Six years is more than enough for a Jew to be an eved Ivri, an indentured servant to another Jew. But what if he likes the comfort and security of a life of servitude? Can he stay? The Torah describes a process by which this can be accomplished. The owner drills his ear near the doorpost, and then he can remain with him in perpetuity until the Yoveil year interrupts his servitude.
Why is his ear drilled? The Talmud explains (Kiddushin 22b) that this is the ear that heard Hashem say on Mount Sinai, "Avadai heim. They are My servants." Therefore, if he chooses to remain in servitude, his ear is pierced.
The Sfas Emes is puzzled. Why is the ear pierced? Why not the brain? Why not the heart? After all, the brain and the heart make all the decisions. The ear is but one of their tools, their receptors of information. Why does the ear take on such disproportionate importance here?
The problem, explains the Sfas Emes, really is in the ear, because Hashem's message never reached the brain; it remained in the ear. This man may have heard Hashem state on Mount Sinai, "They are My servants." But the import of the words never penetrated to his brain and heart. He never really gave them much consideration. He never viewed himself as Hashem's servant, and therefore, he saw no conflict n becoming the servant of another man.
Rabbi Michel Twerski of Milwaukee, a practicing rabbi and psychologist, pointed out to me that patients in therapy can often discuss a problem and see the solution but they just cannot implement it. They hear what needs to be done, but it does not penetrate to their brain. They cannot translate it into a personal reality. Rabbi Twerski believes that we have become a spectator society. People are conditioned by movies and television to become spectators to the point that they view even their own lives as soap operas. They see the problems, they even see the solutions, but they have no real control. They cannot act to improve their lives and change what is going on in their lives any more than they can change what is happening on the screen. The problem is in the ear.
