The Torah states that someone who wishes to remain a slave is punished. The Torah wants you to earn your potential but to do so you have to free, and not a slave.
The Eved Ivri Who Refuses Freedom
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The Torah says that after six years, the Hebrew servant must go free. But if he declares:
“I love my master, my wife and my children; I do not wish to go free” (Exodus 21:5)
Then he is brought to the doorpost and his ear is pierced with an awl.
Why the Ear?
Chazal famously explain:
The ear that heard at Sinai, “For the Children of Israel are My servants” (Leviticus 25:55), and nevertheless chooses another master — that ear must be pierced.
In other words:
You already heard at Sinai that you are a servant of God. You cannot voluntarily downgrade yourself to permanent servitude to flesh and blood.
But there is something even deeper here.
The Psychology of Slavery
The Torah is not just legislating — it is diagnosing.
A slave has:
- Guaranteed food
- Guaranteed shelter
- No existential anxiety
- No responsibility
Freedom, by contrast, is frightening.
Freedom means:
- You must earn.
- You must risk.
- You might fail.
- You are responsible.
That’s why the ear is pierced at the doorpost — the same place where blood was placed on the night of the Exodus. That doorpost represents the moment we chose freedom over security.
The eved Ivri is symbolically being asked:
Did you really leave Egypt?
Cradle-to-Grave vs. Covenant
You correctly connect this to totalitarian systems.
Communism. Fascism. Statism.
Their promise is always the same:
“We will take care of you. Just surrender autonomy.”
But Torah rejects that model.
God says:
You are My servants — not servants to servants.
And here’s the key distinction:
- A totalitarian state removes responsibility.
- The Torah increases responsibility.
The Torah’s system is harder — but it dignifies.
Potential vs. Entitlement
You made a sharp observation about “entitlement.” There really is no Hebrew word that captures the modern ideological sense of being owed something for existing.
There is “zachiti” — I merited.
There is “hagiah li” — it reached me.
There is “ani ra’ui” — I am worthy.
But none mean:
“The universe owes me.”
Torah says:
You are given abilities.
You are given opportunity.
You are given covenant.
But you must activate it.
The American Parallel
Take Cornelius Vanderbilt.
He began in poverty and built an empire in shipping and railroads. However one evaluates his methods, his life reflected one core American principle: mobility through effort.
And that aligns deeply with Torah thought.
Not aristocracy by birth.
Not priesthood by inheritance (except where explicitly commanded).
Not monarchy by divine right in this context.
Even a judge — as noted — must earn the position.
Leadership is not entitlement.
It is achievement.
The Bore in the Ear as Moral Wake-Up Call
The piercing is not punishment in the criminal sense.
It is a symbolic rebuke:
You are settling.
You are choosing security over destiny.
The Torah is essentially telling the servant:
You are not failing because you are poor.
You are failing because you are refusing to try.
And that is far more tragic.
The Big Idea
The Torah’s opening laws after Sinai are not about ritual — they are about human dignity.
The first societal law teaches:
Freedom is not comfort.
Freedom is responsibility.
And God wants you to attempt greatness.
Whether you succeed is secondary.
But you must put skin in the game.
That’s a strong “something to think about” — and very much in the spirit of Mishpatim.
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