Question:
What is the basis for the teaching that one should not be sad over their slave’s death and regard the death of a slave the same as loss of any other property? This doesn’t sound right to me, since a slave is a human being, not some inanimate object. Please, explain this to me so I understand it better.
Answer:
Hello,
What you are referring to is a gemora in tractate Berachos 15b. What the gemora is saying there is not that a person should not be sad over the death of his slave, rather that he doesn’t have a halachic obligation to mourn over him i.e. sit on the floor, rip his shirt, etc. but of course he can be sad. Can a person be sad over losing a 10 million dollars, yes he can. Should he mourn it, no. This is what the gemora is saying.
Best wishes
