SLAVERY: When Jews Kept Slaves, Part II

 Nadene Goldfoot                                           

  2nd Bout of Slavery:  Ancient Rome took Jews as slaves when they attacked Jerusalem in the year 70 even though Jews had lived in Rome since 139 BCE.    Jews were captured along with early Christians, put in animal circuses with the lions, slaves for people in Rome, put in army.  

          Did Moses learn about circumcision in Egypt where they evidently practiced it?  Was this a process of becoming a slave, proselytised into the culture of Egypt or showing Egyptian ownership?  

First we were slaves in Egypt for 400 years at least.  Civilization reached the point where these past slaves owned slaves, themselves.  What their culture said about any humane aspects of slavery probably has never reached the rest of the world, considering the reports we get about slavery from the United States.

Jewish law covered the institution of slavery which not only existed at the time of Moses (1391-1271 BCE) but on into our recent past of the 19th century, and may even be a part of some illegal goings on today. The Law made detailed provision for its humane regulation.

Scriptural Law allowed an Israelite to become another Israelite's slave only for a limited period with manumission at the 7th year of service or at the jubilee year;  the freed slave, moreover, was to receive a suitable parting gift.  

   Rebuilding the Temple during 70 years from Babylon 

Even this limited form of slavery became impossible after the Babylonian Exile that took place from 597 and 586 BCE to538 BCE., usually thought of as a period of 70 years. 

Solomon got into trouble by having his population work for free on the building of the Temple.  When he died in 920 BCE, the Israelis cut themselves in half with the Northern Tribes of Israel leaving Judah, the southern tribe where Jerusalem and the Temple was. Then each group had their own king, and plenty of fighting back and forth.  Treating his people as slaves was his worst idea.   

Canaanite slaves (or any non-Jewish) were usually bought from neighboring countries or people.  They were treated as proselytes to Judaism in that men underwent circumcision (hard on an adult male) and the women were subject to the laws pertaining to the women, so they underwent a class teaching these laws.  A slave's marriage was arranged by his master.  Children were property of the owner. 

  A Hebrew slave in Egypt being beaten by the one in charge

Although a master could beat a slave under Jewish law much later, to kill him was still murder and not allowed.  If in the act a master destroyed the slave's eye, tooth, etc, the slave went free.  Remember, Moses witnessed a Hebrew slave being beaten and was so appalled that he attacked the one in charge and then accidently killed him in his rage!  Even murder was not allowed in Egypt, so Moses himself had to leave and went to Midian.  

Peter, an escaped slave in 1863 during Civil war in BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, 1863., shows his back, reason enough for escaping; constant horrible whipping.  Note:  From 1728 to 1803, the land became part of the US and the Black Code prohibited the practice of any religion other than Roman Catholicism.  However, there were Jews living in Louisiana from 1719 onwards.  In 1828 the 1st synagogue was built.  More than 200 Louisiana Jews served in the Confederate army during the Civil War.  Most Jews lived in New Orleans.  

A slave who escaped was not handed back to his master, and according to rabbinic law, one who had reached Palestine, automatically regained his freedom.  Freed slaves were considered as proselytes in every respect.  

This made more sense during the Middle Ages when Jewish merchants were engaged to some extent in the slave trade, but because of the danger entailed, especially in Christian lands, the slaves generally remained non-Jewish.  Nevertheless, the benediction to be recited on the occasion of the circumcision of a slave continued to figure in some Sephardi prayer books down to the 17th century or in India to the 19th century.  

There were Jewish slave-owner in the West Indies and the southern states of the US.  Many Jews were prominent, however, in the struggle which finally led to the abolition of slavery.  

Individual Jews in the US such as Judah Touro were among the 1st to free their slaves.  American Jews as a whole took no stand in the slavery debates which preceded and continued through the American Civil War.  But many individuals were active in the abolitionist Cause such as Michael Heilprin, August Bondi, and Rabbis Einhorn, Feisenthal, Adler, and Szold.

On the other hand, Rabbi Morris J. Raphall of New York city declared publicly in 1861 that the Bible sanctioned slavery.  Leaving out the rest of the discussion was like telling a lie.  Others had their own idea of treatment of slaves that were not Jewish thoughts. Look again at Peter's back.   

A number of Jews assisted in the "Underground Railway" that smuggled slaves to free states and Canada.  Jews who fought for abolition on the political front included Sigismund Kaufman, Philip J. Joachimsen, and Abraham Kohn.  

Resource:

Book:  the New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia-Slavery

https://www.history.com/news/whipped-peter-slavery-photo-scourged-back-real-story-civil-war