1) The Mishnah and Gemara in Kidushin (22b) relate how an Eved Kena'ani may be acquired. There are three basic ways:

(a) by effecting the transaction through payment of money;

(b) by writing a Shtar, a deed of sale;

(c) by doing an act of Chazakah.

(In ways (a) and (b), the transaction is valid even before the Eved actually changes hands.)

The Gemara there adds that the Eved Kena'ani also may be acquired by "Meshichah," pulling. This means that the purchaser takes hold of the Eved and pulls the Eved towards him.

The Gemara then cites a Beraisa to describe further how the Kinyan of Chazakah ((c) above) happens. The idea behind it is that the Eved performs an action which indicates that he is attending to his new master. Examples of such actions are untying the owner's shoelaces, following his new master to the bathhouse and carrying his clothes for him, undressing the master in the bathhouse, bathing or annointing the master, dressing him or putting on his shoes.

2) Now I will deal with the historical details of until when Avadim were commonly used.

a) It seems that we may observe that the common use of Avadim ceased, at least in some parts of the world, at the time of the expulsion from Spain.

My source for this assertion is as follows. The Nimukei Yosef (page 15b of the pages of the Rif in Yevamos, seven lines from the bottom) discusses the question of an Eved Kena'an converting to become a full Yisrael. The Nimukei Yosef writes that "our Avadim Yishma'elim cannot convert without the consent of their masters." We see from the Nimukei Yosef that, in his times, the Eved Kena'ani was considered as belonging to his master. The Nimukei Yosef (written by Rav Yosef Chaviva zt'l) lived in Spain towards the end of the 14th century.

b) We find this statement of the Nimukei Yosef cited in Teshuvos Mahari ben Lev 1:12 (towards the end of the responsum). The Mahari ben Lev writes that the Nimukei Yosef wrote this because he lived in the kingdom of Spain. The Mahari ben Leiv states that, in contrast, in the kingdom where he lived, "one sees clearly that the Avadim are not owned by us, but are merely considered as rented by their masters." He writes that according to the law of the land, Jews were not allowed to own Avadim, if not according to different kinds of agreements which ensured that they were only rented servants for a few years.

c) The Mahari ben Lev was born around 1503 in Hertzogovina. This suggests that in the period following the expuslion from Spain (in 1492) Avadim were no longer held by Jews, even though they had been held in Spain in the previous century. This is also stated in Teshuvas Maharshdam (Yoreh Deah #194, end of DH Iy Nami), who wrote that, in his time, according to the law of the land all those who did not belong to the prevalent religion were not allowed to purchase an Eved unless they did so by renting him. The Maharshdam lived in Salonika, Greece, from 1506-1589. (See Teshuvas Minchas Yitzchak 5:48.)

Accordingly, it appears that in the period following the Spanish expulsion, Avadim were not commonly used.

Kol Tuv,

Dovid Bloom

Reply concerning last period of time when avadim were common-

1) It seems that we can observe that the expulsion from Spain was approximately the period when the common use of avadim stopped, at least in some parts of the world.

My source for the above statement is as follows. If we look at the Nimukei Yosef, printed next to the Rif in Yevamos 15b in the Rif pages (7 lines from the bottom), we find that he discusses the question of an eved knani converting to become a full Yisroel. Nimukei Yosef writes that our Avadim Yishmaelim cannot convert without the consent of their master.

We learn from the Nimukei Yosef that in his times ,the eved knani was considered as belonging to his master.

The Nimukei Yosef (written by Rav Yosef Chaviva zt'l) lived in Spain towards the end of the 14th century.

2) We find this statement of the Nimukei Yosef cited in Teshuvos Mahari ben Leiv 1:12 (towards the end of the responsa). Mahari ben Leiv writes that the Nimukei Yosef wrote this because he lived in the kingdom of Spain. However Mahari ben Leiv states that in the kingdom where he lived, one sees clearly that the avadim are not owned by us, but are merely considered as rented by their masters. According to the law of the country Jews were not allowed to own avadim, if not according to different kinds of agreements which ensured that they were only rented servants for a few years.

3) Mahari ben Leiv was born around 1503 in Hertzogovina. This suggests that in the period following the expuslion from Spain in 1492 avadim were no longer held by Jews, even though they had been held in Spain in the previous century. This is also stated in Teshuvas Maharshdam Yoreh Deah #194, end of DH Ee Nami, who wrote that in his time, according to the law of the land, all those who did not belong to the prevalent religion were not allowed to purchase an eved unless they did so by renting him.

Maharshdam lived in Salonika, Greece, from 1506-1589.

[ see Teshuvas Minchas Yitzchak 5:48].

So we have seen so far that it appears that in the period following the Spanish expulsion avadim were not used commonly.

Here are more sources that I have found which are relevant to the ownership of slaves.

1) There is a major Halachic authority who disagrees with Mahari ben Leiv, who I cited in the previous reply. This is Rabbi Moshe of Trani (born in Salonika in 1505 and settled in Tzfat, Eretz Yisrael). He was the author of Teshvos Mabit and was a contemporary of Rabbi Yosef Karo, the author of the Shulchan Aruch.

