Texts
Explore
Community
Donate
Log in
Sign up
Site Language
עברית
English
Fraud and Deception
Halakhic Principles
Sources
A
"May the conductor of the eighth be saved. Save us, O Lord, for we are godly; may the prophecy in Micah 7:2 be fulfilled. Andreas Shechik Tamia asked on what merit this nation stands. They said to him that it has pious men, righteous men, and men who toil in the Torah. Immediately he decreed and cast anger upon the land, so that they should not engage in Torah study. Therefore, David said, "Save us, O Lord, for we are godly." There was a story about a pious man who found a box full of coins that had been lost, and brought it to her…
Midrash Tehillim 12:1
The
baraita
continues: One
might
have thought that
one may close his eyes like one who does not see
the elder. Therefore,
the verse states:
“Before the hoary head
you shall stand
and you shall revere the face of an elder,
and you shall fear
your God” (Leviticus 19:32).
With regard to
any
matter given over to the heart, it is stated: “And you shall fear your God.”
This phrase is referring to a situation where it is impossible to prove whether one purposefully made it appear as if he were not aware that he was obligated to perform a mitzva…
Kiddushin 32b:11
The Sages taught: The verse states: “You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measure, in weight, or in volume [
uvamesura
]”
(Leviticus 19:35).
“In measure”; this
is referring to the
measurement of land,
e.g., this means
that
in a case where two people are dividing their jointly owned field,
one may not measure
the land to be given
to one during the summer and
measure the land to be given
to the other during the rainy season,
because the length of the measuring cord is affected by the weather conditions…
Bava Metzia 61b:4-5
The Sages taught: One may not prepare the leveler
in such a manner that
one of its sides is thick and one
other
side is thin,
because in such a case the two sides will not level equally. Furthermore,
one may not level all at once,
by a single quick movement,
as one who levels all at once
acts in a manner that is
bad for the seller and good for the buyer,
because he removes less of the excess than one who levels in the regular fashion.
And
conversely
one may not level little by little,
i.e…
Bava Batra 89b:6-8
The Sages taught: From where
is it derived
that one may not level
a measuring vessel
in a place where they
are accustomed to
heap
it
and
that
one may not heap
it
in a place where they
are accustomed to
level
it?
The verse states: “A perfect weight”
(Deuteronomy 25:15), which indicates that one must use whatever is considered a perfect measuring vessel in that locale, as this ensures that there is no deception or trickery.
And from where
is it derived
that if
the seller
said in a place where they heap: I am hereby…
Bava Batra 89a:3-4
A person may not place [any food] before his children or before his animals either by measure or by weight or by number, but he may cut a hole in a seah-measure or in a
tarkav
measure and place it before his animals, or cut a hole in a ladle and place it before his children, as long as he does not intend [to measure with it]. They said about Rabbi Elazar bar Tzadok and Abba Shaul ben Botnit, that they were shopkeepers in Jerusalem all the days of their lives, and they would fill their measuring vessels from Erev Yom Tov and set them out for the buyers on Yom Tov…
Tosefta Beitzah 3:6
The Sages taught
in a
baraita
:
A person may not sell to another a sandal
made from the hide
of
an animal that
died
of natural causes
as
though it were a sandal made from the hide
of a healthy animal that was slaughtered.
This is prohibited
due to two factors: One, because he misleads
the customer into thinking that the leather is of higher quality than it really is;
and another, because of the danger
involved, as it is possible that the animal died from a snakebite and the poison seeped into the part of the animal’s hide from which…
Chullin 94a:14-15
It was stated: “Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Ṣadoq and Abba Shaul ben Botnit were grocers in Jerusalem. They used to fill their measuring vessels on the eve of a holiday and give them to the customers on the holiday. Rebbi Ḥananiah ben Aqabiah says, they also acted in the same way on the intermediate days of the holiday because of the emptying of the measuring vessels. Also he collected 300 amphoras, and his colleague collected 300 amphoras. The Sages said to them, you did not have to do this, but since you were stringent with yourselves, they should be used for public needs…
Jerusalem Talmud Beitzah 3:8:3
§ Apropos the prohibition against acting deceitfully, the Gemara cites other statements on this topic.
It is taught
in a
baraita
that
Rabbi Meir would say: A person may not importune [
yesarhev
] another to eat with him,
making it seem as though he genuinely wants his company,
but
in reality he entreats him only because
he knows that
the other
will not eat
with him, i.e., will not accept the invitation.
