Siman 228

Just as there is a prohibition of ona'ah in buying and selling, so too there is a prohibition from the Torah against ona'at devarim, as it is written: "And you shall not wrong one another, and you shall fear your God, for I am Hashem." Our sages, of blessed memory, expounded [Bava Metzia 58b] that this comes to include ona'at devarim, for regarding monetary ona'ah another verse is written: "And if you sell a sale... you shall not wrong." Therefore, it is written in this verse, "and you shall fear your God," because these are matters entrusted to the heart; for before people, one can say that he did not intend at all to wrong him or cause him pain; therefore it is written, "and you shall fear your God," who examines hearts, and the verse concludes, "I am Hashem," who is destined to exact punishment from you. And ona'at devarim is greater than monetary ona'ah, for money is subject to restitution, but words are not subject to restitution; and furthermore, this is against his body and that is against his money. And it is a tradition in the hands of our sages, of blessed memory, that one who cries out before the Holy One, Blessed be He, over ona'at devarim is answered immediately, as they exact punishment from the wrongdoer in this world; and so our sages, of blessed memory, said: All gates are locked except for the gates of ona'ah. And some say that we are only commanded regarding ona'at devarim not to wrong one who is not a transgressor, but for a wicked person it is permitted to wrong him with words, for perhaps through this he will return in repentance. Therefore, if his intention is for the sake of Heaven to wrong a wicked person with words so that he will return in repentance, he may do so. Similarly, one who wrongs himself by walking in a path that is not good and thinks he is walking in the straight path, it is permitted to wrong him, for such a person is not part of the civilized world and proper conduct. And one must be exceedingly careful regarding the ona'ah of a ger [in ancient times], whether in his person or in his money, because he was warned about it in several places. And a person must be very careful regarding the ona'ah of his wife, because a woman is soft-hearted and her tears are frequent; and so our sages, of blessed memory, said [ibid. 59a]: A person should always be careful regarding the honor of his wife, for blessing is not found within a person's house except for the sake of his wife. And specifically in household matters or worldly matters must he listen to her, but in matters of Heaven, if she prevents him from the good path, it is forbidden to listen to her; and anyone who follows the advice of his wife in matters of Heaven by preventing a mitzvah falls into Gehinnom [ibid.], and Ahab lost his world because he listened to the advice of the wicked Jezebel. And certainly a person must be careful regarding the ona'ah of orphans and widows, for there is no end to the punishment; and so our sages, of blessed memory, said [ibid.]: Three, the curtain is not locked before them: ona'ah, and robbery, etc.

There are two types of ona'at devarim. The first is ona'ah in commerce. How so? One should not say to his fellow, "For how much do you wish to give this object?" when he does not wish to buy it at all. Or, if donkey-drivers were seeking from him to buy grain, he should not say to them, "Go to so-and-so," when he knows that this person has no grain to sell, and he will be disgraced. And even if he is wealthy such that he will not be disgraced, nevertheless the donkey-drivers will be shamed; and so too anything similar to this. The second is ona'ah in matters of the soul. How so? If he was a ba'al teshuvah, one should not say to him, "Remember your earlier deeds." If he was a son of converts, one should not say to him, "Remember the deeds of your ancestors." If he was from a disparaged family, one should not say to him, "Remember your lowly family." If he was unsightly, or possessed a blemish, or some other deficiency in himself, or in his wife and his offspring, or in his ancestors, one should not say to him, "How unsightly you are," or "See your blemish," or "your deficiency," or "the deficiency of your wife and the deficiency of your offspring and the deficiency of your ancestors." And so too, if sufferings were coming upon him, one should not say to him in the manner that the companions of Job said to him: "Is not your fear of God your confidence? Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent?" And the companions of Job said this to him because he spoke harshly toward Heaven. And so too, if a question was asked regarding a matter of wisdom, one should not say to someone who does not know that wisdom, "What would you answer in this matter?" and so too anything similar to these matters. And so too, one must be careful not to call his fellow by a derogatory nickname, and even though he is accustomed to that nickname, if his intent is to shame him with this nickname, it is forbidden. And thus our sages, of blessed memory, said [ibid.]: One who whitens the face of his fellow in public is as if he spills blood.

