Positive Commandment 235 (Digest)
The Gentile Slave
"You shall have them serve you forever"—Leviticus 25:46.
One who acquires a gentile slave must retain his services for perpetuity. The slave is only granted freedom in the event that the master causes him irreversible personal injury.
The 235th mitzvah is that we are commanded regarding the treatment of Canaanite servants: that we should have them serve us forever, going free only in [a case where the master struck them and caused them to lose] a tooth or [use of] an eye. The same applies to any exposed organ which does not grow back, as explained in the Oral Tradition.
The source of this commandment are G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "You shall have them serve you forever" and, "If a person strikes [his male or female servant in the eye...the tooth...he shall set the servant free...in compensation for his eye...in compensation for his tooth]."
In the words of the Talmudic tractate Gittin: "Anyone who frees his servant transgresses a positive commandment, as it is written, 'You shall have them serve you forever.' " The words of the Written Torah itself show that he must be freed upon loss of a tooth or an eye.
The details of this mitzvah are completely explained in tractates Kiddushin and Gittin.
Negative Commandment 254 (Digest)
Returning a Runaway Slave who Flees to Israel
"You shall not deliver a servant to his master"—Deuteronomy 23:16.
It is forbidden to return a non-Jewish slave to his master (even if he is Jewish) if he has escaped and fled to Israel. Rather, the slave must be given his freedom, and he must compensate his former master for his loss (i.e., his own monetary value). This because the slave has come to find refuge in the pure land that G‑d chose for His esteemed nation.
The 254th prohibition is that we are forbidden from returning to his master a servant who has fled to Israel. This applies even if his master is Jewish — since he has run to Israel from outside Israel, he should not be returned to him. Rather, he must be freed, with his remaining value written down as a debt [owed by the former servant to his former master].
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "You must not turn him back over to his master."
It is explained in the 4th chapter of tractate Gittin that this verse refers to a servant who has run to Israel from outside Israel; that a document is written regarding his monetary value; that a get cherus (liberation document) is written for him; and that since he has come to dwell in the pure land which was chosen for the holy people, he shall never be returned to servitude. The details of this mitzvah are explained there.
Negative Commandment 255 (Digest)
Hurtful Words to the Runaway Slave
The 255th prohibition is that we are forbidden from hurting the feelings of this servant who has run away to us.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "He must be allowed to live alongside you wherever he chooses in your settlements. You must do nothing to hurt his feelings."
In the words of the Sifra: "The phrase 'You must do nothing to hurt his feelings' refers to ona'as devarim." In the case of a convert, G‑d (exalted be He), added an extra prohibition of ona'as devarim due to his feeling of extreme humility and his status as a convert. In this case of a servant, who feels even more lowly and humble than a [regular] convert, G‑d added a third prohibition, in order that we should not say that "this servant doesn't mind ona'as devarim."
It is clear that the servant referred to by the verse and the convert mentioned in the prohibition of ona'as devarim have both accepted upon themselves the Torah, i.e., they are gerei tzedek.
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