For the source text click/tap here: Kiddushin 22
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R’ Yochanan ben Zakkai said: This ear that heard at Sinai (Shemos 20:13) “Do not steal”, and he went and he stole, and it heard (Vayikra 25:55) “For Bnei Yisrael are slaves to Me,” and he went and acquired a [different] master for himself, let it be bored.
The Torah clearly states (Vayikra 25:39) that if a person becomes destitute, he can sell himself to be a slave. Why should this be allowed, if it is in violation of the verse to be servants of Hashem alone?
Finally, the slave who has his ear pierced has to suffer this indignity for having heard and then ignored the prohibition at Har Sinai of “Do not steal.”
We examine these texts and the implication of servants being masters.