Let’s explain this in more depth. A Canaanite slave is described by the sages as a person who has no morals (לֵיהּ נִ יחָ א בְּ הֶ פְ קֵ ירָ א עַבְדָּ א ); he is comfortable with having no decency. So why is the tzaddik found in him as “the hewer of your wood” (which also means "advice," as we will explain)?
One of the greatest Torah scholars of the previous generation, the genius who also gave the Lubavitch Rebbe ordination, the Rogatchover, has many deep insights regarding Canaanite slaves. In brief, he explains that a Canaanite slave does not exist as an individual. He draws on various expressions, primarily from the philosophical writings of Maimonides. Sometimes he says that a Canaanite slave is a non-entity, or a non-being. In the language of the sages, "His self is not his own" (אֵ יןֹ וׁ נַפְ ש קְ נוּיָהֹ לו).
What is the difference between a righteous convert and a Canaanite slave (who undergoes a preliminary stage of conversion when immersing in the mikveh to become a slave)? A righteous convert transforms into something else. He was originally a non-Jew, one type of being, and once he converts, he becomes a new being—a Jew. A Canaanite slave can be freed, and once he is freed, he becomes a full-fledged Jew, but before that, he is a non-Jew who is in an intermediate stage as a Canaanite slave, and once he is freed, he becomes a full Jew.
How do we describe the period when he is a Canaanite slave? In the words of the Rogatchover, during this period he is "a non-being" (אֹ ל דָּ בָר) or "not an individual entity" (אֹ ל מְ צִ יאו ּת פְּ רָ ט). He explains that his being is part of the collective, as he is a member of the covenant of Israel (as we learn from the laws of agency), but he has no separate, individual existence. Regarding his personal identity, he is gornisht—nothing, non-existent.
In the language of Chasidut, this period of time is described as a state of nothingness or non-being (אָ יִן) between one state of being (ׁ יֵש) and another state of being. The great innovation in Chassidic thought, beginning with the Ba’al Shem Tov, is that this state of non-being is not a deficiency, but rather greater than the two states of being that it lies between. The Ba’al Shem Tov learnt this from the statement that “Israel has no mazal” (אֵ ין מַ זָּל ְ רָ אֵ לׂ לְ יִש)—meaning that the Jewish people are not governed by the constellations—but which he read as “non-being is the mazal of Israel” (אָ יִן מַ זָּל ְ רָ אֵ לׂ לְ יִש), because its root is in Adam Kadmon (beyond even the world of Atzilut—Emanation).
The Canaanite Slave as Part of the Collective of Israel
The Rogatchover explains that God oversees everyone with Divine Providence. We believe in individual Divine providence, known as hashgachah pratit, which is one of the fundamental teachings of the Baal Shem Tov. What about the Canaanite slave, who is not considered a full entity, lacking individual existence? The Rogatchover explains that he does not receive personal Divine Providence like any other Jew. Rather, he is included in the Providence that God bestows upon his master, since he is entirely subordinate to his master, but not as a separate individual.
For example, if a person vows not to receive any benefit from Jews, is he also forbidden from benefiting from Canaanite slaves? This is a whole topic in the tractate of Nedarim.
If a person is forbidden from benefiting from Jews, he is also forbidden from benefiting from Canaanite slaves. However, if he is forbidden from benefiting from the descendants of Abraham, he is not forbidden from Canaanite slaves. If he vows not to receive benefit from Jews as a collective, then the Canaanite slave is part of that collective. But if he vows not to benefit from Jews as individuals, the slave is not considered an individual.
When the master frees the Canaanite slave, he loses the privilege of marrying a maidservant. So, for the Canaanite slave who lives lawlessly, being freed is detrimental, and thus one cannot seemingly free him against his will. However, it is still possible. How come? Because there he possesses no true will of his own; there is no detriment to him being freed because there is no "him" in the sense of individual being. Thanks to this, he can transition from his state of non-being to a state of being—i.e., being a complete Jew—in every respect.
Canaanite Slaves in the Priestly Blessing
Regarding the Priestly Blessing, Birkat Kohanim, are Canaanite slaves included in this blessing? The Rogatchover notes the disagreement between the Babylonian Talmud and the Sifrei. According to the Talmud, the Priestly Blessing includes freed slaves, implying that it does not include slaves who have not yet been freed. However, the Sifrei explicitly states that the Blessing also includes non-freed Canaanite slaves. What is the source of the disagreement?
Again, the Rogatchover argues that this is a debate about the essence of the Priestly Blessing—whether it is meant to bless the collective or the individual. And as we have seen, the difference between a Canaanite slave and a Jew is whether they have a halachic status as an individual or are they only part of the collective.
