Peshat and Midrash Halakha

Chazal interpret even the verses in Shemot and in Devarim, which speak of the Hebrew slave serving "forever," as meaning "until the Jubilee." This is not meant as an interpretation of the word "forever" (olam), but rather as an interpretation of the parshiot in the Torah as a whole which deal with the topic, each of which expresses an independent value or ideal, and which together must be synthesized into a single coherent instruction on the practical halakhic level. This can be viewed as a model for many instances of contradiction between peshat and midrash halakha.