Ha'anakah is the commandment in Deuteronomy 15:13-14 to give a freed servant material provisions — from the flock, threshing floor, and winepress — rather than releasing him with nothing.

What does Deuteronomy 15:14 require when releasing a servant?

It requires furnishing the freed servant "liberally" with goods "of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee" — real productive resources to start an independent life, not just freedom itself.

What did Abraham give Hagar when he sent her away?

Genesis 21:14 records that Abraham gave Hagar "bread and a bottle of water" when he sent her and Ishmael away — provisions for a journey, considerably less than the "liberal" furnishing Deuteronomy 15:14 would later require.

Why does Deuteronomy 15:15 mention Egypt?

It grounds the command in shared memory: because Israel itself was freed from bondage and left Egypt with material provision, an Israelite master must provide the same for a servant he frees.

Commandment #130 · Positive · Social & Ethical Laws

Not Empty-Handed: The Commandment of Ha'anakah

Q: How does Exodus 12:36 relate to this commandment?

Deuteronomy 15:15 grounds ha'anakah in the memory of Israel's own exit from Egypt. Exodus 12:35-36 describes Israel leaving Egypt with silver, gold, and clothing given by the Egyptians — the precedent the law cites for not sending a freed servant away empty-handed.

הַעֲנָקָה

Source: Deuteronomy 15:14 · Maimonides, Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive #130

The law of release in #129 says a servant goes free in the seventh year. This commandment adds what happens at the door on the way out: "thou shalt not let him go away empty." Deuteronomy 15:14 requires sending a freed servant out "liberally" furnished — from the flock, the threshing floor, and the winepress — and grounds the requirement in Israel's own memory of leaving Egypt enriched by the Egyptians' own goods. Genesis 21's account of Hagar's departure, with only bread and water, shows what this commandment is reaching beyond.

"Thou Shalt Furnish Him Liberally"

הַעֲנֵיק תַּעֲנִיק לוֹ מִצֹּאנְךָ וּמִגָּרְנְךָ וּמִיִּקְבֶךָ אֲשֶׁר בֵּרַכְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ תִּתֶּן לוֹ

"Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him."

Deuteronomy 15:14 — Open in Torah Reader

This commandment continues directly from #129's law of release. Deuteronomy 15:12-13 repeats the six-year limit, then adds something Exodus 21:2 did not spell out: "when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty." Verse 14 specifies what that means — a portion of the flock, the threshing floor, and the winepress: real, productive resources, not a token gesture.

This is ha'anakah — the gift given to a servant at the moment of release. The law does not stop at restoring freedom. It requires sending the freed person out with the material means to actually use that freedom — to begin an independent life rather than simply being released into nothing.

"They Spoiled the Egyptians"

וַיהוָה נָתַן אֶת חֵן הָעָם בְּעֵינֵי מִצְרָיִם

"And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians."

Exodus 12:36 — Open in Torah Reader

Deuteronomy 15:15 gives the reason for ha'anakah in the very next breath: "remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing today." The memory being invoked is specific. Exodus 12:35-36 describes how Israel actually left Egypt: they asked for silver, gold, and clothing, "and the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians."

Israel did not walk out of Egypt with nothing but their freedom — they left enriched. Deuteronomy 15:14 takes that memory and turns it into an obligation: just as Israel did not leave servitude empty-handed, no Israelite master may let his own freed servant leave that way either. The standard for how Israel treats its own freed servants is set by how God, through Pharaoh's own people, treated Israel.

Hagar's Departure

וַיַּשְׁכֵּם אַבְרָהָם בַּבֹּקֶר

"And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba."

Genesis 21:14 — Open in Torah Reader

Genesis 21:14 offers a harder picture. When Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away, he gives them "bread and a bottle of water" — provisions for a journey, but nothing close to "liberally... of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress." The provision runs out. Genesis 21:15-16 describes Hagar casting Ishmael under a shrub and weeping, with no resources left and no way forward.

The text does not soften this. And it does not leave it there either — Genesis 21:17-19 describes God hearing the boy's voice, opening Hagar's eyes to a well of water, and reaffirming a future for Ishmael. Where the human provision was minimal and ran out, God's provision filled the gap. Read alongside Deuteronomy 15:14, the contrast is instructive: the law's "liberally" sets a standard well above "bread and a bottle of water" — closer to what God himself supplied when human provision proved insufficient.

Key Figures

Israel at the Exodus — The People Who Did Not Leave Egypt Empty-Handed

Exodus 12:35-36 describes Israel leaving Egypt with silver, gold, and clothing given by the Egyptians themselves. Deuteronomy 15:15 cites this directly as the reason an Israelite master must send a freed servant away with real resources, not empty-handed.

Hagar — Sent Away With Bread and a Bottle of Water, and the God Who Provided the Rest

In Genesis 21:14-19, Abraham's provision for Hagar and Ishmael — bread and water — runs out in the wilderness, and God intervenes directly to provide a well and a future. Read against Deuteronomy 15:14, the gap between this and "liberally" is part of the point.

Study Questions

For reflection and group study

Deuteronomy 15:13-14 adds something to the release law of #129: don't send a freed servant away empty, but furnish him "liberally" from your flock, threshing floor, and winepress. What's the difference between freedom alone and freedom WITH the material means to use it?

Deuteronomy 15:15 grounds this command in memory — "remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt... therefore I command thee this thing today" — and Exodus 12:35-36 describes Israel leaving Egypt enriched by the Egyptians' own goods. What's the connection between Israel's own experience of leaving servitude WITH provision, and the command to provide the same for others?

In Genesis 21:14, Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away with "bread and a bottle of water" — far less than Deuteronomy 15:14's "liberally... of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress." What does this gap suggest about the relationship between how people are shown acting in narrative and the standard a later law sets for how they SHOULD act?

When Abraham's provision for Hagar and Ishmael runs out in the wilderness (Genesis 21:15-16), God intervenes directly to provide water and a future for them (21:17-19). What does it mean that the text shows God filling the gap left by human provision — the very gap ha'anakah later commands be filled in advance?

Ha'anakah and Israel's departure from Egypt both describe someone leaving servitude WITH material resources, not just with freedom itself. Why might "freedom plus resources" matter more than "freedom alone" for someone actually starting an independent life?

Israel did not leave Egypt with nothing but its freedom — and ha'anakah commands that no one leave an Israelite household that way either.

Open Deuteronomy 15:14 in Torah Reader

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