The Consciousness of a Canaanite Slave: Deficient and Advantageous
There is both an advantage and a deficiency in this. The simple understanding is that Canaanite slaves lack individual existence, and this is a deficiency. How can we translate this concept into contemporary worldviews? There are individuals who normally speak only of the collective aspect of the Jewish people and its sanctity, but do not address the individual at all. According to the Rogatchover’s perspective, this mindset is akin to that of a Canaanite slave who has no individual existence, only a collective one. A freed Jew, however, has both the collective and the individual in his mind. This inclusive mindset is captured in the sages’ principle that, “the collective requires the individual and the individual requires the collective” (כְּלָלְָ רִ יךּ הַ צ לַ פְּ רָ ט ו ּפְ רָ טְָ רִ יךּ הַ צ לַכְּלָל).
Still, we also mentioned that the deeper source of this principle (addressing the collective and not the individual) is the state of non-being, the ayin. Thus, the scholar who has this Canaanite slave’s mindset has attained a state of ayin, or nothingness, in the sense of "Israel has no mazal." There is a higher level in this lack of individual existence.
The lesson of agency (shlichut) that we learn from the Canaanite slave is very powerful, because a true agent—a shaliach—must be nullified to the one who sends him: “the agent of a person is like the person himself” (ְֹ לוּחוׁ ש ֶלׁ ש אָ דָ םֹתוֹכְּמו) and the Alter Rebbe adds, “like the person himself in every respect” (ֹתוֹכְּמוׁמַ מּ ָ ש). Who is best suited to be "like the person himself in every respect"? A Canaanite slave, who has no independent existence of his own.
The Canaanite Slave in the Atonement of Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur is approaching. Regarding Yom Kippur, the Talmud requires a special phrase in Scripture to include Canaanite slaves in the atonement of Yom Kippur, which is carried out by the very essence of the day of Yom Kippur. The sages go over all the words related to the atonement of Yom Kippur and identify whom each word is meant to include. In the verse, “He shall atone the Holy of Holies and the Tent of Meeting and the altar he shall atone; and for the priests and for all the people congregated he shall atone” ( כׇּ ל וְעַל הֲנִיםֹהַכּ וְעַל יְכַ פֵּ ר הַ מִּ זְ בֵּ חַ וְאֶ ת עֵ דֹמו הֶלֹא וְאֶ תׁדֶ שֹּהַ קׁמִ קְ דַּ ש אֶ ת וְכִ פֶּ ר עַם ָ הָ לּהַ ק יְכַ פֵּ ר), the word “he shall atone” (יְכַ פֵּ ר) repeats twice, and so the sages learn that the second time (at least according to one opinion) is meant to include Canaanite slaves. This means that a Canaanite slave is a category unto himself, and Yom Kippur atones for him.
Thus, we have seen many special questions and issues related to the Canaanite slave. It is a very special issue revolving around the state of non-being (ayin) that the Canaanite slave embodies.
Rectifying the Canaanite Slaves Preference for Lawlessness with Tzeddakah
One final insight, which is perhaps the most important that we should gain from the first reading of Neetzavim: Whenever we encounter a central term or word, we should calculate its value. The value of “a Canaanite slave” (דֶבֶע יִנֲעַנְכּ) is 276, which is also the value of “skin” (רֹעו). In one of his many epistles on the importance of tzeddakah, the Alter Rebbe mentions the verse, “Skin for ski—all that a man has he will give for his life” (ֹוׁנַפְ ש בְּ עַ ד יִתּ ֵ ןׁלָ אִ יש ֶ רׁאֲש לֹוְכ רֹעו בְּ עַ ד רֹעו). Although the Alter Rebbe does not specify what amount one should give to tzeddakah, we can take the quote as a hint that one should give 276 in one’s local currency. 276 is also the triangle of 23, the value of “the living one” (הּיַח), the second highest level of the soul. 276 is also the value of “eternal life” (יםּיַח יםּיִחְצִנ).
Even though it seems that the ten parts of the congregation enumerated at the beginning of our parashah are different, the Ba’al Shem Tov taught that every aspect of the Torah is eternally relevant for every individual in every place. Thus, in every one of us, these ten parts of the congregation are reflected, internally. When this amount of 276 is given to charity, a great rectification is made for the Canaanite slave that we all contain within us. How does our internal Canaanite slave manifest in our psyche? It is the part of us that is perfectly happy with lawlessness—with a state of small-mindedness that would allow us to remove the yoke of Heaven from ourselves.
The initials of the phrase, “prefers lawlessness” (ְבּהֶ פְ קֵ ירָ אִניחָ אֵליהּ ) spell the word “white” (ןָבָל), suggesting the image of “white skin,” which as explained elsewhere is associated with the Mashiach.
This is a very fitting intention to have when giving charity: think of the verse, “skin for skin”—I am giving “skin,” 276 dollars, shekels, etc., for “skin,” for the rectification of the Canaanite slave within me.
We need to rectify the Canaanite slave within us through charity, and consequently reveal the wondrous advantage that this aspect of our souls has in its ability to nullify its sense of separate individuality and instead connect with the collective congregation of the entire Jewish people.
