ויקרא, פרק כ״ה, פסוק מ״ב

The liberation of the Israelites from Egypt established a profound new spiritual and legal reality. By redeeming the people through open miracles, God acquired them as His exclusive servants. This divine ownership, paradoxically, grants ultimate human freedom, as it permanently prevents any person from becoming entirely subjugated to another human being. Because God personally took them out of the house of bondage, they belong solely to Him, destined to observe the Torah under His direct care [אבן עזרא, רלב״ג, ביאור יש״ר, מלבי״ם].

The primary approach among commentators is that God's deed of purchase, signed during the Exodus, precedes any human contract. Therefore, if an Israelite is sold into servitude, the human master's ownership can never be absolute, because the servant is already legally bound to another Master [רש״י, מזרחי, תורה תמימה]. To be completely sold to another person would mean removing the yoke of God's sovereignty. God deliberately freed the Israelites so they would serve Him alone, rather than becoming slaves to other slaves [רלב״ג, שפתי כהן]. In fact, this total submission to God is the very source of their liberty, as entering His service instantly nullifies any other form of subjugation [רש״ר הירש]. This concept extends well beyond physical servitude. In everyday life, a person must be careful not to become entirely enslaved to material pursuits and mundane work, always remembering that their true purpose is to serve God [חומש קה״ת].

If God's prior claim overrules human ownership, a question arises as to why the Torah allows an Israelite to be sold into servitude in the first place. This temporary arrangement is designed either as an atonement for the sin of theft or as a corrective punishment for someone who attempted to cast off God's authority. However, the strict six-year limit on this servitude serves as a powerful reminder: a person cannot permanently remove themselves from God's domain, just as the soul must ultimately return to its Creator [משכיל לדוד]. Furthermore, this fundamental status as God's servant forms the legal foundation for a hired worker's right to resign in the middle of the day, reinforcing that they are never truly bound to another human being [אדרת אליהו].

Because of this elevated status, strict limitations govern both the manner and the duration of any servitude. It is strictly forbidden to sell an Israelite in the degrading, public manner typical for regular slaves or captives. They cannot be auctioned in a public alleyway, announced in the marketplace, or displayed on an auction block [רש״י, תורה תמימה, רלב״ג, רש״ר הירש, אדרת אליהו, הופמן]. Additionally, they can never be sold permanently into absolute slavery. Just as the land cannot be sold in perpetuity because it belongs to God, the people themselves hold a sacred status. A servant must be treated with the dignity of a hired worker or a resident until the Jubilee year, completely free from degrading labor [ספורנו, העמק דבר, שטיינזלץ, ביאור יש״ר]. Finally, some commentators view these stringent rules as more than just guidelines for a legal sale; they serve as the primary legal warning against the severe crime of kidnapping and selling a fellow Israelite [תורה תמימה, מלבי״ם].