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If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep or goat, and slaughter or sell it, he shall pay five cattle in place of the ox, and four sheep in place of the sheep. (21:37)

One who steals an ox or sheep and sells or slaughters it must pay five times the value of the ox and four times the value of the sheep.  Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai states one reason for setting  the fine for a sheep to be less than  that of an ox. He attributes the reduction  to the thief’s humiliation when he carries the sheep on his shoulders as he escaped.  The embarrassment incurred by a thief evokes Hashem’s compassion, thereby reducing his fine.  This is a remarkable lesson demonstrating the Torah’s concern for the feelings of all people–even a common…

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And his master shall bore through his ear with the awl, and he shall serve him forever. (21:6)

The Torah does express respect for the Jew who spurns his freedom and chooses to remain an eved.  His conscription to another Jew is an act of self-degradation.  His decision to continue in servitude involves a ceremony in which  his ear is bored with an awl.  The Torah says he is  to remain a servant “forever.”  In this context, the word “forever” means until Yovel, the jubilee/fiftieth year.  This is the end of a cycle, a time at which  properties that changed hands during this cycle revert back to their original owners.  At this time, all Jewish servants are  freed….

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