The Awl

The ear is pierced with a martzei’a (awl), a word that has a numerical value of 400, symbolizing the 400 years of slavery that were decreed upon the Jewish People in Egypt, which Hashem shortened to 210 years. The usage of this instrument is a silent rebuke to him for having chosen the very status of slavery that Hashem withheld from the Jewish People (Chizkuni).