How can a divine Torah speak about slavery and not abolish it?

This question has echoed for generations. The modern reader, judging from a moral high ground shaped long after the Torah’s time, expects a clear and immediate prohibition. If this is the word of God, should it not have said so outright?

But perhaps the Torah is teaching something deeper and far more demanding. Rather than simply legislating against slavery, the Torah seeks to redefine the very meaning of human freedom. A closer reading reveals that it consistently upholds freedom as a prerequisite for genuine service of God, while at the same time placing responsibility on society to help make that freedom attainable.

This idea is made explicit in the Torah’s rationale for redeeming Israelites who have sold themselves into servitude to resident aliens:

“For it is to Me that the children of Israel are servants;........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)