The Torah commands in Parashat Mishpatim (Shemot 21:8) that if one purchases an “Ama Ibri’a” – a Jewish girl as a maidservant – then once she reaches halachic adulthood, it is a Misva for him to either marry her, or have her marry his son. The betrothal of the maidservant by the master, either for himself or for his son, is called “Yi’ud,” as opposed to “Kiddushin,” the term used in reference to betrothal generally. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that G-d commanded the master to marry the maidservant or have her marry his son as a measure of kindness and compassion for the girl. A father would sell his daughter as an “Ama Ibri’a” due to financial straits, and thus this girl faces the prospect of being confined to a life of poverty. Out of compassion for the girl, the Torah commands the master to transform her from a lowly maidservant into his or his son’s full-fledged wife, so she can enjoy freedom and dignity. In the Sefer Ha’hinuch’s words, the young woman is elevated from the status of a “Shifha” (maid) to that of a “Giberet” – a woman of a prominence. The Torah has compassion on this girl, whose family was forced to sell her as a maidservant, and arranged that she would be lifted from her dire straits and live in comfort and dignity. This command applies only when the laws regarding servants and maidservants are applicable, meaning, only when the laws of Yobel (the jubilee year) pertain. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that if the master refuses to marry the maidservant or to have his son marry her, he is not punished, and Bet Din does not coerce him. However, the Sefer Ha’hinuch adds, if the master does perform “Yi’ud,” then he is guaranteed to be blessed with righteous offspring in reward for fulfilling the Misva of “Yi’ud.” Normally, when a man betroths a woman, he must perform “Kiddushin” by giving her money or an object of value. The Tanna’im debate the question of how this requirement is met in the case of “Yi’ud,” where the master or his son marries the maidservant without giving her anything. According to the majority of the view among the Tanna’im, the money paid by the master to the maidservant’s father when he first purchased her retroactively becomes the betrothal money when he or his son marries her. Rabbi Yossi Ben Rabbi Yehuda, however, disagrees, and maintains that the betrothal money is given by the master foregoing on work owed to him by the maidservant. Before the marriage, the master foregoes on some work worth at least a “Shava Peruta” (the value of a small coin), the minimum value required for “Kiddushin,” and this constitutes the “Kiddushin” payment. The practical difference between these two views is the question of when precisely the “Yi’ud” must occur. According to the majority opinion, the master can wait until the maidservant has completed all the service owed to him before marrying her or having his son marry her. According to Rabbi Yossi Ben Rabbi Yehuda, however, the betrothal must take place before the girl completes her term of service, when she has at least a “Shava Peruta” of work remaining to perform, as it is through the master’s foregoing on this obligation that the betrothal can take effect. The Misva of “Yi’ud” results in certain restrictions on whom one may purchase as an “Ama Ibri’a.” Since there is a Misva for the master to either marry the maidservant or have his son marry her, one cannot purchase as a maidservant a girl who is forbidden for marriage to both him and his son. Thus, for example, a father cannot sell his daughter as an “Ama Ibri’a” to his son, because siblings may not marry one another. One may, however, sell his daughter as an “Ama Ibri’a” to his father, because the father’s son – the girl’s uncle – is permitted to marry her, as Torah law permits marrying one’s niece.