Questions tagged [slave-serve-eved-avadim]
Use for questions about the practice of slavery in Judaism, including when a person is considered a slave, the obligations of slaves and slave owners, and laws regarding the practice or regulation of slavery.
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Half Jew half Gentile
I always thought it was a misconception to be "half-Jewish". Usually the speaker means one of their parents are Jewish, making them either fully Jewish or fully Gentile.
However, I saw today that the ...
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Does a husband have to maintain his wife's bondwomen?
A mishna on Ketubot 59b lists the household tasks a husband may demand of his wife (grinding corn, baking bread, washing his clothes, etc). It then goes on to say that if she brought a bondwoman (...
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What happens if Hebrew Slave goes on strike?
@Joel's answer to my previous question "whats-so-slave-ish-in-the-hebrew-slave" showed a possible difference between a slave and an employee - the later can simply walk away.
That made me think: what ...
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At the time of the giving of the parshah of Nirtza (of avadim), was the avoda done by the Bchoros?
Or was it done by the kohanim at that time?
[The din of nirtza is briefly to make a hole in the ear of a slave who wants to continue serving his master, he becomes a slave until Yovel.]
The question ...
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What should a woman do if she owns male slaves
It seems a woman is forbidden to acquire male slaves
Rambam Avodim 1.2 and Shulchan Aruch 267.19
What should/must she do if she does?
For example her property (Nichsai Milug and Tzon Barzel) she ...
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Is a pilegesh the same as a handmaiden?
I'm confused as to whether what the actual relationship to a man a pilegesh actually has in Jewish Law. I've seen conflicting sources: (1) Hebrew school taught a pilegesh is a secondary wife (...
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Why would Sarah need to convince Hagar?
Asking for someone else. Rashi on the parsha, Beresheet 16:3, brings a midrash from Beresheet Rabbah 45:3 which says:
"And Sarai, the wife of Abram, took Hagar the Egyptian, her maidservant (...
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Can a slave say the Haggadah?
Throughout the Haggadah, we make reference to the fact that originally we were slaves, but now we are freed. To quote just a couple of them:
עבדים היינו לפרעה במצרים...ואלו לא הוציא הקב״ה את אבותינו ...
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Is Eved Ivri obligated in honoring one's parents?
A tough question that I could not find anyone mentioning.
The Gemmorah in Kiddushin 30b says a married woman is exempt from honoring the parents as
"whereas with regard to a woman, it is not in her ...
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Who fasted with Ester?
The Bavli, M'gila, says that the seven servants that Ester had while in Hegay's harem were שהיתה מונה בהן ימי שבת, used by Ester to count the days of the week. Rashi explains שהיתה משרתת לה אחת באחד ...
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Is a maidservant required to be 'moseret nefesh' for her master?
In Sefer Bereshit, 30:3-13 the maidservants of both Rochel and Leah are given to Yaacov in their stead to build Yaacov's house through bearing additional children. Since the text states that any ...
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Can a Gentile be an eved Hashem?
Shalom.
Some discussion of the concept of an eved Hashem can be found here:
https://www.shortvort.com/2618/
And here:
https://www.kby.org/english/torat-yavneh/view.asp?id=3684
My question is: Can a ...
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Why does Hizkiya say that old men are a burden while old women are an asset, and would this apply today?
The Gemara in Arakhin 19a quotes Hizkiya, who explains why the value of a man decreases more with age than a woman's value decreases:
אמר חזקיה אמרי אינשי סבא בביתא פאחא בביתא סבתא בביתא סימא בביתא
...
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Freeing a slave by kinyan
Gittin 39b tells the story of a slavewoman whose master attempted to free her by giving her his hat. But this wasn’t valid because it was HIS hat. For the transfer to be valid, the object would have ...
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Source on the Abarbanel's stance on Slavery?
Per this answer, the Abarbanel agreed with natural slavery as a consequence of the curse on Canaan.
Ironically, according to historian David Brion Davis, Abarbanel played a pivotal role in providing ...
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Does an ex-slave need to do Tshuva?
Rashi, on Shemot 21:6 that talks about an Eved-Ivri extending his servitude, writes:
What is the reason that the ear had to be pierced rather than any other limb of the servant’s body? Rabban ...
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Eved: why does it refer to both a slave and a servant?
What's the different between a slave and a servant, and why are both being refered to in the Tenach as 'eved' (both are being used to translate 'eved').
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How can an 'Eved own an 'Eved?
Yevamoth 66a discusses certain rules pertaining to ownership and legal rights that can be passed down or up the chain of ownership (eg., whether an 'Eved - slave - owned by the wife of a Kohen may eat ...
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Circumventing the conversion fuss by enslaving and freeing
Can a long path of the Orthodox conversion be circumvented by the following procedure*?
Enslaving a Gentile person by buying from him/herself
Dipping him/her in a Mikve before a Beis Din for the ...
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