And
similarly,
one may not
send another person
many gifts
merely because
he knows that
the other
will not…
Chullin 94a:10-11
If torments are afflicting
a person,
if illnesses are afflicting him, or if he is burying his children,
one
may not speak to him in the manner that
the
friends of Job spoke to him: “Is not your fear of God your confidence, and your hope the integrity of your ways? Remember, I beseech you, whoever perished, being innocent?”
(Job 4:6–7). Certainly you sinned, as otherwise you would not have suffered misfortune. Likewise,
if donkey drivers are asking
to purchase
grain from
someone, and he has none,
he may not say to them: Go to so-and-so…
Bava Metzia 58b:9-11
And if you wish, say
that there is an entirely different reason why one may not send a gentile a cut-up thigh without removing the sciatic nerve:
Because he
thereby
deceives
the gentile. The gentile will think that the Jew has exerted himself to cut up the leg and remove the sciatic nerve and that although the Jew could have eaten the meat himself he decided to send it to the gentile. The gentile will therefore be more appreciative of the gift than he would be if he realized that the sciatic nerve had not been removed…
Chullin 94a:5
The Sages taught: Hoarders of produce,
who drive up prices by causing a shortage of available goods,
and usurers, and those
sellers
who
falsely
reduce
their
measures, and those who raise
market
prices
by selling for more than the accepted price,
about them the verse states:
“You that would swallow the needy and destroy the poor of the land,
saying: When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell produce? And the Shabbat, that we may set forth grain? Making the measure small, and the shekel great…
Bava Batra 90b:4
The Gemara cites proof that it is permitted to allow others to mislead themselves. It is
like this
incident
when Mar Zutra, son of Rav Naḥman, was going from
the city of
Sikhra to
the city of
Bei Meḥoza, and
at the same time
Rava and Rav Safra were going to Sikhra. They met each other,
and Mar Zutra
thought they were coming
out to greet
him. He said to them: Why did the Rabbis exert
themselves
and come all this
way to greet me?
Rav Safra said to him: We did not know that the Master was coming…
Chullin 94b:13
Rav Ḥisda says: All the gates
of Heaven are apt to be
locked, except for the gates
of prayer for victims
of
verbal
mistreatment, as it is stated: “And behold, the Lord stood upon a wall built with a plumb line, and a plumb line in His hand”
(Amos 7:7). God stands with the scales of justice in His hand to determine if one has been subjected to injustice.
Rabbi Elazar says:
In response to
all
transgressions, God
punishes
the perpetrator
by means of an agent, except for mistreatment [
ona’a
]…
Bava Metzia 59a:7
MISHNA:
Just as
there is a prohibition against
exploitation [
ona’a
] in buying and selling, so is there
ona’a
in statements,
i.e., verbal mistreatment. The mishna proceeds to cite examples of verbal mistreatment.
One may not say to
a seller:
For how much
are you selling
this item, if he does not wish to purchase
it. He thereby upsets the seller when the deal fails to materialize. The mishna lists other examples:
If one is a penitent,
another
may not say to him: Remember your earlier deeds…
Bava Metzia 58b:6
The Gemara relates: There was
a certain
Jewish
tax collector who came before Abaye
and
said to him: Let the Master show me his signature
on a piece of paper to keep in my records,
as when rabbis come
to me and
show me
a note with your signature on it, attesting to the fact that they are Torah scholars,
I let them pass without
paying the
tax. Abaye showed him
his signature
at the top of the parchment,
though the unscrupulous tax collector kept
pulling
the parchment away from Abaye so that the signature would be at the bottom…
Bava Batra 167a:3-7
Halakhic Principles
עקרונות הלכתיים
Darkhei Shalom
Mutual Responsibility of the Jewish People
Ones
Asmakhta
Gematria
Halakha LeMoshe MeSinai
Stringencies
Yesh Em Lemikra
General Principle
Beyond the Letter of the Law
More
Sheets
דפי מקורות
Related Sheets
We use cookies to give you the best experience possible on our site. Click OK to continue using Sefaria.
Learn More
.
OK
אנחנו משתמשים ב"עוגיות" כדי לתת למשתמשים את חוויית השימוש הטובה ביותר.
קראו עוד בנושא
לחצו כאן לאישור