[ There is a famous dispute between the Mabit and the Beis Yosef, which comes to the forefront every 7 years here in Eretz Yisrael, concerning whether produce which grows in the Shemittah year in fields belonging to non-Jews in Eretz Yisrael, possesses the holiness of Shemittah]

2) The Mabit (2:199 DH v'Ibra) writes that it was not actually illegal for Jews in the Ottoman Empire to possess slaves. His proof for this is the fact that there was a war conducted by the Ottoman Empire (he seems to refer this as the Jifri war) and captives were sold publicly in Damascus, and even Jews were amongst the buyers.

Mabit argued that even though Jews were often not allowed to hold slaves, this was not because the local law prohibited this, but rather was the result of prejudice against Jews on the part of the judges. This is why Mahari ben Leiv was under the mistaken assumption that it was illegal.

3) Another relevant source is Sefer Knesset Hagedolah, by Rabbi Chaim Benvenisti (1603-1673). He discusses the Halacha, cited in the Mishnah Kidushin 69a, that there is a way of a mamzer purifying his descendants. This is by marrying a shifcha, a maidservant. The child will not be a shifcha, but rather will be an eved. If this eved is subsequently set free, he becomes a kosher Jew.

Knesset Hagedolah (Even Ha'ezer 4:34 in the ammendments to the Tur) reports a case of a mamzer Talmid Chacham in Constantinople who put this Mishnah into practice. All the Torah scholars were present at the wedding in honor of the Talmid Chacham.

In this reply we have seen that there were places where avadim were still common after the expulsion from Spain

Shavua Tov

Dovid Bloom

Let us now first see additional places where we find that Avadim appeared to be common after the times of the Gemara, and then we will look at the countries where it was rare.

1) There is a Sefer called Teshuvos Ohalei Yakov, by the Rabbi of Cairo, Rabbi Yakov Castro, also known as the Maharikash (1525-1610). There, in #11, he writes that it was a regular occurrence that a Mamzer marries a Shifchah who has been immersed in the Mikvah in order to accept upon herself Avdus. This way, the Mamzer ensures that his offspring will not be Mamzerim, as the Mishnah in Kidushin 69a advises.

(Before continuing further, I should just point out that I have become aware of the fact that the war I referred to in my previous reply as being mentioned by the Mabit was in fact the Cyprus War (the Arabic name for Cyprus is Jifri). This is possibly the war conducted by the Ottoman Empire in 1570-73.)

2) Now I turn to the situation in Eastern Europe where the common use of Avadim ceased earlier than in the Ottoman Empire. A major source is the Rema (by the Rav of Cracow, Poland, 1520-1573) in Yoreh Deah 267:4, who writes that in the countries for which he wrote his Sefer it was forbidden to convert anyone to Judaism. The Shach #10 (Rav Shabtai ha'Kohen, born in Vilna 1621) writes that it was therefore unusual in those countries to buy Avadim, and, generally speaking, the Avadim employed by the Jews were in reality hired, not bought, workers.

3) There is an interesting addition cited here by the Beis Hillel, printed in the margin of the Shulchan Aruch. He writes that in his country no converts were accepted due to the fear of the local government. However, in Germany there were some places where converts were accepted even though this represented a danger.

4) I also found an interesting Halachah mentioned by the Shelah ha'Kadosh ("Shnei Luchos ha'Bris," by Rav Yeshayah Horowitz, 1558-1628, of Frankfurt, who later came to live in Eretz Yisrael and is buried in Tiberias). This is cited in the name of Sefer Mitzvos Tefilin by the Shelah, in Sha'ar 8. He discusses the Gemara in Sanhedrin 101b, where Rav Nachman explains that the meaning of the verse (Melachim I 11:27), "And he raised his hand against the king, Shlomo," is that he took off his Tefilin in front of his teacher. This Halacha is cited in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 38:11, that one may not remove one's Tefilin in the presence of one's teacher. However, the Shelah says that since nowadays it is rare for us to possess Avadim, this Halachah does not apply. I could not understand what the Shelah meant until I saw that the Magen Avraham (Orach Chaim 38:14) writes in the name of the Shelah that the reason why one may not remove his Tefilin in front of his Rebbi is because being without Tefilin causes one to refrain from serving his Rebbi. This is because the Gemara in Kesuvos 96a states that if a Talmid is wearing Tefilin he may do any tasks for his teacher; he may even untie his shoelaces. Even though untying shoelaces is a service that an Eved does for his master, nevertheless people will not say that since he unties the shoelaces this proves he must be his Eved, not his Talmid, because if he would be an Eved he would not be allowed to wear Tefilin. However, nowadays, says the Shelah, since Avadim are rare, people will anyway not come to say that he is an Eved, so there is no problem for the Talmid to remove his Tefilin in the presence of his teacher.

Kol Tuv,

Dovid Bloom