PEH474

A resident of Sepphoris, wanted to free his old slave who wished to convert to Judaism. For unspecified reasons, he could not do so in Sepphoris. He therefore sent her to his friend B in Tiberias, gifted her to him, and simultaneously requested her release. However, B refused to release her, deeming it religiously prohibited, and thus rejected the gift. In response, A asked to transfer the slave to C with the same instructions. B claimed he couldn't do that either, as he (B) was not the owner. The case was submitted to the seminar for a decision. David ben Raphael Meldola ruled that the slave still belonged to A. The Torah prohibition against freeing slaves applied only to Canaanite slaves.

5

58

1767-01-24

1767-01-31

Salem, Salomo