Gifts upon the Discharge of a Jewish Bondsperson

Positive Commandment 196

By Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon ("Maimonides"); translated by Berel Bell

The 196th mitzvah is that we are commanded to give a severance gift and assistance to a Jewish servant who leaves his master without giving payment.1 He should not go away empty-handed.

The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "Give him a severance gift from your flocks, from your threshing floor, and from your wine vat, so that he will have a share of all the things with which G‑d your L‑rd has blessed you."

The details of this mitzvah are explained in the first chapter of tractate Kiddushin.3

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Positive Commandment 195

Positive Commandment 197

Footnotes

E.g., after serving six years or upon reaching the Jubilee Year. If, however, the servant paid money in order to be released, the master is not obligated in this mitzvah. This distinction is derived from the phrase (Deut. 15:13) "When you send him away free." Hilchos Avodim 3:14.

Deut. 15:14.

14b.