy. He adds that 50 years are considered a euphemism for “a lifetime.”Furthermore, as stated previously, Leviticus 25,10 in which a slave is included in the possessions that must be restored to their original status, the Jubilee year, the fiftieth in a cycle, is described as such a radical turning point in his life.

Das einzige Verhältnis, in welchem dem also zum Ersatz der von ihm verübten Eigentumsschmälerung verkauften Täter seine Erniedrigung wirklich zum Bewusstsein gebracht wird, ist die Bestimmung, dass ihm für die Zeit seines Dienstes der Herr eine Leibeigene zur Frau geben darf, deren Kinder dann dem Herrn verbleiben. Da dem freien Juden eine solche Ehe verboten ist, die ja überhaupt nur einen physischen, keinen sittlichen Charakter trägt (— אין קידושין תופסין —) und die ihm also gegebene Frau nur temporär, nur für die Zeit seines Dienstes, ihm מיוחדת לו bleiben muss, so dürfte dies eben ihm wohl die Tatsache seiner sittlichen Gesunkenheit zum Bewusstsein bringen sollen, durch welche er die sittliche Würde des jüdischen Menschen eingebüßt und halb in den Kreis bloß physischen Daseins zurückgetreten ist. Ein Motiv, das wohl auch der Bestimmung gerade eines sechsjährigen Dienstes und der freimachenden Kraft des siebten Jahres zu Grunde liegen dürfte. Er ist durch sein Verbrechen zurückgetreten in den Kreis der "Sechse" der geschöpflich sinnlichen Welt, hat sich durch den Gedanken an die "Sieben", an den über allem sinnlich Sichtbaren unsichtbar gegenwärtigen "Einen" nicht zurückhalten lassen vom Vergreifen an dem sinnlich Sichtbaren, es ist ihm die "Gottesfurcht" abhanden gekommen, und er hat damit sich an dem eigenen "Gottesadel" versündigt: er hat mit dem Einsatz seines eigenen ganzen sinnlichleiblichen Daseins die Restitution seines Vergehens zu erringen, sich durch Unterordnung seiner "Sechs" wieder zu "Sieben" emporzuarbeiten, er ist sechs Jahre infolge seines Verbrechens Knecht, das siebte macht ihn frei, und sein ganzes Leben hindurch begleitet ihn die Mahnung: "Sechs" schlägt in Bande, "Sieben" macht frei, die Vergötterung des Sinnlichen macht uns zu Sklaven, die Huldigung Gottes macht uns frei und einigt unsere "Sechs" mit dem einen Einzigen zur "Sieben", hebt mit Gott im Bunde, auch unser ganzes leiblich sinnliches Wesen mit empor in den Bereich des sittlich freien, göttlichen Menschenadels!

Der Knecht, der die ihm im Stande der Unfreiheit gewährte Behaglichkeit der freien, aber sorgenvollen Arbeit eigener Familienselbständigkeit vorzieht, wird vom Herrn an die Türe oder an den Türpfosten eines Hauses geführt, und nicht an dem Pfosten, an der Türe wird vom Herrn sein Ohr mit einem Pfriemen durchbohrt. מזוזות, Pfosten, sind die Repräsentanten des selbständigen Hauses. Als solche treten sie in dem Erlösungsmomente auf, in welchem Gott die ägyptischen Sklaven zu freien Männern emporhob und ihnen das Recht, und zugleich damit die Pflicht eigener, selbständiger Häusergründung wiedergab. Die Hingebung des Blutes vom Peßachopfer, in welches alle "Seelen" hingezählt waren, an des Hauses "Pfosten", gab damit jeder jüdischen Seele die hohe Bestimmung, mit zu arbeiten an dem Bau freier Häuser für Gott. דלת aber, die Türe, der lose "Schöpfhebel" des Hauses, der die dem Hause Angehörigen ein- und auslässt, repräsentiert eben die Hörigkeit zum Hause. Der jüdische Mann, der es verschmäht "Pfosten" zu sein, selbständig die Lasten eines Hauses zu tragen und seine Freiheit für das Behagen der "Hörigkeit" verkauft und dem Gottesruf kein Ohr leiht, der ihn zur Freiheit und Selbständigkeit ruft, dessen Ohr wird im Angesicht eines "Pfostens" an einer Türe gebohrt, und ihm damit der Stempel der Hörigkeit aufgedrückt. — Ähnlich Kiduschin 22 b: מה נשתנה דלת ומזוזה מכל הכלים שבבית אמר הב׳׳ה דלת ומזוזה שהיו עדי במצרים בשעה שפסחתי על המשקוף ועל שתי המזוזות ואמרתי לי בני ישראל עבדים ולא עבדים לעבדים והוצאתים מעבדות לחירות והלך זה וקנה אדון לעצמו ירצע בפניהם.

Wie aber dem Knechte, so ist vor allem auch dem Herrn und allen Herren in Abhängigkeit zu ihnen geratener Brüder die freimachende Kraft des siebten Jahres die Mahnung: des unsichtbaren alleinen, einen, einzigen wirklichen Herrn eingedenk zu bleiben, Ihn, den einen Einzigen über Herren und Knechten, zu schauen, und ihre auf Geld und Ansehen sich gründende höhere Machtstellung nicht zu missbrauchen, um ihre in Abhängigkeit geratenen Brüder in ungesetzlicher Knechtschaft zu halten. Noch im allerletzten Stadium des jüdischen Staates hatte Jeremias (34, 13f.) die Nichtachtung des in der freimachenden Kraft des siebten Jahres sich aussprechenden Prinzips als letzten Grund des Untergangs des Staates zu verkünden, und war nach Jeruschalmi Rosch Hasch. III b פרשת שילוח עבדים das allererste Gesetz, das Mosche und Aaron (oben Kap. 6, 13 ויצום אל בני ישראל), als Grundbedingung ihrer Erlösung zu bringen hatten. Wir sagten, Jeremias weise auf das in dem Gesetze sich aussprechende Prinzip, nicht auf die Anwendung des Gesetzes hin. Nach der Kiduschin 14 b rezipierten Halacha ist nämlich der Dienst des aus Not sich Verkaufenden nicht auf sechs Jahre beschränkt, hat vielmehr die kontraktlich festgesetzte Zeit zu dauern, die nur durch den Tod des Herrn oder seines Sohnes, oder den Eintritt des Jobel abgekürzt werden kann. Demgemäß kann Jeremias Vorwurf nur so gefasst werden: selbst den eines Diebstahls wegen gerichtlich Verkauften soll das siebte Jahr seines Dienstes frei machen, geschweige denn, dass ihr die sich freiwillig aus Not euch verkaufenden Brüder mit Ablauf ihrer Zeit oder im Jobel zu entlassen habet! Nach Auffassung des ריטב׳א versteht Raschi jedoch den Satz der המוכר עצמו נמכר לשש ויתר על שש :ברייתא dahin, dass stillschweigend auch der aus Not sich Verkaufende nur sechs Jahre zu dienen habe und mit dem siebten frei werde, und nur kontraktlich ein längerer Dienst festgestellt werden könne. Demgemäß spräche die Stelle in Jeremias von Anwendung des Gesetzes in den normalen Fällen, und spräche eben der Wortlaut dieser Stelle für Raschis Erklärung. ערכין 33 a scheint übrigens das: מקץ שבע שנים תשלחו von dem nach Ablauf von je sieben Schmitajahren eintretenden Jobel verstanden zu werden.