For the source text click/tap here: Gittin 42
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A slave can be freed through a letter of manumission. But we learn about half-slaves.
What happened to them? They might have been bought by two people.
Alternatively, an owner might have freed half of a slave to facilitate a negotiation with someone else.
Regardless, it is clear that the rabbis have concerns about a half-freed slave. Would he work for his master one day and for himself the next?
How could he marry (other than marrying another slave and relegating himself to slavery for the rest of his life)?
We explore further Jewish slavery during Roman times.