Do Not Rule Over a Hebrew Slave with Rigor
Two Applications of the Same Prohibition
Commandments #610 and #611 both address the prohibition on perekh — ruthless, crushing treatment — in the context of Hebrew slavery. They derive from Leviticus 25:43 and Leviticus 25:46 respectively. The repetition in the text signals two distinct applications: the first prohibition (v. 43) addresses the master's treatment of the Hebrew slave he directly oversees; the second (v. 46) addresses the treatment of Hebrew slaves under any conditions of extended servitude, particularly as it applies to those inherited or held over longer periods. Maimonides counts each occurrence as generating a distinct negative commandment.
Leviticus 25:46: “you may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another, ruthlessly.” The verse distinguishes between non-Hebrew slaves (who may be bequeathed as permanent property) and Hebrew slaves (who may not be ruled with perekh). The contrast makes the protection of Hebrew slaves explicit by setting them against a baseline of non-Hebrew servitude.
The Contrast with Non-Hebrew Slaves
The Torah's distinction between Hebrew and non-Hebrew slaves is stark. Non-Hebrew slaves could be acquired from surrounding nations and bequeathed to heirs as permanent property (Leviticus 25:44–46). Hebrew slaves served until the seventh year or the Jubilee and could not be ruled with perekh. This asymmetry reflects the Torah's particular concern for Israelites who fell into servitude through poverty — the covenant community had specific obligations to its members that it did not have to outsiders in the same way.
This is not an endorsement of the treatment of non-Hebrew slaves. The Torah's humanitarian principles — not oppressing the stranger, not muzzling the working ox — extend beyond Israel. But the specific legal protections for Hebrew slaves reflect the covenant community's obligations to its own members. An Israelite who had sold himself into servitude retained his covenantal dignity; the prohibition on perekh enforces this.
The Prophetic Vision — Covenant Renewed Through Liberation
Jeremiah 34:8–17: during the siege of Jerusalem, King Zedekiah proclaimed the liberation of all Hebrew slaves in accordance with the Torah's seventh-year law. The slave-owners complied initially — then took their slaves back after a temporary lifting of the siege. Jeremiah's condemnation is absolute: “You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name, but then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves.” (Jeremiah 34:15–16). The violation of the slave-release law — including the implicit continuation of perekh — is cited as a reason for the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem.
The Jeremiah passage reveals the stakes of commandments #610 and #611: the Torah's Hebrew servitude laws were not minor regulations but covenant obligations whose consistent violation contributed to the catastrophic judgment on Judah.
- Leviticus 25:43 and 25:46 — Two occurrences of the perekh prohibition, counted as two distinct commandments. The repetition signals comprehensive protection: no form of Hebrew servitude may involve ruthless treatment, regardless of its duration or circumstances.
- The Hebrew/Non-Hebrew Distinction — Leviticus 25:44–46: non-Hebrew slaves may be permanent property; Hebrew slaves may not be ruled with perekh. The contrast articulates the covenant community's specific obligations to its own members.
- Zedekiah's Violation — Jeremiah 34:16: slaves liberated and then re-enslaved. Jeremiah identifies this as profaning God's name and cites it as a cause of the Babylonian destruction. The servitude laws were covenant obligations with national consequences.
Read the source passage in the reader.
Open in Reader — Leviticus 25:46