Chapter 62 : Laws Concerning Business and Commerce

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§1

You should be extremely careful not to deceive your fellow man. If anyone deceives his fellow, whether a seller deceives a buyer, or a buyer deceives a seller, he transgresses a negative commandment, for it is said: "When you sell something to your neighbor, or buy from your neighbor, do not deceive one another." The first question a person is asked when he is brought before the [Heavenly] Court is: "Have you (always) been honest in your dealings?"

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§2

Just as deception is forbidden in buying and selling, so is it forbidden in hiring, in working on contract, and in money changing.

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§3

If a person is candid in his dealings, he will not be guilty of deception. How is this to he understood? [He says to his neighbor ] "I bought this article at this and this price and I want to make a profit of so much and so much." Even though he was deceived [overpaid] when he bought [the article], and having been deceived does not entitle a person to deceive others, nevertheless, he is permitted [to sell it] this way. Because [his statement] makes it clear [to the buyer] that the price does not reflect the value of the article, rather, it is based on the price which he [the seller] paid for it.

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§4

If a person has something to sell, he is forbidden to make it look better than it really is in order to mislead [the buyer]. Examples of this are: giving an animal bran-water to drink which makes it swell up and makes its hair stand up so that it appears fat [and healthy], or putting a fresh coat of paint on old utensils to make them look new. All similar procedures [are forbidden].

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§5

Likewise, it is forbidden to mix a little bad fruit with a lot of good fruit, and to sell all of them as good fruit or to mix a low-grade beverage with a better grade. But if the taste of the [blended] beverage can [easily] be recognized, the mixing is permitted because the buyer will detect it [and will not be cheated].

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§6

A shopkeeper is permitted to distribute roasted kernels and nuts to children to get them into the habit of buying from him. He may also sell below the market price to attract customers, and the other merchants cannot prevent him from doing so.

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§7

Anyone who gives short measure or weight, even to a non-Jew, transgresses a negative commandment as it is said: "Do not falsify measurements, whether in length, weight, or volume," (see Ch.182:1, 4 below). The punishment for giving short measure and weight is very severe, as it is impossible for a person who gives short measure or weight to repent properly, since he does not know how much and whom to compensate. Even the active participation in communal affairs is not considered suitable repentance.

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§8

It is written: "You must not keep in your bag two different weights, one large and one small. You must not keep in your house two different measures, one large and one small. You must have a full, just weight, and you must have a full, just measure..." The words "your bag" and "your house" appear to be superfluous and our Rabbis, of blessed memory, explained: "You shall have no money in your bag." Why is this so? Because you had different weights. "You shall lack the necessities of life in your house." Why is this so? Because you had different measures. But if full, just weight is in your house, then you will have money; and, similarly, if full and honest measure is in your house, then all your needs will be filled. Furthermore, our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "What should a man do to become rich? He should conduct his business honestly and ask for compassion from the One to Whom riches belong," as it is said: "Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold."

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§9

You should measure and weigh generously. [That is,] you should give more than the exact quantity, as it is said: "You must have a full, just measure." What does the word "just" imply? Says the Torah: "Be just by giving him some of your own."

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§10

You must measure according to the local custom and not deviate from it. Where it is the custom to give a heaping measure, you should not give a level measure, even with the buyer's approval who [now] pays less than the full price; and where it is the custom to give a level measure, you should not give heaping measure, even when [you], the seller, are glad to do so and charge more for it, because the Torah is very strict with regard to fraudulent weights and measures, lest this will create a pitfall [for others], since a [stranger] may notice the way of measuring and get the impression that this is the norm in this town; then he, too, will give such a measure to someone who is also unfamiliar with the local custom and thus he will deceive him.

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§11

The leaders of the community are obligated to appoint supervisors who will inspect the stores, and anyone found to have deficient measures or deficient weights or defective scales may be punished and fined as they see fit.

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§12

A person is forbidden to keep short measures in his house or in his store even if he does not use them. Anyone who keeps them, transgresses a negative commandment, as it is said: "You must not keep in your bag two different weights, one large and one small. You must not keep in your house two different measures, one large and one small." Even to use such a [deficient] measure for a urinal (chamber pot) is forbidden, lest someone unknowingly uses it for measuring [purposes]. However, if it is the rule in the community to use only measures that are stamped with a well-known mark, and this [measure] is not stamped, then it may be kept.

