104 Richard S. Rheins 40. Mishneh Torah, Sekhirut 11:9. This translation follows Menachem Elon , ibid, pp 620-21

41. See note 6 above. The kabblan, piece worker was a craftsman or artisan whose skill afforded him better pay and flexibility of work hours.

42. Menachem Elon , The Principles of Jewish Law,“Labor Law: Hired Servant and Independent Contractor,” p. 310.

43. Baba Metzia 77a. To this Adin Steinsaltz comments,“From this verse the sages derive that a worker may retract[on his labor agreement] without penalty. Otherwise he would be under an absolute obligation to his employer, and this would be tantamount to‘slavery’ for the work period. Thus, someone who retracts before completing the job for which he has been employed is entitled to be paid for the work he has done according to the rate originally stipulated, even if the employer will have to finish the work at greater cost”(s.v.“has the upper hand,” p. 22, Part V, Baba

Metzia 77a). 44. B.B.M. 10a.

45. B. B. M. 10a. The Gemara is quoting the greatest tanna of the last decade of the Temple, Yochanan ben Zakkai, who is recorded in Kiddushin 22b, saying: They are my servants, not the servants of servants.”

46. Shulhan Arukh, Hoshen Mishpat 333.3.

47. Responsa 85, Prague edition,. See Irving Agus , Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg, vol. IL. 753. The issue at hand was the appropriate payment for a tutor who was ill and unable to carry out his duties for part of the time. Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg responded:“All laws and regulations that benefit the Hebrew slave also apply to a workman who was hired for a season. A Hebrew slave who was sick for part of his six years of servitude does not have to make up for the time of his illness. Therefore, the tutor is entitled to payment for the entire season and is under no obligation to make up for the duration of his illness.

48. Menachem Elon , The Principles of Jewish Law,“Ha’anakah, pp. 315 ff; and Jewish Law: History Sources, Principles, Vol. II, pp. 924 ff.

49. B. Kid. 16b-17a.