והפדה

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Redeem a Jewish Maidservant

Verse: והפדה

Command: Redeem a Jewish Maidservant

Shemos 21:8

Type: Positive

SMG Mitzva # 85

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SMG

It is a Mitzva to redeem a Jewish maidservant, as it says in the verse[i] והפדה, which teaches us that she can offset her redemption [price][ii] and leave [α]. She is redeemed regardless of her father’s wishes, since [this situation is] a blemish on the family, as was taught in the Gemara[iii]. And if she was not redeemed, she works for six (6) years like a [male] Jewish servant, who was sold by the courts, as it says in the verse[iv] כי ימכר לך אחיך העברי או העבריה וגו’. And she leaves at the beginning of the seventh (7th) [year]. If the Yovel was reached[1] during the six (6) [years of her servitude] she leaves freely, like a [male] servant. If the master dies, even if there is a son [who inherits his father] she leaves freely like a [male servant] who wants to remain [past his initial six (6) years, and has his ear pierced], as it says in the verse[v] ואף לאמתך תעשה כן. If she had a Writ of Emancipation written [by the master], she leaves freely, just like a [male] servant.

There is an extra [clause] regarding a Jewish female maidservant, who is also freed with ‘signs’ [of puberty], as it says in the verse[vi] ויצאה חינם – the Torah increased an additional [method] for her exit above that of a [male] servant, which is the appearance of signs [of puberty]. If the daughter was barren, who does not go through puberty, but instead transitions from a minor directly to an adult, once she is an adult, she leaves to freedom. A Jewish maidservant does not get freed with the [loss by violence of the master of] tips of limbs, as it says in the verse[vii] לא תצא כצאת העבדים. Similarly,[2] regarding a male Jewish servant; if his master knocked out his tooth, or blinded his eye, he is repaid as per the law of one who strikes his fellow. A Jewish maidservant is acquired by silver, or the value of silver, or a document. How is a document [used to acquire a Jewish maidservant] – he [the father] writes on a paper or a piece of pottery ‘my daughter is sold to you’, or ‘my daughter is acquired by you’, and this document is given to the hand of the master. According to Rav Ĉisda, this document is written by the father. According to Rav Huna, the document is written by the master. Accordingly, she [the Jewish maidservant] may be acquired using [either of] two (2) methods[3], and she can acquire herself in [any one of] six (6) methods[4] – as we have explained.

[1] Therefore, if the Yovel is not active, then since one of the methods of her freedom is inactive, therefore, she cannot begin her stint as a maidservant – in other words, this law is only applicable during the time when Yovel is active.

[2] This clause in the SMG looks to be incomplete. I believe the SMG is stating that while a male servant can be freed by the loss of the tip of a limb, he is also compensated as is any person who is struck by his fellow. The same applies to a maidservant, although she is not also freed thereby. Presumably, she could use the funds owed to her to buy her freedom, but that is not an automatic exit from servitude.

[3] The two methods being: 1) financial, or 2) documented. The idea that a Jewish maidservant can be acquired by document, which need not reference a purchase price only highlights the extreme circumstances required for the father to be permitted to sell his daughter – namely, that she is in danger of starvation, as the father has neither funds nor means to support her. Therefore, he writes out a document to a foster parent who is willing to take on this obligation to feed and clothe and care for her. As part of the incentive to do so, any financial product of hers belongs to the master while under his care (not that a minor has much in the way of earnings).

[4] The six (6) methods are:

  1. Financial – by buying herself out.
  2. Documentation – by having a Writ of Emancipation written.
  3. Puberty – when she shows signs of puberty.
  4. Maturity – when she is an adult (if she hadn’t previously shown signs of puberty).
  5. Time Elapsed – upon the completion of the six (6) year term.
  6. Yovel – the arrival of the Yovel year, regardless of when it falls out.

[i] Shemos 21:8

[ii] See Gem. Kiddushin 14b

[iii] Gem. Kiddushin 18a

[iv] Devarim 15:12

[v] Devarim 15:17

[vi] Shemos 21:11

[vii] Shemos 21:7

AMUDAY SHLOMO

[α] [Maharshal quotes the SMG, however, his comment was either lost or never completed.]

Discussion by SMS – Missing Comment by Maharshal

Perhaps, Maharshal meant to comment as follows: since the maidservant is not necessarily acquired by means of money, nor is it likely that she will produce anything of value as a child, during her stint as a maidservant, what price is she then offsetting in order to set herself free, and how is that price to be determined?

In fact, this is a question asked explicitly in the Gemara:

Now, this works well according to the one who says the document possesses the value of a פרוטה; however, according to Rav Ĉisda, who says she is acquired with a document that does not possess the value of a פרוטה, from what does she deduct?

Rava answered, that the Beraissa which established her ability to offset her purchase price only applies when there was a purchase price.

Therefore, if her father renders her a maidservant, without obtaining any funds in exchange for her servitude, then there is nothing for her to offset, and this method of freedom is not available to her.

