Rabbi Aron Moss
Question of the Week:
I can't understand how the Torah allows slavery. Surely the Israelites who were slaves in Egypt should have known that slavery is wrong. Why do we find that the Torah allowed slavery to continue?
Answer:
There are two ways to make change in a society. One is to force people to act differently by legislation. That's called a revolution. The other is to teach people to think differently through education. That's called evolution.
Forcing change usually ends in disaster. People resist sudden encroachments on their way of life. But gradual change, brought about by introducing a new perspective, is more likely to succeed. Evolution takes longer than revolution, but it lasts longer too.
The Torah could have made an all out ban on slavery. From one day to the next, the idea of owning another person would be forbidden. But that would have caused an uprising. The ancient economy relied on slave labour. Back then, owning a slave was as normal as owning a business is today. Neither the slaves nor their owners would have understood why slavery should be abolished.
Rather than make a sudden decree, the Torah introduced a new attitude to slavery that would eventually be its undoing. The Torah taught that every human being is created in G-d's image.
No matter who they are, each person must be treated with dignity and respect. A slave-owner had obligations to view his slaves as fellow human beings, and care for them like his own family. The responsibilities were so exacting to the point that the Talmud says, “He who acquires for himself a slave, has in fact acquired for himself a master!”
This is in stark contrast to the belief at the time that slaves were born to be slaves, a lower caste irreversibly destined to a life of subservience. Not only slave owners saw it this way, the slaves themselves believed it too. The Torah changed that perception forever.
Once a slave was seen as an equal human being, the carpet was pulled from beneath the whole institution of slavery. It would then be a matter of time before the concept of slavery would collapse. This would be achieved not by abolishing slavery, but redefining it; not by forcing people to act differently, but by making them think differently.
The same is true of any change. If you want to shift the culture of an organisation, a family or society at large, inspire rather than invade. If your message is true, it will resonate. Only falsehood needs to be rammed into people's heads. Truth gets there gently. The deepest slavery is slavery of the mind. Free someone from that, and they are truly free.
Ask the Rabbi
