Parashat Mishpatim: What's Going On Here?
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ByHadar Institute
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Devash: Hadar’s Weekly Parashah Magazine for Children and Families

What's going on here? מַה זֶה?

After six years of work, an עֶבֶד עִבְרִי (eved ivri, Hebrew slave) is supposed to go free. If the eved chooses to remain enslaved, the owner is told to pierce the eved’s ear against a doorpost.

What’s the meaning of this ritual?
  • Rashbam says the ear piercing is so that everyone will know this person is an eved.
  • Hizkuni says it helps prevent the eved from being able to run away. An owner would be able to identify their eved by measuring the height of the eved’s ear compared to the hole in their doorway.
  • Rashi (quoting a midrash) says the piercing is a punishment. For what? It could be a punishment for choosing to remain in slavery. On הַר סִינַי (Har Sinai, Mount Sinai), God specified that all of Benei Yisrael are servants to God, not to human beings. The hole in the eved’s ear is a punishment for choosing to use one’s ear to obey a human master instead of God.