I Love My Master and Will Not Go Free

"And if the servant shall plainly say" (Exodus 21:5) - until he says it and repeats it and says it a third time. "The servant" - and not the bondwoman. Since it says, "and so shall you do to your bondwoman" (Deuteronomy 15:17), regarding the severance gift, one might think it applies to the piercing of the ear as well; Scripture teaches, "the servant" - and not the bondwoman. Another interpretation of "the servant": until he says it while he is still a servant. One might think that if he said it within the six years he would be pierced; Scripture teaches, "I will not go free" - until he says it at the time of his going out. Thus he says it only at the end of the six years. "I love my master, my wife, and my children" - Rabbi Shimon said: if not, what would have entered my mind? For if he does not love, how would he be pierced? From here you say: if he loved his master but his master did not love him, or his master loved him but he did not love his master, he is not pierced, as it says, "because he loves you" (Deuteronomy 15:16). If he has a wife and children but his master has no wife and children, he is not pierced, as it says, "I love my master, my wife, and my children." Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah says: if the servant was ill while with his master, or the master was ill while with him, he is not pierced, as it says, "because it is good for him with you" (Deuteronomy 15:16).