הלכות עבדים ו׳Slaves 6

Chapter 6 of 9 in Slaves — 8 halachot

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Halacha 1א׳

הַכּוֹתֵב גֵּט שִׁחְרוּר לְעַבְדּוֹ וְזִכָּה לוֹ בּוֹ עַל יְדֵי אַחֵר וְאָמַר זְכֵה בְּגֵט זֶה לִפְלוֹנִי עַבְדִּי יָצָא לְחֵרוּת אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלֹּא הִגִּיעַ גֵּט לְיָדוֹ שֶׁזָּכִין לְאָדָם שֶׁלֹּא בְּפָנָיו. אֲבָל אִם אָמַר תְּנוּ גֵּט זֶה לְעַבְדִּי אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לַחְזֹר בּוֹ וְלֹא יֵצֵא הָעֶבֶד לְחֵרוּת עַד שֶׁיַּגִּיעַ הַגֵּט לְיָדוֹ. לְפִיכָךְ הָאוֹמֵר תְּנוּ גֵּט זֶה לְעַבְדִּי וּמֵת לֹא יִתְּנוּ לְאַחַר מִיתָה:

One who writes a bill of manumission for his bondman and conferred it upon him through another, saying, "Acquire this bill for so-and-so my bondman" — he has gone out to freedom, even though the bill has not reached his hand, for a benefit may be conferred upon a man not in his presence. But if he said, "Give this bill to my bondman," he may retract, and the bondman does not go out to freedom until the bill reaches his hand. Therefore, one who says, "Give this bill to my bondman," and died — they do not give it after death.

Halacha 2ב׳

הַכּוֹתֵב בִּשְׁטָר עָשִׂיתִי פְּלוֹנִי עַבְדִּי בֶּן חוֹרִין אוֹ נַעֲשָׂה פְּלוֹנִי עַבְדִּי בֶּן חוֹרִין אוֹ הֲרֵי הוּא בֶּן חוֹרִין הֲרֵי זֶה יֵצֵא לְחֵרוּת. כָּתַב בַּשְּׁטָר אֶעֱשֶׂנּוּ בֶּן חוֹרִין לֹא יֵצֵא לְחֵרוּת:

One who writes in a document, "I have made so-and-so my bondman a free man," or "so-and-so my bondman has become a free man," or "he is a free man" — he goes out to freedom. If he wrote in the document, "I shall make him a free man," he does not go out to freedom.

Halacha 3ג׳

הָאוֹמֵר עָשִׂיתִי פְּלוֹנִי עַבְדִּי בֶּן חוֹרִין וְהוּא אוֹמֵר לֹא עֲשָׂאַנִי חוֹשְׁשִׁין שֶׁמָּא זִכָּה לוֹ עַל יְדֵי אַחֵר. אָמַר כָּתַבְתִּי גֵּט שִׁחְרוּר וְנָתַתִּי לוֹ וְהוּא אָמַר לֹא כָּתַב וְלֹא נָתַן הוֹדָאַת בַּעַל דִּין כְּמֵאָה עֵדִים וַהֲרֵי זֶה עֶבֶד עַד שֶׁיְּשַׁחְרְרֵנוּ בְּפָנֵינוּ:

One who says, "I have made so-and-so my bondman a free man," and the bondman says, "He has not made me free" — we are concerned that perhaps he conferred it upon him through another. If he said, "I wrote a bill of manumission and gave it to him," and the bondman said, "He neither wrote nor gave" — the admission of a party is as a hundred witnesses, and he is a bondman until he frees him in our presence.

Halacha 4ד׳

מִי שֶׁצִּוָּה בִּשְׁעַת מִיתָתוֹ פְּלוֹנִית שִׁפְחָתִי אַל יִשְׁתַּעְבְּדוּ בָּהּ יוֹרְשַׁי הֲרֵי זוֹ שִׁפְחָה כְּשֶׁהָיְתָה וְאָסוּר לַיּוֹרְשִׁים לְהִשְׁתַּעְבֵּד בָּהּ מִפְּנֵי שֶׁמִּצְוָה לְקַיֵּם דִּבְרֵי הַמֵּת. וְכֵן אִם אָמַר עֲשׂוּ לָהּ קוֹרַת רוּחַ כּוֹפִין אֶת הַיּוֹרְשִׁין וְאֵין מִשְׁתַּעְבְּדִין בָּהּ אֶלָּא בִּמְלָאכָה שֶׁהִיא רוֹצָה בָּהּ. צִוָּה וְאָמַר שַׁחְרְרוּהָ כּוֹפִין אֶת הַיּוֹרְשִׁין לְשַׁחְרֵר אוֹתָהּ:

One who commanded at the hour of his death, "So-and-so my bondwoman — let my heirs not make her serve" — she is a bondwoman as she was, and it is forbidden for the heirs to make her serve, since it is a commandment to fulfil the words of the dead. And so too if he said, "Do her a kindness," they compel the heirs, and they make her serve only in work that she is willing to do. If he commanded and said, "Free her," they compel the heirs to free her.

Halacha 5ה׳

בְּשִׁשָּׁה דְּבָרִים שָׁוִין שִׁחְרוּרֵי עֲבָדִים לְגִטֵּי נָשִׁים וּבִשְׁאָר דְּבָרִים הֲרֵי הֵן כִּשְׁאָר כָּל הַשְּׁטָרוֹת. וְאֵלּוּ הֵן הַשִּׁשָּׁה. פְּסוּלִים בְּעַרְכָּאוֹת שֶׁל עַכּוּ"ם. וּכְשֵׁרִין בְּעֵד כּוּתִי. וּצְרִיכִין כְּתִיבָה לְשֵׁם הַמְּשֻׁחְרָר עַצְמוֹ. וְאֵין נִכְתָּבִין בִּמְחֻבָּר. וְאֵין חוֹתְמִין עֵדֵיהֶם אֶלָּא זֶה בִּפְנֵי זֶה. אֶחָד גִּטֵּי נָשִׁים וְאֶחָד שִׁחְרוּרֵי עֲבָדִים שָׁוִין לַמּוֹלִיךְ וְלַמֵּבִיא. כֵּיצַד. כָּל הַשְּׁטָרוֹת הָעוֹלִים בְּעַרְכָּאוֹת שֶׁל עַכּוּ"ם כְּשֵׁרִים בְּכָל הַתְּנָאִים שֶׁאָנוּ מְבָאֲרִים בְּהִלְכוֹת הַלְוָאָה חוּץ מִגִּטֵּי נָשִׁים וְשִׁחְרוּרֵי עֲבָדִים:

In six things bills of manumission of bondmen are like bills of divorce of women, and in the rest of things they are like all other documents. And these are the six: they are invalid in the courts of gentiles; they are valid with a Samaritan witness; they must be written for the sake of the one being freed himself; they are not written upon what is still attached to the ground; their witnesses sign only in one another's presence; and bills of divorce of women and bills of manumission of bondmen are alike as regards the one who carries and the one who brings. How so? All documents drawn up in the courts of gentiles are valid under all the conditions that we set out in the Laws of Lending, apart from bills of divorce of women and bills of manumission of bondmen.

…and 3 more halachot in this chapter.

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Mishneh Torah, Torat Emet 363 edition, via Sefaria — public domain

English: Sefaria Community Translation — CC0

English: rendered from the Hebrew for this app — our own, not a borrowed translation