שמות, פרק כ״א, פסוק כ״ז

The Torah places strict boundaries on a master's power, fiercely protecting a slave's body from abuse. The ultimate goal of this legislation is to prevent cruelty; although the slave is legally acquired property, God does not want the master to destroy his body. By threatening the total loss of this property, the law effectively deters masters from beating their slaves severely [ביאור יש״ר, חזקוני, קאסוטו]. This protection applies specifically to a Canaanite slave, as a Hebrew slave is already considered a free individual when it comes to personal injury laws [בכור שור].

Permanent physical damage, even of the slightest degree, exacts a heavy price from the master: the immediate emancipation of the slave. The law specifically highlights injuries like a knocked-out tooth because such damage is common. In a moment of anger, a sudden slap to the face can easily damage a tooth or an eye, even if the master did not intend to cause severe harm [אבן עזרא, העמק דבר, ביאור יש״ר]. According to oral tradition, this rule is not limited to these specific injuries but extends to twenty-four exposed body parts that do not grow back once severed [אבן עזרא, מלבי״ם, ביאור יש״ר]. Highlighting a tooth, which is a small and relatively minor organ compared to an eye, emphasizes that the master is penalized with the loss of his slave even for a very small permanent impairment [ביאור שטיינזלץ, קאסוטו].

Examining both the eye and the tooth provides precise parameters for this law. If only a tooth were mentioned, one might mistakenly conclude that knocking out a baby tooth—which eventually grows back—would be enough to free the slave. Conversely, if only an eye were mentioned, one might assume the law only applies to organs a person is born with. Together, they establish that freedom is granted for the loss of an organ that does not grow back, like an eye, but it does not necessarily have to be an organ present from birth, like an adult tooth [תורה תמימה, מלבי״ם]. Another perspective suggests a fundamental difference in the nature of the injuries. For an eye, the slave goes free even if he merely loses his vision while the organ remains intact. For a tooth, however, freedom is only granted if it is completely knocked out of its place [אור החיים].

The practical reason the master must free the slave rather than simply paying monetary damages lies in the legal status of a slave's property. Anything a slave acquires automatically belongs to his master. Therefore, if the master were to pay financial compensation, the money would immediately return to his own pocket. The only true way to compensate the slave is to grant him absolute liberty [בכור שור]. This emancipation requires an active legal process; the master must formally send the slave away by providing a written bill of release, similar to a divorce document [חזקוני]. In a scenario where a master inflicts multiple injuries at once—such as blinding an eye and knocking out a tooth simultaneously—the first injury triggers the slave's immediate freedom. Because the slave becomes a free person at that exact moment, the master is then obligated to pay full monetary compensation for the second injury [הכתב והקבלה, חזקוני].

On a deeper level, the slave effectively purchases his freedom through the suffering he endures. Commentators draw a profound spiritual lesson from this dynamic: if physical suffering inflicted by a human master can liberate a slave from servitude, how much more so does suffering sent by God cleanse a person of their sins, ultimately freeing them from divine punishment [מלבי״ם, חזקוני].