Mispatim: Slavery

 כִּ֤י תִקְנֶה֙ עֶ֣בֶד עִבְרִ֔י שֵׁ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים יַעֲבֹ֑ד וּבַ֨שְּׁבִעִ֔ת יֵצֵ֥א לַֽחׇפְשִׁ֖י חִנָּֽם׃ 

When you acquire a [male] Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years; in the seventh year he shall go free, without payment.

Mishpatim begins with laws concerning the treatment of an עֶ֣בֶד, eved:  a word is derived from oved, work, commonly translated as slave. That makes sense to me; it fits with the flow of the story.  These Israelites were, until recently slaves. There is nothing closer to them than the treatment of slaves.

This slave that opens the parsha is not a slave as we, in America, have come to think of the slaves brought from Africa. Those African slaves, identifiable by their dark skin and physical features, were eternally degraded: They did not have a set release time of 6 years, like this biblical “slave”.  The American slaves would never be released until the wrongs of their institution prompted a war of liberation; until the American Egypt fell. .

Perhaps the translation is misleading. Maybe we should translate eved as "worker." But it is the same word that is applied to the Hebrews in Egypt. A we recite on Passover:

 עֲבָדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרָיִם

 WE WERE SLAVES (avodim)

to Pharaoh in Egypt,

Avodim hayinu: we were Avodim. The slavery in Egypt was not a time limited indenture with rights.  It  was  eternal. As the Hagaddah continues: 

וְאִלּוּ לֹא הוֹצִיא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת אֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם, הֲרֵי אָנוּ וּבָנֵינוּ וּבְנֵי בָנֵינוּ מְשֻׁעְבָּדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרָיִם.

And if the Holy One, blessed be He,

had not brought our fathers out of Egypt –

then we, and our children, and the children of our children,

would still be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt.

I am not sure that the Hagaddah is dealing with my question. The persecution and degradation of the descendants of the African people has  lasted for long after the “emancipation.” This abasement is a continuation of their slavery

A problem with understanding the word "slavery" is the emphasis on its horrors. Recognizing the horrors of chattel slavery is quite appropriate . But that lens doesn’t allow for a clear focus on the lesser slaveries of low wage, unpleasant work. Focusing on the whip makes the persecution that is called racial discrimination harder to call out. It is a view that protects the enslavers in their continuing exploitation of the poor.

Giving the eved who opens the chapter a limited term and some rights allows us to re-establish a depth of field. Yes, a 6 year contract can be enslavement. A slave can have a marriage that is protected from the intrusion of the master and still be a slave. Under the threat of starvation and homelessness, cleaning toilets for minimum wage is a better alternative. 

Looking at the Hebrew slave is cheating. The Hebrew eved has an element of kinship with the (presumed) master. That slave garners some respect from national status. The non-Hebrew slave, referred to as the כְּנַעֲנִי, "Canaanite" did not have a clearly defined term of service. 

The name Canaani, is interesting. It contains the word ani, עֲנִי, meaning "poor, destitute."  There are several words that are translated as poor, but this one conveys a sense of degradation associated with poverty. It is hard for me to separate the sense of debasement from the lack of wealth in this word; I do not know which comes first.  Canaani can also mean merchant: people who often humbles themselves for the sake of a sale. 

The non-Hebrew eved also had rights. If the master caused a lasting injury: loss of an eye or a tooth, that slave went free. Killing a Canaanite slave was murder punishable by death of the master. 

וְכִֽי־יַכֶּה֩ אִ֨ישׁ אֶת־עַבְדּ֜וֹ א֤וֹ אֶת־אֲמָתוֹ֙ בַּשֵּׁ֔בֶט וּמֵ֖ת תַּ֣חַת יָד֑וֹ נָקֹ֖ם יִנָּקֵֽם׃ 

When someone strikes their slave, male or female, with a rod, who dies there and then, this must be avenged.

Slavery is an ambiguous word because it is not clearly comparable across times and cultures. Torah law sanctions long, even intergenerational, labor contracts. I find this offensive, but I must admit that I do not understand the circumstances that prevailed in the  pre-television era.  I recall the story of a Jewish man who volunteered to enter a concentration camp because he was starving. My father always had food and clothing when he was a slave in the Treblinka death camp. He told us that he was fortunate in that regard!

People working for other people, sometimes for many hours, sometimes to the detriment of relationships, is common. It shares aspects with slavery. With the evolving understanding of human will, and how it is manipulated by hidden forces, perhaps this "employment" situation should be called slavery.  The blurred perception that comes from focusing on the whipped and beaten cotton-picker blunts the will for liberation. 

The "Holy One, blessed be He," liberates the slaves by virtue of the transfer of loyalty.