Imagine that someone makes his slave collateral for his loan so that if he does not repay, the lender acquires the slave. The master can still free the slave. However, the slave must write a promissory note for his value. To whom?
Some say that he writes it to the lender. In truth, the slave is free, but the Sages wanted to prevent a situation where the lender meets the former slave in the street and claims that this is his slave - implying that his children are children of a slave! Others say that the Sages force the lender to write a Get because he can sue the borrower for the value of the slave and get paid anyway.
If two people pull their money together and buy a slave, but then one makes his part of the slave free, then the slave works one day for the other owner and another day for himself. On Shabbat, he does not work. That is the opinion of Beit Hillel.
However, Beit Shammai argued: this slave could not marry a slave woman because he was part free. He cannot marry a free Jewish woman because he is part slave. Should he refrain from procreation altogether? But the earth "was not created to be empty, but to be populated." Therefore, Beit Shammai suggests that the second owner should be forced to free the slave and accept a note for half of his value from him. And Beit Hillel was convinced.
Art: The Jewish Wedding by Moritz Oppenheim
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