דברים, פרק ט״ו, פסוק ט״ו

The obligation to provide a departing Hebrew slave with a severance gift might initially seem to contradict strict justice, as the master has already paid upfront for the labor. Yet, the master is required to act with profound generosity and mercy, drawing directly from the historical memory of the Israelites' own enslavement and liberation [ביאור שטיינזלץ, ביאור יש״ר].

The primary approach among commentators is that this required memory is not simply about the fact of freedom, but rather how that freedom was achieved. When God redeemed the Israelites, He ensured they received a reward in exchange for their years of hard labor [הכתב והקבלה]. He brought them out with tremendous wealth, effectively granting them a massive severance gift [בכור שור, רשב״ם, רש ר הירש]. God did not merely release the nation from bondage; He actively transferred wealth to them from those who had oppressed them [ספורנו]. Just as God did not send the Israelites away empty-handed, a master is expected to provide for his departing slave from the very abundance with which God has blessed him [רלב״ג]. Furthermore, God provided this gift with a generous hand, giving a double portion, once from the spoils of Egypt and again from the spoils of the sea. In this same spirit, a master must give to his slave generously and in a dual measure [רש״י, רבנו בחיי, תורה תמימה]. The wealth the Israelites took with them included flocks and herds, which perfectly mirrors the specific items required for the slave's severance gift, alongside the silver, gold, and clothing they received as their earned wages [רלב״ג, מלבי״ם].

One might wonder why there is a need for a formal Commandment to act generously, given that compassion is a natural human trait. The explanation is that God desired to grant the Israelites the opportunity to fulfill a Commandment. While showing mercy may be a natural human response, performing this generous act specifically because it is a Divine Commandment allows a person to earn spiritual reward for the observance itself [ביאור יש״ר].

An additional layer of meaning relates to the timeframe in which these laws are given. The emphasis on the present day connects directly to the subsequent laws regarding a slave who chooses to remain with his master and has his ear pierced. This connection teaches that the act of piercing the ear must be performed specifically during the daylight hours, rather than at night [קיצור בעל הטורים, מלבי״ם]. However, because the plain meaning of the immediate subject deals with the severance gift rather than the piercing, major legal authorities did not adopt this specific interpretation as practical law, omitting it from their primary legal codes [תורה תמימה, מלבי״ם].