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§13

If someone seeks to buy or rent something whether real property or movable goods from a non-Jew or from a Jew, and they [already] agreed on a price and before they completed the sale, someone else [outbid him] and bought or rented it, the latter is called a rasha, a wicked person. But if they have not yet agreed on a price, then, someone else may buy [or rent] it. We are forbidden to infringe on our neighbor's rights in the matter of renting houses from a non-Jew.

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§14

If a person gives money to someone [to act as his agent] to buy real property or movable goods for him and the agent purchased the object for himself, with his own money, [he may keep the object, but] he is a swindler. But if he bought it with the principal's money, he must convey it to [the principal], even if he the agent intended] to buy it for himself.

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§15

If anyone gave a deposit on a purchase, or he marked the article [for identification] in the seller's presence, or if the seller said to him: "Mark your purchase," even though, through such action, the buyer does not acquire title to the article, nevertheless, if one of the parties backs out, whether the buyer or the seller, he does not behave as a Jew should, and he is liable to Divine punishment. A curse is invoked against him in court, as follows: "He Who punished the generation of the Flood, and the generation of the Tower of Babel, and the people of Sedom and Amorah, and the Egyptians who drowned in the sea, may He punish the one who does not keep his word."

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§16

A man has the moral obligation to keep his word even though he gave no deposit as yet, nor did he mark the article, nor was the transaction completed. [If the parties] agreed on the price neither [the buyer nor the seller] may back out. Whoever retracts whether buyer or seller is guilty of acting in bad faith, and the spirit of the Sages do not look kindly on him, for a Jew should keep his word, as is written, "The remnant of Israel shall not commit injustice nor speak lies." [In addition], a God fearing man should carry out even his unspoken decisions. [If he decided to sell a certain article at a certain price and the buyer, not knowing the seller's] innermost thoughts, offered him more, he should only accept from him the amount he had [originally] decided to charge, fulfilling the verse that states: "And speaks the truth within his heart." The same rule applies to a buyer; if he decided to buy an article at a certain price, he may not change his mind. This rule applies to all matters in relationships between man and his neighbor. If he decided to do a certain favor [to someone] and is able to do it, he should fulfill his intention. But regarding his personal needs, if it does not involve the performance of a mitzvah, he need not fulfill even [intentions] expressed with his lips.

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§17

Likewise, if a person promises someone a small gift and he depends on it being sure that it will be given to him. If the donor changes his mind and does not give it, he is considered lacking in honesty. But [if he promised] a large gift [and then changed his mind], he is not considered lacking in honesty, as the [prospective recipient] did not depend on it. Nevertheless, at the time that he promises to make a gift, he has to act in good faith and not have the intention of changing his mind; for to say one thing, while thinking the opposite is forbidden by the Torah, as it is said, "You must have a just eifah and just hin." Why does the Torah mentiat a just hin? Is not hin included in the term eifah [both are units of measurement]? [Our Sages explain:] "Let your hein (yes) be just and let your "no" be just." The above-mentioned law [refers to a promise made] to a rich man, but if someone makes a promise to a poor man whether [he promised] a small gift or a large gift, he may not legally change his mind, because [his promise] is considered as a vow. Even [if he did not verbally express his promise] but only made up his mind tha he would give, he must carry out his intention.

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§18

If a person wishes to sell land or a house, and two [prospective buyers] come, each of them saying: "I am willing to pay the price," and neither owns land adjacent to the property [offered for sale], these rules should be followed: If one of them is a fellow townsman and the other comes from another town, the fellow townsman has the preference. If they are both fellow townsmen, but one of them is his neighbor, the neighbor has the preference. If the other person is the [seller's] friend who visits him often, while his neighbor never visits him, the [seller's] friend has the preference. If one of them is a friend and the other is a relative, the friend has the preference, for it is said: "A neighbor who is near is better than a brother far off." But with reference to all other people, a relative has the preference. The exception is a Torah scholar, who has preference even over a neighbor and a friend who visits regularly. However, if one of the [prospective buyers] owns land adjacent to the property [offered for sale], he has preference over all [the others]. Even after [the seller] sold it to someone else, the owner of the adjacent property has the right to pay the purchase price to the buyer and make him yield [the property]. Even this buyer is a Torah scholar or he is the seller's neighbor or relative, and the adjacent owner is an unlearned person and not related to the seller, the adjacent owner has the preference and can force the buyer to surrender the property. All the above-mentioned rules of preference were instituted by the Sages, in order to fulfill the mandate written [in the Torah]: "Do what is upright and good in the eyes Hashem, your God."