The Power Of Mishpatim - Rabbi Yamin Goldsmith

one of the many meets votes that we learn about is the mitzvot in the regarding how to treat an aved kena'ani and the rambam tells us in peritect that these are powerful they are really an orla the torah teaches us how to treat slaves we have to treat them with respect we can't give them too much work we have to give them proper food cut proper drink proper places to sleep it's an incredible incredible set of i would have thought that you can treat a slave like an animal god forbid like a piece of furniture god forbid the torah says absolutely not the torah tells us in parikh that if a master injures their slave by causing them to lose an eye or to lose a tooth the slave goes free and not only that but rashi there quotes the gemaran that's not just an eye or a tooth but 24 parts of the body a finger or toe anything that that it that a master injures um their slave the slave goes free and we have to ask why of course this is a terrible thing of course it's terrible to injure a slave but why does an injured slave particularly go free maybe pay them something like that but why do they specifically go free this question is asked by ravitzhak yaakov died in the year 1915 a tremendous talmud from eastern europe one of the early religious zionists he actually is the founder of the mizrahi religious zionist movement and ravinus asks these questions and he says the following most beautiful idea he says that the very concept of a person enslaving another person comes from parashat noah all the way in the beginning of safe embrace sheets when when noah when noah became drunk and his son did what he did the most corrupt perverted thing that one can do noah wakes up realizes what kanan did and he curses kanan and he says that you know are going to be a servant your children then your children's children are going to be servants to your brothers kanan's actions were so depraved that his descendants had to become slaves so that they can learn how to treat one slave properly they would see how to treat people properly especially people who are weaker than them people people who are in a disadvantaged position your his descendants kanan's descendants must be put in the same situation but this time instead of being treated poorly they will be treated properly that is what is supposed to happen however says ravinus the torah in parashat mishma describes a master who does not act like that who does not treat the slave properly in this situation in this kind of household the slave isn't learning anything at all the whole point of slavery is nullified it's not working it's no longer an effect the slave is not learning anything other than the opposite of what the torah wants him to learn so in that case the slave goes free we are supposed to be a nation that is an we are supposed to be creating a land a nation a state that is an orla and if we can't do that god forbid we lose the very privileges that we were that are given to us to teach the world how special hashem is and how special the torah is may we immediately be zoha today in this year on this day bezrat hashem in this wonderful wonderful state of eretz israel not israel may we be zoha to act properly treat others properly especially people who are more disadvantaged than us and if we do that and when we do that may hashem continue to shower his blessings upon all of the people of israel