Kiddushin 22: Acquisition of Canaanite Slaves and Maidservants; Sexual Violence

Continuing to refine their interpretations of our last Mishna and related baraita, the rabbis speak about  a number of issues:

• When taking a prisoner of war as one's wife
• she does not actually have to be "beautiful"; beauty is subjective
• only one woman can be chosen from the prisoners
• sexual intercourse can happen once, at the most, before she converts
• she may or may not be approached until after the end of the war
• a second woman may not be chosen for another man
• a woman cannot be chosen by one man for another man

• When a slave is pierced with an awl to maintain his status as slave
• his declaration must be just before the end of his service
• some rabbis believe he must claim his desire in the morning and the evening
• he must love his master and his master must love him
• he must have a wife and children as he speaks about his wife and children
• the master need not have a wife and children
• "your house" refers to your wife
• "fares well" means that the slave and the master must be healthy
• "his wife and children go out with him" means that the master must sustain them
• selling oneself into slavery is undesirable because G-d wants to serve only G-d: "For to the children of Israel are slaves" (Leviticus 25:55)

In amud (b), a new Mishna teaches us about Canaanite slaves.  They can be acquired by money, a document, or possession by the master.  Rabbi Meir says that they can be freed by money paid by others and by a bill of manumission paid for himself.  The other rabbis say that these slaves can be freed by money given by others by handed over by the slaves, or bills of manumission accepted by others.  This is because anything owned by slaves is actually owned by their masters.

The Gemara first wonders whether or not slaves are considered to be held to the halachot of movable property.  Can they be acquired by pulling?  Can they be acquired by lifting?  Does the age of a slave make a difference; for example, if a minor under the age of six is pulled - or called over - and he acquiesces, does this allow the master to possess him as a slave? Is a minor treated with the same guidelines as those informing our treatment of animals who cannot understand the ramifications of their behaviours?

Finally, the rabbis wonder if a Canaanite maidservant can be acquired as a wife through sexual intercourse alone.  They note that one party should benefit and the other should suffer as a result of the acquisition.  In this case, both would benefit, they argue.  But what if she was acquired through an act of atypical intercourse - anal intercourse?  The rabbis argue that she would not benefit from such an act and thus the act of acquisition should be valid.  They mention Leviticus 18:22, where we learn about "Lyings with a woman", suggesting that there are two forms of intercourse with a woman.

All of our texts about slavery are disturbing.  They reflect an ancient understanding of social status, social cohesion, the management of poverty, and the value of a life.  The last few words of our daf, however, are additionally difficult to understand as they suggest that what we would call "rape" might benefit a woman.  How could "typical" (read: vaginal) rape to be thought of as a positive experience - in any way - for the woman being raped?  The only conclusion I can reach is that women were so incredibly vulnerable that they experienced rape as a "ticket" to having a roof, and access to food, etc.  Not to mention the capacity to carry out their required mitzvot.  

The other possible interpretation I can imagine is that the rabbis had no idea at all about women's experiences of sexual intercourse as an act of acquisition.  Women were not enjoying the act on any level, but they were submitting because they had no other protections or options.  It is devastating to imagine this reality.  Sadly, in many parts of our world, women continue to live with frighteningly few options and they submit to these same acts of sexual violence today.