שמות

ואם שלש אלה. כלומר היעוד לעצמו או לבנו או שיפדנה האב כמו שכתוב והפדה, ויצאה חנם אין כסף כלומר כי כיון שלא נעשה בה אחת מג' ונשארה אצלו בתורת אמהות, ויצאה חנם אין לו רשות לאב למונעה וכ"ש האדון שאינו רשאי לעכבה לכך כתיב ויצאה חנם. וא"ת יש על האדון לומר לאביה תן לי מעותי ותצא לכך נאמר חנם, וא"ת יתן לה האדון משלו, ת"ל אין כסף כלומר אין לה עליו כסף שהרי לא נשאה מכאן שנינו האמה קונה עצמה בסימנין.

ואם שלש אלה לא יעשה לה, “and if he does not perform these three for her, etc.” If he does not marry her himself, nor give her to his son as a wife or allow her father to release her, as per the word והפדה, then she leaves the employ of her master without having to compensate him for breach of contract and her father cannot prevent her from leaving. If even her father who had the right to sell her has lost his authority over her, her master whose authority over this girl never equaled that of her father most certainly cannot detain her. All of this is contained in the words ויצאה חנם, “she goes out free.” If you were to argue that her master can demand part of his purchase price back from her father, the Torah wrote the word חנם, “without compensation,” to make it clear that the father also does not have to compensate a master who had not honoured his undertaking. If you were to say that her master has to compensate her financially for having disappointed her, the Torah adds the words אין כסף, meaning she has no financial claim on him because he did not marry her. These are the words from which our sages learned in Kidushin 4 that a maidservant acquires her freedom merely by displaying signs of puberty.