It is forbidden to deceive people in buying and selling or to "steal their mind" (mislead them). For example, if there is a defect in his merchandise, even if there is no monetary overreaching involved—such as if the merchandise is worth the price even with its defect—nevertheless, he is obligated to inform the buyer, whether the buyer is an Israelite or whether he is a star-worshiper. On the contrary, with a star-worshiper there is additionally a desecration of the Name. And he shall not sell to a star-worshiper meat of a carcass under the assumption that it was slaughtered. Similarly, it is forbidden to "steal the mind" of people, such as by showing that he is doing an act of honor for the sake of this person when in truth he did not do it for him; behold, this is "stealing the mind." Similarly, a person should not press his fellow many times to eat with him when he knows that he will not dine. But to request of him once or twice, as is the custom for the sake of honor for a distinguished man, saying "come and eat," is permitted, and it is proper to do so; for if he does not request of him, it will appear as if he is contemptible and not worthy of having honor accorded to him [Sma]. Similarly, he should not give gifts to one when he knows he will not accept them, unless he does this by way of honor. Similarly, he should not deceive his fellow to show him that he is doing a great thing for him when in truth he is not doing it for him, as was the custom in ancient times that when a distinguished guest arrived, they would open for him a barrel of good wine to show him that he is so important to him that he opens a barrel of wine for him. And our sages, of blessed memory, said [Chullin 94a]: one should not open a barrel that is already sold to a shopkeeper, for this guest thinks that for his sake he opened it; and even if it is still sealed and he sold it to a shopkeeper and needs to open it, and this one shows him as if he is opening it for his sake. But if the guest is truly important to him such that without the sale to the shopkeeper he would have opened it for him, this is not deception. And all this is when he deceives the guest; but if he does not deceive him, in that he truly does not open it for him and does not show him as if he is opening it for him, but the guest misleads himself by thinking that he is doing it for him, he is not obligated to inform him that he did not open it for him. Similarly, when a guest enters a city and encounters a homeowner from the city who went out toward him, and the homeowner did not know at all about the guest and was going on his way, but the guest thinks that he went out toward him for his honor, he is not obligated to say to him, "I did not go out toward you." Furthermore, there was a custom of honor among them to extend a flask of oil to a distinguished person and say to him, "Anoint yourself with oil from this flask." If the flask is empty, he should not deceive him by saying, "Anoint from this flask." And even if the flask is full, but he knows that he will not anoint himself, he should not say to him "anoint," unless it is by way of honor like calling one to eat. Similarly, it was their custom to go to the house of a mourner for consolation with vessels of wine; therefore, he should not go with empty vessels while the mourner thinks they are full of wine. But if he does so in order to honor him, since such is the custom of honor in this place, it is permitted. And from these matters one should learn for all matters.

It is forbidden to sell the hide of a carcass as if it were from a slaughtered animal, for the hide of a carcass is not as strong. In a place where snakes are common, there is also a concern of danger in this, lest a snake bit it and the venom was absorbed into its hide. And there in the Gemara, a case was cited where through deception a soul was lost: for one invited guests to make them a feast of oils, and he arranged with someone to send him a barrel of oil, and that person deceived him and sent him wine with only oil floating on top. This man did not know and was shamed before the guests and strangled himself; see there.

One may not beautify a person, an animal, or vessels. And what is beautifying? That one performs some action upon the merchandise so that it appears handsome, such as dyeing an old slave who stands for sale and dyeing his hair so that he appears as a youth; and giving an animal bran-water to drink, which bloats and straightens its hair so that it appears fat. And similarly, one may not curry it with a scraper nor comb it with a comb in order to straighten its hair; and one may not dye old vessels so that they appear as new. And one may not blow into the entrails so that they appear fat and wide, and one may not soak the meat in water so that it appears white and fat. But if it is the custom of the butchers to soak the meat in water, it is permitted, since everyone knows that it is the way to do so, there is no ona'ah in this. And similarly, any old object is forbidden to be repaired so that it appears as new and to sell it as new; but a new object is permitted to be cleaned and beautified, and this is the way of the merchants.

