Dear Rabbi Kornfeld,
On Gitin 13a the gemara refers to the way a Kohen slave-owner can disqualify a slave from eating teruma: he can sell the slave for 4 zuz.
(a) Why sell? Why not write - even on on a detached olive leaf, if necessary - a Shtar Matana (a Deed of Bestowal?) and give the Shtar to the recipient?
(b) Why does the gemara mention 4 zuz? Is this sum just twice the price of a kid - "D'Zabin Aba b'Trei Zuzei"?
(c) I would appreciate some elaboration regarding the sale of a slave when the slave is not aware of having been sold.
Thank you.
Yeshayahu HaKohen Hollander
It seems the Gemara is merely picking a very small amount which a Yisrael would pay to have the rights to a slave who ran away. The amount could be an indicator of what the Gemara thought a Yisrael would pay under the circumstances for such a high-risk acquisition (could be a good investment if the buyer was a tough guy who was aware of the slave's general whereabouts). Being that this is not the forum for "elaboration," I will merely state that we conclude that the slave's being sold is a Zechus for him (see Rambam Hilchos Avadim 6:1, and Shulchan Aruch Y.D. 267:76).
All the best,
Yaakov Montrose