ויקרא, פרק כ״ה, פסוק נ״ה

The concept of personal liberty in Jewish tradition rests on a profound paradox: true freedom from human domination stems entirely from absolute submission to the Creator. A person can never become the permanent property of another human being because God's ownership of humanity precludes any secondary claim. The primary approach among commentators is that God's deed of purchase precedes any human contract [רש״י, רש ר הירש, בכור שור]. Because God is their exclusive master, the Israelites cannot be used as mere property, which inherently limits all forms of human labor [שטיינזלץ]. Furthermore, the subjugation of an Israelite in the physical world is viewed as a direct affront to God above, actively pulling the root of the subjugated soul toward forces of spiritual impurity [רש״י, שד״ל, משכיל לדוד, ברכת אשר].

This divine ownership operates on multiple levels. On one hand, the Israelites are intrinsically holy and belong to God by their very nature, even before their historical redemption. At the same time, the Exodus itself creates an active obligation to recognize this servitude and behave accordingly [אור החיים]. A deeper dynamic exists between serving God as children and serving Him as slaves. Generally, when the Israelites fulfill God's will out of love, going beyond their basic obligations, they are considered children. Conversely, when they merely fulfill dry duties or pay debts for their past wrongs, they are viewed as slaves [תיבת גמא, פרדס יוסף]. The emphasis on strict servitude in this context stems from the nature of the Exodus, which occurred before its originally appointed time. The explicit condition for this early redemption was that the people would accept exclusive servitude to God and never subjugate themselves to others [פני דוד, נחל קדומים, מלבי״ם, אדרת אליהו].

Because of this exclusive divine claim, the very act of an Israelite selling himself to another person is fundamentally a void transaction. A slave cannot legally sell himself to another master without his true owner's permission, and in this dynamic, both the buyer and the seller are already God's slaves [אלשיך]. This principle dictates the law requiring the piercing of the ear of a slave who chooses to remain with a human master. That specific ear heard the declaration at Mount Sinai that they are God's servants, yet the individual still chose to acquire a human master [תורה תמימה, אלשיך]. This legal framework also protects the everyday hired worker, granting them the right to resign from their labor even in the middle of the day, and forbidding anyone from hiring themselves out for more than three consecutive years to avoid entering the status of a slave. The only exception applies to individuals engaged in the work of heaven, such as a public prayer leader, who cannot abandon their post mid-service because their spiritual work does not render them a slave to humans [תורה תמימה, פרדס יוסף, פירושי רד צ הופמן].

The historical rescue from Egypt serves as the permanent proof of this relationship. God executed the Exodus directly, rather than through an angelic messenger, demonstrating that it is fitting for an individual to personally save another individual. From that moment, the people were acquired as His servants, an acquisition that takes precedence over all others [פני דוד, אלשיך, בכור שור]. Having acquired them with immense effort, they remain precious to Him, and He actively ensures that not a single one is lost [העמק דבר]. This protective care translates into an urgent warning regarding an Israelite sold to a Gentile. There is an immediate demand to redeem the individual, and the underlying reason of God's ownership must be explicitly stated to the Gentile buyer so he understands to whom the slave truly belongs [אבן עזרא, ביאור יש״ר, חזקוני]. The urgency to free the slave from a Gentile environment is directly tied to the danger of idolatry. God hastens this redemption out of concern that the slave might be influenced by his surroundings and adopt foreign worship [אלשיך, העמק דבר], especially since maintaining their distance from idols was the very merit that earned the Israelites their redemption from Egypt in the first place [דעת זקנים].

Ultimately, these legal and spiritual boundaries culminate in a direct warning to the public. This confrontation is aimed squarely at the buyer, who must recognize that God actively maintains the Israelites as free individuals. It is also a broad warning to society as a whole against ruling over any servant with harsh, backbreaking labor, reinforcing that the decree of the Supreme King applies equally to everyone, protecting the dignity and freedom of all [אור החיים, בכור שור].