Don’t talk to me about Freedom – Mishpatim
If someone worked for a master in order to win back his independence and freedom, he would sometimes so greatly enjoy the food and other facilities which the master provided that he declined to accept his freedom as ordained by the Torah at the end of six years of servitude.
Freedom is such a precious gift that anyone who chooses to reject it is guilty of a sin. The punishment was that of having himself fastened by the ear to the doorpost for a day and being thus held up to public ridicule. Pinning him to the door by his ear indicates that he had failed to hear the Divine message of freedom.
The Kli Yakar commentary says that his punishment involved the door because the Torah had given him a way out of disadvantage and he had spurned the opportunity to go out through the door and resume normal life in the community.
