Should a person be punished physically for surrendering his independence? The verse in Exodus 21:5-6 tells us that a Jewish bondsman who decides to stay with his master more than his allotted six year term is not rewarded for his loyalty to his master, to his new wife and children born to him in bondage. Rather, the Torah tells us "his master shall bring him to the court and...shall bore through his ear with the awl", a mark of shame for all time.
Why is he punished for wishing to remain with his master? And what is the significance of the piercing of the ear? Our sages explained that this relates to G-d's statement in Lev. 25:42 "For they are my servants". The obedience to the Torah's laws requires us to remember that first and foremost we are servants to G-d. As explained in the Zohar: "Just like the ox on which one first places a yoke in order to make it useful to the world...so too must a human being first of all submit to the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven... and if this submission is not found in him, holiness cannot rest within him." A person can't have a dual allegiance. Independence from physical enslavement assures that one's forces can be submitted to the Master of the Universe.
Why the ear? Hearing is connected with understanding - with cogitating on and internalizing Divine wisdom. One who is enslaved to worries of this world, cannot have the peace of mind necessary to meditate and come to relate personally to the spiritual reality beyond our physical environs. Servitude to the Allmighty hinges on one accepting willingly the yoke of Heaven. This willingness comes about when one is free from their dependence on others and on the world around them.
This is what the Rebbe explains in the discourse "Ata Tetzave", that the true revelation of one's yechida occurs when one is completely free of external decrees and worries, and focuses only on experiencing the complete revelation of the Blessed Infinite Light in every aspect of reality. The build-up of the desire for the Light, brings about an increased willingness to subdue one's desires to the One Above, to the point of complete surrender of one's faculties expressed in utter self-sacrifice.
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