One may not mix a small amount of inferior fruit or grain into a large amount of superior quality in order to sell them under the assumption that they are superior. And even new with new, if they are from two locations where one is superior to the other, it is forbidden to mix them and sell them under the assumption of the superior location. And it goes without saying new with old or old with new, for sometimes new is better for the buyer even though the old are better quality, because he wishes to age them, and there are those for whom old is better for the buyer. And even if one species is more expensive than the other, and the merchant is permitted, and it will be explained in section 12.

Regarding wine, the sages permitted mixing hard with soft only between the winepresses, even though the soft is better for drinking than the hard and its price is also more expensive, because it improves it and it lasts longer. All the more so soft in hard is permitted even not between the winepresses [Sma]. And if its taste was discernible, such that anyone who tastes it recognizes that the hard wine was mixed into it, it is permitted to mix it in any place, for anything whose taste is discernible, the buyer senses it. Therefore, it is permitted to mix it even not between the winepresses. And that which is forbidden not between the winepresses refers to a small mixture that is not sensed in the taste, but in a mixture where the taste is discernible, the buyer should have tasted it, and since he did not taste it, he waives his right [Lechem Mishneh chapter 18]. And specifically when it is sensed also by its appearance, for if not so, from where would the buyer know that the hard was mixed into it so that he would need to taste it, for behold, one does not taste in every place, as will be explained. And the Rambam, of blessed memory, who wrote there this wording, "for anything whose taste is discernible, the buyer senses it," means he senses it by its appearance [so it appears to me, and the difficulty of the Kesef Mishneh there is also settled].

One may not mix water into wine, and one whose water was mixed into his wine may not sell it in a shop to householders unless he informs the buyer. However, he may not sell it to a merchant even if he informs him, lest he deceive others with it. In a place where they are accustomed to mix water between the winepresses, it is permitted to mix according to the measure they are accustomed to mix and no more. And that which we said, that it is forbidden to mix water into wine, applies even when it is recognizable by its taste; since it is not the custom to taste and it is not recognizable by its appearance, it is forbidden. But in a place where they are accustomed that everyone who buys something tastes it first, it is always permitted to mix into it, even not between the winepresses, when there is enough water in it that it will be recognizable by its taste [Bach]. And when not everyone tastes, even though many taste, it is forbidden to sell except on the condition that when he sees that the buyer does not taste, he shall say to him [this is the explanation of the Tur regarding the words of Rav Aha at the end of the fourth chapter of Bava Metzia, and the Rambam explains that this refers only to "hard with soft," and the Shulchan Aruch copied both of them and they do not contradict one another according to what I wrote in the previous section, and examine this closely].

One may not mix the wine dregs of this barrel into the wine of another barrel because he ruins the wine by this; even if he purchased from him two barrels of wine, one may not mix the dregs of this one into the other. However, if they purchased from him a barrel of wine at such-and-such a measure, when he comes to measure, he may mix the dregs with the wine of that same barrel and sell him everything together. And even if he sells to him by measure and measures from the barrel into the vessel of the buyer, he may mix its dregs, for what shall he do with his dregs? And it appears that the same law applies if he sells him half a barrel: he mixes the dregs and measures for him.

The Rambam, of blessed memory, wrote in chapter 18: It is forbidden to mix dregs, whether in wine or in oil, and even any amount; and even dregs from yesterday with dregs from today is forbidden. But if he poured the wine from vessel to vessel, he may put its dregs into it. And one who sells refined oil to his fellow, the buyer does not accept dregs; if he sold him unspecified oil, he accepts a log and a half of dregs for every hundred log. Thus far his words. And he also holds that with the dregs of that same barrel itself it is permitted to sell, like the previous opinion; only dregs of other wine, even from that same vessel itself which contained wine with its dregs yesterday, is it forbidden to mix with the wine of today, and certainly from another vessel. But the dregs of this barrel itself from its wine he gives to the buyer even when he does not sell it to him with the barrel, but rather pours it into the buyer's vessel. And if he said to him "refined oil," he must give it to him without dregs. But if he sold him unspecified oil, even if he received it little by little without the dregs, he shall calculate for him afterwards on account of the dregs a log and a half per hundred log. But according to the previous opinion, which is the opinion of the Tur, if the buyer received it little by little without the dregs, he shall not deduct the dregs for him afterwards; for if he were giving it to him with its dregs, he certainly would have had the ability, even when he sold it to him at the time when the oil had already become refined and settled on its dregs, and he could mix them and give them to him. But when he gave it to him without the dregs, we say that he waived the dregs for him. And as we have written, so is the explanation of the Rambam and the Tur [and so it appears from the Maggid Mishneh and the Beit Yosef, and the words of the Sma require further study; and the Rambam, of blessed memory, explains the Mishnah as referring to one who sold him refined oil, and the Tur explains it as being at the time of refining, and their dispute is in the sugya in Bava Metzia 40: and examine this carefully].

