[Avodah] Freeing a Slave

[Micha Berger]

It seems that in the Y-mi, shikhrur avadim is a good thing. See Pesachim
2:2, vilna 15a. There is a mishnah that says that a Jew who uses chameitz
as collateral for Pesach to secure a loan from a non-Jew may not use
the chameitz after Pesach. Collateral does not sufficiently remove it
from his reshus, and so he violated bal yeira'eh.

However, when it comes to freeing an eved, Rav says either the owner or
the lender could free the eved, and R' Yochanan holds only the owner. So,
the gemara cites that mishnah as a question on Rav. R' Yudan [ie Yehudah]
answers that "qal hu beshikhrur". And he quotes another mishnah: Someone
who makes his slave a security -- if [the borrower] sells him, he is
not sold, if he frees him, the [slave] is not freed.

Freeing a slave is a value which motivates a qulah.

-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Zion will be redeemed through justice,
micha at aishdas.org        and her returnees, through righteousness.
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