The life of a slave bought in Canaan is thus: he is offered to be circumcised and to remain a slave in a Jewish household. If he disagrees, he is to let go after a year. He has rights: if his master harms him by cutting off a limb, even by knocking out his tooth, he goes free. He has obligations: he has to observe most of the mitzvot.What happens when this slave is captured by idolatrous robbers? Since the robbers will stop him from observing the mitzvot, one must repurchase this slave from the robbers. Does the slave then go free? - If the master still hopes to get the slave back, then if someone buys this slave to bring him back to the master, he remains the servant of his master. But if the one who redeems this slave wants him to go free, he indeed goes free. Why? - As far as the buyer is concerned - he redeemed the slave to freedom, so he cannot possibly become the new owner. Yet, the first master owns him!? - True, but he becomes free by the decree of the Sages: if the slave would go back to the master, then the freedom-loving redeemers would not have the motivation to redeem them.
This is the opinion of Rava. Abaye investigates what happens when the master loses hope of getting the slave back. The slave then should become free simply because the master, in his mind, does not own him. The Talmud describes when a slave who has become free needs an additional Get granting him freedom and other cases of redemption.
Art: The Idle Servant by Nicolaes Maes
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