In Reply to: The Torah, re: selling your daughter into slavery posted by Student on October 04, 2006 at 06:12:22:
This is very informative reading. Thanks for explaining this. I have great respect for the deep thinking that these rabbis have done on this subject, and the way they describe servitude to pay off debts, with the slaves having clearly-defined rights, sounds a lot more humane than the view I'd had of it previously. About all I knew was that the ancient world was rough back then and the Jews were people of their times.
Yes, I knew that Jewish slaves/servants had rights, but their master's right to beat them seemed to overshadow those "rights." Also, I was aware of the Year of Jubilee and also aware that some slaves loved their masters and preferred to receive a golden ring and stay on rather than be set free.
But still? The master's right to beat them? And only set them free if he knocked out a tooth or an eye?