Not quite his own man TB Kiddushin 16

Describing an eved evri-עֶבֶד עִבְרִ I wrote “an eved evri is not really a slave for the master doesn’t own him at all. The eved evri is an indentured servant.” That statement is mostly true, but not altogether correct based on Rava’s statement found in today’s daf TB Kiddushin 16.

“A tanna taught: And a slave can acquire himself with money, with an item worth money, and with a document.” (Sefaroia.org translation) We understand that an eved evri can acquire himself with money or an item worth money he owes the master, but what type of document is the baraita describing? It can’t be an IOU note because that’s the same as an item worth money. Consequently, the document must be a document of manumission.

Why would the eved evri need a document manumission if it’s not a slave, but an indentured servant? “The Gemara asks: Why do I need a document for this purpose? Let him say in the presence of two witnesses: Go free. Alternatively, let him say before a court: Go free. Rava says: That is to say that the body of a Hebrew slave is owned by his master, and this is not merely a monetary debt. And in the case of a master who relinquishes his deduction, i.e., the money that the slave must return for the years he has not yet served, his deduction is not relinquished. Although one can relinquish a monetary debt verbally, this is insufficient to release a slave whose body is owned by his master. A document is required to effect his freedom.” (Sefrai.org translation)

Rav Hai Gaon deduces a general principle from our Gemara. A person can only sell something that is concrete. Selling one’s labor is not concrete; consequently, a person must sell his body for the purpose of the labor.

Perhaps the eved evri is not his own man completely since he may be paired up with a Canaanite maidservant for the purpose of breeding which a free Jew is forbidden.