The Phoenix Jewish news., 1959-05-22
Bible Message
Law Guarded
Hebrew Slaves
From Cruelty
By RABBI CAROL KLEIN


We live In a civilization where
slavery is little practiced in the
ways of the old slave markets.
But the very fact that the Torah
had included into its laws regula-
tons for the life of the slaves, the
Jewish "Book of Books" was at
tackled with the accusation that 1t
proposes slavery as human prac-
tice.
The system of slavery which is
tolerated by the Torah is funda-
mentally different from the cruel
systems of the ancient world and
even of Western countries down to
the middle of the last century. The
Code of Hammurabi has penalty
only for the masters who destroy
the tooth or eye of another mans
slave; it orders that slaves ear
be cut off If he desires freedom,
while to harbor a runaway slave
was considered capital offense.
AS TO GREECE, a slave was
decreed ian animated tool" and
he could claim no more rights in
his relationship to his master than
beast of burden. Agricultural la
borerS were chained. If at any
time it was thought that there
were too many slaves. they were
exterminated, as wild beasts would
be. Athens was an important slave
market and the state profited by it
from q tax on the sales.
The grandeur that was Rome"
was even more detestable. The
slave was denied all human rights
and sentenced TO horrible mutila-
ton, and even crucifixion, at the
whim of his masters. Sick slaves
were exposed to die of starvation
and there was corporate RESPONSE
bility of slaves: Tacitus reports
that 400 slaves of one household
were put to death because they
had been under their masters roof
when he was murdered.
WORLDS ASUNDER from those
inhumanities and barbaritieS was
the treatment accorded to Hebrew
slaves. Kidnapping a man or sell
ing him as q slave was a capital
offense. The position OF Eliezer in
Abraham'S household enables us to
realize the nature of servitude in
the ancient Hebrew home.
In rabbinical law, the rules that
should regulate the relationship be-
tween master and his Hebrew
slave are given in great detail and
are based on the principle that
master and slave are kinSmen.
The slave must not be given infer
ior food or accommodations to that
of the master.
ACCORDING TO biblical law,
cruelty on the part of the master
which resulted in injury to an or
gan of the body secured the slaves
freedom, and If a slave ran away,
he must not be surrendered to his
master. A fugitive slave law, such
as existed in America, with the
tracking of runaway slaves by
blood hounds, would have been un-
thinkable to the ISraelite of old;
and, certainly, we should be
shocked when we encounter in the
goth Century slavery still being
practiced by nations that sit as
equal members in the United Ma
tions-and even more so if, in a
civilized country like the United
States, lynching is still tolerated
and practiced.
The recent events in Mississippi,
where human beings took the law
into their own hands by killing q
Negro, is as deplorable as what
the Greeks and Romans did in me-
dieval times. These So-called hui
man beings are guilty of the most
beastly practices, having no digni-
ty and respect for human rights.
They still consider the Negro q
slave whom they wish to rob Of
his rights-even from just trial;
they are judge, jury, and execu-
| toner. May God have mercy on