Yevamot 46: Slaves and Conversion to Judaism

What a daf!  Filled with controversy and the traditions of antiquity...

Slavery was commonplace in the times that the Talmud was written.  People would frequently trade money for people - their bodies and/or their labour.  We learn from the rabbis' discussions that there were different guidelines regarding Jewish and Gentile slave trading.  Gentiles could purchase only a slave's labour but not his/her body.  Jews, on the other hand, could purchase both the labour and the body of another person.  

When slaves decided to convert to Judaism, like all others, they had to immerse and become circumcised (if they were male).  If a slave declared that s/he was intending to convert just before immersing, S/he could convert to Judaism and thus belong to his/her slave owner only as a labourer but not in body.  If the slave owner witnessed the immersion including such a statement, it was assumed that the slave owner agreed with the slave's decision.  Beloreya, a woman who converted to Judaism, watches her slaves immerse - this is provided as an example.

But of course, the Gemara teaches us that slave owners might not want to lose the full ownership of their slaves.  The text describes ways in which slave owners can stop their slaves from converting through their immersions.  They can hold them tightly, demonstrating their full ownership.  They can put a brindle around the slaves' necks, tightening its grip during the immersion to ensure that the immersion is not complete (water must touch every part of the body during immersion).  They can place a clay pot on the head of their slave immediately following immersion; clearly the slave is completely owned by that master.  Notes teach us that the slave masters' intentions are clear through these actions and thus the immersion is meant to confirm the status of a slave and not of a freeman.

This was so disturbing to read that I could hardly stomach it.  What about the intentions of the person who is a slave??  How could Jews, who were slaves in Egypt not all that long ago from Talmudic times, enslave others?  From the descriptions provided in today's daf, slavery was primarily considered to be an act of economic significance rather than an act of oppression.  It is difficult to stomach such descriptions of thoughtless assertion of power, control and harm upon others.

The Gemara continues, now discussing the poll tax.  If people could not pay their taxes, they were bought as slaves to the king.  Sometimes neighbours might pay a person's taxes for him/her.  In those situations, the neighbour now owned this person just as the king would have owned this person.

The Gemara discusses the need for both immersion and circumcision when men convert to Judaism.  Women do not require circumcision because they do not have the body parts required to enact this mitzvah.  Does that mean that only immersion might be required in some circumstances?  The rabbis discuss the importance of both circumcision and immersion.  They look at the timing of these actions and the implications of behaving as a Jew without having completed both acts.  

We learn that some halachot are warranted simply because the people are not learned in Torah.  We enforce the halachot to ensure that people do not accidentally transgress Torah law.  However, if people are learned in Torah, it is not necessary to enforce such halachot; there is no fear that such people will accidentally transgress Torah law.

Amud (b) teaches us about conversion at Mount Sinai.  The rabbis agree that the people must have converted before receiving Torah.  When would they have done the circumcisions?  The immersions?  Somehow they must have been performed.  The rabbis then look to their own circumstances to better understand guidelines for conversion.  They note that a story regarding a conversion teaches them that a court of three is required, that both circumcision and immersion are required, and that conversion cannot be done at night.  Based on that same story, I might conclude that only men can convert, that one must wait before immersing, and that only great Sages can oversee a conversion.  

Watching the rabbis draw their conclusions based upon the cases presented to them is truly enlightening.  It is abundantly clear that we all bring ourselves to our decision-making and interpretation.  What we pay attention to; what we notice is based upon who we are.  But what we pay attention to is what we interpret to be important.  Thus we always miss information when we look to extrapolate upon the meaning of an event.