This sheet on Leviticus 19 was written by Aliza Libman Baronofsky for 929 and can also be found here
Today’s chapter is a fantastic hodge-podge of laws. If you want to understand what kinds of conduct Judaism cares about, read Leviticus 19. We care about Shabbat and interpersonal relationships. We care about how beards are maintained and how fruit trees are utilized. And the closing lines of the chapter state: "You shall not falsify measures of length, weight, or capacity. You shall have an honest balance, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. I the LORD am your God who freed you from the land of Egypt” (Lev. 19:35-36).
Verse 35 begins "lo ta'asu avel bamishpat," which here is rendered as the verb associated with the measures: "You shall not falsify" (commercial measurement standards). But that exact phrase earlier in this chapter is translated as a complete phrase dealing with judgment: "You shall not render an unfair decision" (v. 15). Many classical commentaries bend over backwards to associate these two ideas, and avoid such radically different translations.
Rashi here says that a person who measures in commerce is acting like a judge. He is not the first to elevate the significance of honesty in business. In the Gemara in Bava Batra 88, Rabbi Levi tells us that the punishment for violating this law is more severe than that of forbidden sexual relationships because its consequences are more widespread. There may be very many wronged parties, not all of whom the dishonest shopkeeper can identify if he or she wishes to make restitution.
The placement of this law at the end of the chapter might also give us a clue as to its significance. We have just finished the days of Chanukah, where we light the Chanukiah according to the principle of increasing the number of candles every night to increase the sanctity of our observance.
While we must not denigrate the early laws in the chapter, we can nonetheless see the final verses as a particular religious crescendo. It is necessary to keep all the laws, of course, but the laws of ethics in business are so critical to a functioning society and require so much overriding of our yetzer (desire) for financial gain, we can recognize this law as having great meaning and importance in our era.
Many focus only on the ritual observances inherent in the admonition "you shall be sanctified" - but it is ethical business dealings that allow us to reach the pinnacle of Divinely inspired sanctity.
Verse 35 begins "lo ta'asu avel bamishpat," which here is rendered as the verb associated with the measures: "You shall not falsify" (commercial measurement standards). But that exact phrase earlier in this chapter is translated as a complete phrase dealing with judgment: "You shall not render an unfair decision" (v. 15). Many classical commentaries bend over backwards to associate these two ideas, and avoid such radically different translations.
Rashi here says that a person who measures in commerce is acting like a judge. He is not the first to elevate the significance of honesty in business. In the Gemara in Bava Batra 88, Rabbi Levi tells us that the punishment for violating this law is more severe than that of forbidden sexual relationships because its consequences are more widespread. There may be very many wronged parties, not all of whom the dishonest shopkeeper can identify if he or she wishes to make restitution.
The placement of this law at the end of the chapter might also give us a clue as to its significance. We have just finished the days of Chanukah, where we light the Chanukiah according to the principle of increasing the number of candles every night to increase the sanctity of our observance.
While we must not denigrate the early laws in the chapter, we can nonetheless see the final verses as a particular religious crescendo. It is necessary to keep all the laws, of course, but the laws of ethics in business are so critical to a functioning society and require so much overriding of our yetzer (desire) for financial gain, we can recognize this law as having great meaning and importance in our era.
Many focus only on the ritual observances inherent in the admonition "you shall be sanctified" - but it is ethical business dealings that allow us to reach the pinnacle of Divinely inspired sanctity.
Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a student in the Advanced Kollel at Yeshivat Maharat and teaches at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, in Rockville, MD.
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