Leviticus 25:1-27:34
The Slave’s Life
Twice, in this week’s reading, God tells Israel that they themselves will occupy the lowest rank in the society that they are to establish in Canaan. “For they are My slaves,” God says of the Israelites, “whom I took from out of the land of Egypt…” (Lev 25:42), and again, “For the Israelites are My slaves—My slaves they are!—whom I took out of the land of Egypt” (Lev 25:55). The point is apparently that, having been taken out of Egypt as slaves, the Israelites merely changed owners at the exodus, but not status.
Well, being a slave sounds like a fairly debased status, but a lot depends on who your employer is. Being God’s slave means worshiping Him—in fact, the regular word for work, ‘avodah, also means worship. And worship, in terms that are made quite explicit throughout the Torah, means not only bringing sacrifices to a sanctuary (which is mostly what worship involved elsewhere in the ancient Near East), but keeping all of the divine commandments—every day, day in and day out. In that sense, “slave” is not a bad description of what God had in store for Israel.
In keeping with this, land ownership itself must hardly have seemed appropriate for such slaves—and indeed, the Torah is quite consistent on this point in this week’s reading, “BeHar.” God has given Israel custody of the land, but it is not an unconditional gift. The sabbatical year, the jubilee year, and in other matters as well, Israel’s continued existence in its land is indeed dependent on its continued service of God, ‘avodat HaShem in Hebrew.
As to land ownership, Israel’s status is quite clear. In its requirement of farmers to bring an offering of their first fruits to the Jerusalem Temple, the Torah specifies the words that people are to say as they hand over their basket of goods to the officiating kohen.