However, this creates a different problem. The Mitzva is, according to the SMG, והפדה – to redeem her. If the only method of redemption is to pay off the master, which only applies when there was a purchase price initially established, then that means, for all maidservants who did not have a purchase price established – this Mitzva would be impossible to perform.

This in fact is the Rambam[i]’s position.

A Hebrew maidservant is acquired with money or with a document… If she was acquired with money, she deducts from her money and goes out [free]… But if she was acquired with a document, she does not deduct [to go free].

A Summary of the Halachic Mechanics of the אמה העבריה and the Valueless Document

I. The Core Paradox: Prorating a Zero Balance

The SMG outlines the Mitzvah of והפדה redemption the right of a Hebrew maidservant to buy out the remainder of her six-year term through a proportional financial deduction (גרעון כסף). Simultaneously, the SMG records the ruling of Rav Ĉisda that a father may sell his underage daughter into servitude using a legal document that contains no monetary value.

If the mechanism of redemption requires deducting the value of her remaining years from the original purchase price, how can a maidservant be redeemed if she was acquired via a document that established a baseline value of zero?

II. The Talmudic Resolution: Structural Absence

The Gemara raises this exact mathematical impossibility. Rava resolves it by establishing that the financial exit mechanism is strictly dependent on a financial entry mechanism: “If she was acquired with money, she acquires herself through the deduction of money.”

The Conceptual Framework:

  1. A Conditional Mitzvah: The Mitzvah of והפדה is not an absolute obligation universally applied to all servitudes. It is a conditional right triggered only when a financial lien is established.
  2. Contractual Waiver: Because the father is transferring labor rights rather than physical ownership, standard rules of monetary stipulation apply. By choosing the document mechanism, the father effectively structures the transaction to bypass the financial framework, legally waiving the right and obligation to activate the monetary buyout clause.

III. The Ripple Effect: The Mechanics of Yi’ud

The Torah’s preferred outcome for an אמה העבריה is Yi’ud—designation as a wife for the master or his son. Normally, the master utilizes the remaining balance of her original purchase price to serve as the betrothal money.

If she was acquired with a valueless document, the “account balance” is zero. Because Yi’ud is not a magical “fourth method” of marriage but must conform to standard marital mechanisms (Money, Document, or Relations), the master cannot use her servitude to automatically trigger a marriage.

The Rambam’s Ruling: To execute Yi’ud in this scenario, the master must literally introduce new capital into the system, giving her a brand new Peruta specifically for the sake of betrothal.

IV. The Epistemology of Halaĉic Currency

To defend the possibility of redemption or Yi’ud within the document scenario, one might theorize that the document possesses a de minimis value (“less than a Peruta“), or that an implicit market value depreciates over time.

Halaĉa rejects these economic models due to the strict definition of Talmudic currency:

  • The Indivisibility of the Peruta: The Peruta is the Halaĉic atom. The legal system does not recognize fractions of a Peruta for deductions or acquisitions.
  • Absolute Zero: The Talmudic meta-rule dictates that “less than the value of a Peruta is not considered money.” Therefore, Rav Ĉisda’s document is legally recognized as possessing a value of exactly $0.00. One cannot run a proportional deduction using a currency that the Torah defines as legally non-existent.

V. The Methodology of the Codifiers

If this mathematical exception is so foundational, why do the SMG and its primary commentary, the Amudei Shlomo (Maharshal), omit the discussion?

  1. The Sefer HaMitzvot Genre: The SMG defines the essence of the Mitzvah based on its normative, historical use-case (destitute fathers selling daughters for money). The strict mathematical limits of edge-cases are left to the Talmud and formal legal codes (like the Mishneh Torah), an approach similar to the Rambam’s own Sefer HaMitzvot.
  2. Historical Crisis: Writing in the aftermath of the 1242 burning of the Talmud in Paris, the SMG prioritized rebuilding the core infrastructure of practical Halaĉic knowledge over detailing theoretical edge-cases.
  3. The Placeholder of the Maharshal: The Amudei Shlomo was published posthumously from the Maharshal’s unedited notes. Given the Maharshal’s legendary rigor (as seen in Yam Shel Shlomo), his bare quotation of the SMG’s blanket statement was almost certainly a placeholder—a “note to self” marking a structural anomaly that he intended to dismantle and explain, exactly as reconstructed above.

[i] עבדים 4:6-8

RASHI

Discussion by SMS

Is there an obligation on the Jewish girl to buy her own freedom? Since a Jewish maidservant status only applies while she is a minor, certainly there is no obligation on her to do any of the Mitzvos required as an adult. However, as we find with the laws of vows, and the laws of Rejection of an arranged marriage by her mother, there is certain autonomy granted to a minor who displays sufficient intelligence and emotional maturity. Perhaps then, while not a Mitzva, she might also be obligated to seek to free herself.

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