Kiddushin, Daf Tet Vav, Part 5
Introduction
Today s section explicates a line from yesterday s section which said that the Torah had already taught that a slave whose ear was bored, meaning a slave who chose to remain a slave after seven years, goes free at the Jubilee. This essentially teaches that the laws of Leviticus 25 supersede the laws of Exodus 21/Deuteronomy 15. But where was this taught?
אמר מר אי בנרצע הרי כבר אמור מאי היא דתניא (ויקרא כה, י) ושבתם איש אל אחוזתו ואיש אל משפחתו וגו’ במה הכתוב מדבר אי במוכר עצמו הרי כבר אמור אי במכרוהו ב"ד הרי כבר אמור הא אין הכתוב מדבר אלא בנרצע שתים ושלש שנים לפני היובל שהיובל מוציאו
The Master said: If with regard to him whose ear was bored that too was already stated. What is this? As it was taught: And you shall restore every man to his possession, and you shall return every man to his family (Leviticus 25:10). What is the verse speaking about? If it is about one who sells himself it was already stated; if to one sold by the court that [too] was already stated. Hence the verse can only refer to one whose ear was bored two or three years before Jubilee, [teaching] that the Jubilee sets him free.
Leviticus 25:10 is a verse about the Yom Kippur of the Jubilee. It describes a return of every person to his possession and his family. But, the rabbis argue, this cannot refer to either a slave sold into slavery by the court or one who sells himself into slavery, because both of these types of slaves are already referred to (according to rabbinic interpretation) in the passage later in Leviticus 25 that refers directly to slaves. Therefore, this passage must refer to a slave whose ear has been bored, meaning he served his six year period and then chose to remain. He too goes free at the Jubilee.
מאי משמע אמר רבא בר שילא אמר קרא איש איזהו דבר שנוהג באיש ואין נוהג באשה הוי אומר זו רציעה
How does this mean this? Rava b. Shila said: The verse says, [And you shall return every] man : now, what thing is practiced in the case of a man but not of a woman? Say: boring [a hole in the ear].
Rava b. Shila explains that the word man indicates that Leviticus 25:10 refers to the slave who had his ear bored. According to rabbinic law, only male slaves have an option to extend their term of servitude. Women can serve no longer than six years.
ואיצטריך למיכתב מכרוהו בית דין ואיצטריך למיכתב נרצע דאי אשמעינן מכרוהו ב"ד משום דלא מטאי זמניה אבל נרצע דמטאי זמניה אימא ניקנסיה
It had to write [both] one sold by the court, and one whose ear was bored. For if it had taught us with regard to one sold by the court, [I might say] that is because his term had not expired; but as for him whose ear was bored, seeing that his term had already expired, I might have said: let him be punished!
Why does the Torah need to teach us that both one sold by the court and one whose ear was bored go free at the Jubilee?
If we had learned only that the one sold by the court goes free, I might have thought that this was because he did not choose to have his term of servitude lengthened. But the one who chose to remain a slave might not go free at the Jubilee, as a sort of punishment for choosing to remain a slave.
ואי אשמעינן נרצע משום דעבד ליה שש אבל מכרוהו ב"ד דלא עבד ליה שש אימא לא צריכא
And if it had told us [this] of him whose ear was bored, [I might say] that is because he had already served six years; but as for him who has been sold by the court, who had not yet served six years, I might have argued: he does not go free. Thus both are necessary.
The Torah had to teach that one who was sold by the court goes free at the Jubilee despite the fact that he had not yet even served six years.
ואיצטריך למיכתב ושבתם ואיצטריך למיכתב לעולם דאי כתב רחמנא לעולם הוה אמינא לעולם ממש כתב רחמנא ושבתם ואי כתב רחמנא ושבתם הוה אמינא ה"מ היכא דלא עבד שש אבל היכא דעבד שש לא יהא סופו חמור מתחלתו מה תחלתו שש אף סופו נמי שש קמשמע לן לעולם לעולמו של יובל
Now, both and you shall return and [and he shall serve him] forever (Exodus 21:6) needed to be written. For had the Torah written forever [only], I would have thought, literally forever; therefore the Torah wrote and you shall return . And had the Torah written and you shall return [only], I would have thought: this refers only to a case where he had not served six years [after being bored]; but if he had already served six years, his last phase should not be more stringent than his first: just as his first phase was for six years, so should his last be for six years [only]; hence forever teaches us, forever until the Jubilee.
Exodus states that after having his ear bored, the slave serves forever, whereas Leviticus states that he returns to his family at the Jubilee. The Talmud now explains why both are needed. Had we only Exodus we would think that once his ear is bored, he literally serves forever. Thus it is clear why we need the Torah to teach that he goes free at the Jubilee. The harder question is why does the Torah state that he serves forever? What wrong supposition would I have without this word? The answer is that we might have thought that after having his ear bored, the slave serves another six years, but no more. Just as he served six years before, so he serves six years after. That is why the Torah teaches forever which in light of Leviticus means that he serves only until the Jubilee.