Throughout the first chunk of Perek 21, Rashi explains how a master must treat his Eved or Shifchah, mainly how he can’t mistreat them. Elsewhere, it says that if the master has only one bed, the Eved gets it. Also, we learn that the master can’t tell the Eved to do things for no reason, such as to polish the master’s shoes many times in a row.
There is a phrase about a master and his Eved - ‘To buy an Eved is really buying a master for yourself’ - because the master must treat his Eved properly. The master even needs to feed his wife and children if he has - even though they aren’t working for the master!
Lesson: The Torah teaches us how we must treat an Eved properly, and can’t belittle him just because he’s an Eved. If that’s how we must treat an Eved - how much more so our friends and family…
By Ari Shagalow.