The Rambam further wrote regarding one who sells oil without specification: the buyer accepts, in addition to the log and a half of dregs, the turbid oil that rises to the top above the oil, beyond the dregs known in that place. In what case does this apply? When he gave him money in Tishrei, which is the time of the harvest and the oil is turbid and the measure is large then, and he took the oil in Nisan with the measure of Tishrei, which is large because of that oil floating on top. But if he took it with the measure of Nisan, which is small because the oil has already cleared, he only accepts the dregs alone. And also according to the Tur, even when he received it from him without the dregs, for he does not deduct the dregs for him as has been explained, nevertheless, the turbid oil floating on top is deducted for him. In what case does this apply? When he sold it to him at a time when it was turbid, but when he sold it to him at a time when it was clear and he received it from him without dregs and without the turbidity, he does not deduct for him at all, even the turbidity, for he has waived it. Our teacher, the Rema, wrote regarding the laws of these two sections according to the Tur. And when he explicitly sold refined oil, the Tur admits that he must give him oil clean of all refuse. There is one law for wine and for oil. And if there is another custom in any places contrary to what has been explained, they shall act according to their custom [such is the intention of the Rambam and the Tur as I have written, and examine it closely].

That which was explained in section 6, that one may not mix grain and produce from two places, this refers to a homeowner who sells from his own fields; if his two places are not equal in their quality or their age, he may not mix them. However, the merchant is permitted, for everyone knows that he purchases from several places. And thus our sages, of blessed memory, said [ibid. 60a]: The merchant takes from five granaries and places them into one location, or from five winepresss and places them into one barrel, for everyone knows that they did not all grow in his own field, and with this presumption they purchase from him. This is provided that he does not intend to purchase the majority from a good place so that a rumor will spread that he purchases everything from a good place, while also purchasing a small amount from a bad place and mixing it with them.

It is permitted to sift the waste from the groats and from the legumes so that they appear beautiful, for this is a matter visible to the eyes—that the waste was removed from them—and the buyer can understand through his observation how much more they are worth due to their cleaning from the waste, and it is better for the buyer to pay a little more so that he will not need to exert himself and sift them [Tur]. Provided that he sifts all the waste; but he may not sift the upper ones and leave the lower ones, for there is no greater ona'ah than this, as the buyer believes that all of it was sifted.

It is permitted for a shopkeeper to distribute parched grain and nuts to children in order to accustom them to purchase from him, and the other shopkeepers cannot protest against him. For who can protest against them for doing so? Since it is within the authority of each person to make some effort for profit, just as he requests of people that they purchase from him. However, one may not call any buyer from the shop of another, and he violates "do not remove a landmark." And so too, he may sell cheaply and the members of the market cannot prevent him. However, it appears to me that this is only regarding grain, because through this, that he sells cheaply, the others will also sell cheaply, and as a result of this, the owners of the storehouses will sell cheaply [Rashi ibid.]. But to disparage the price of merchandise is a complete prohibition, and through this the way of commerce is corrupted and they destroy the money of others [and there is a proof from Bava Batra 91a]. And so I found written by one of the great authorities. And also to perform some deception so that he will profit more is implied somewhat from the Gemara to be prohibited, and it is only permitted to do a thing that the other can also do [from what is challenged there: what is the reasoning of the Rabbis].