[Avodah] evolving ethics?

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Nov 30, 2022 at 01:46:25AM -0500, Zev Sero via Avodah wrote:
> On 29/11/22 22:58, Joel Rich via Avodah wrote:
> > Example –is slavery presumed to be an existential institution supported
> > by halacha or an institution which must be dealt with halachically but
> > not encouraged?

> If it were not to be encouraged, then it wouldn't be forbidden to free a
> slave.

If the reason for forbidding (in normal cases) shichrur eved Kenaani were
because of a position on the morality of EK, why would it be permissed
lesheim mitzvah? Implied is that the problem with shichrur E"K is
something that their having a mitzvah purpose obviates.

See the Chinukh #347:
    And since the yesod of this mitzvah is in order to increase people's
    Avodas Bar'am, Chazal permitted [to transgress]* this mitzvah
    whenever its bitul would cause a different mitzvah - and even for
    the sake of a mitzvah derabbanan, such as if there were not ten [men]
    in the shul and they needed to free the slave to complete the minyan
    (see Berakhot 47b).

    * Hebrew has "[la'avor]", not a translation interpolation. The
    later "[men] is my interpolation.

If Tevi wants to be counted for a minyan, he isn't someone too likely to
be going back to his old life-style. If the problem were that freeing
a slave was inherently immoral, halakhah would have required davening
without a minyan as a mitzvah habaah ba'aveirah.

And if the requirement is that it be a mitzvah derabbim, perhaps the
machloqes there is whether the eved needs to prove both halves of
"ameikh ami veElokayikh Elokai", which a personal mitzvah does not.

So even without the Chinukh, simply working from first principles, it
is more in conformity with the din to conclude that the problem is an
eved kenaani who was freed would too likely become a Jew who reverts to
AZ. After all, this is why Chazal talk about the sexual license he had
in his slavery years, to explain why being freed isn't a case of zakhin
le'adam. Shichrur the only case of "geirus" without the prerequisite of
qabbalas ol mitzvos. And that's dangerous.


That's 

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 We look forward to the time
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   when the power to love
Author: Widen Your Tent      will replace the love of power.
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF              - William Ewart Gladstone