I would just like to add to this the approach of **using distinctions and
details**. Slavery by itself is just one word which *could* connote
different things to different people. It may for instance connote the
atrocities mentioned in Uncle Tom's Cabin. However, by using an approach
of distinctions and details we can document *why* we think the Torah is
pleasant.
Slavery is pleasant because the master should...
** give his slave a sample from every new dish he serves in his house
(Slavery,9)
** give equal treatment in food, drinks, cloth and housing
(Rambam,Slavery,end of 1)
** respect the slaves vocational training and not treat him like a rookie
(Slavery,1)
** respect the slaves desire to live in a descent Jewish neighborhood
(Slavery, 8)
** be sensitive to the slaves heightened vulnerability (Slavery 8)
** know that "slavery" in Hebrew simply means "worker" while worker in
Hebrew is "wageearner" (EVD vs SCR).
Thus by using an approach of details and distinctions we have a
*heightened* awareness of our faith in the pleasantness of the Torah.
Perhaps one component of the dictum: An ordinary person (Am Haaretz) cannot
be Pious (literally: Chasidic) --- is that true piety requires an approach
of distinctions and details.
Russell Jay Hendel, Ph.d, ASA, rhendel@mcs.drexel.edu