For the source text click/tap here: Gittin 37
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Our new Mishnah states: If a Canaanite slave was taken captive and a Jew ransomed him, if he was ransomed for the purpose of being a slave, he is enslaved. If, however, he was ransomed for the purpose of becoming free, he is not enslaved. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: It makes no difference what the purpose of the ransom was for; he can anyway be enslaved.
The Gemara wonders if the slave's owners are despairing over their slave. They wonder about ownership at all if this person was captured. They note that it is a mitzvah to redeem both slaves and freemen. Different rabbis share different opinions about whether or not this man should be a slave; whether or not he should belong to the first or second owner.
We examine the history of slave emancipation.