מֹ֧אזְנֵי צֶ֣דֶק אַבְנֵי־צֶ֗דֶק אֵ֥יפַת צֶ֛דֶק וְהִ֥ין צֶ֖דֶק יִהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֑ם אֲנִי֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־הוֹצֵ֥אתִי אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
You shall have an honest balance, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin.I יהוה am your God who freed you from the land of Egypt.
אָסוּר לַמּוֹכֵר אוֹ לַקּוֹנֶה לְהוֹנוֹת אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כה יד) "וְכִי תִמְכְּרוּ מִמְכָּר לַעֲמִיתֶךָ אוֹ קָנֹה מִיַּד עֲמִיתֶךָ אַל תּוֹנוּ". וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהוּא עוֹבֵר בְּלֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה אֵינוֹ לוֹקֶה מִפְּנֵי שֶׁנִּתָּן לְהִשָּׁבוֹן. וּבֵין שֶׁהוֹנָה בְּמֵזִיד בֵּין שֶׁלֹּא יָדַע שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּמֶכֶר זֶה הוֹנָיָה חַיָּב לְשַׁלֵּם:
Both seller and buyer are forbidden to defraud each other, as it is written : "When you sell to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong each other" (Leviticus 25:14).— — Whether one has deceived deliberately or has not been aware of the fraud in a particular sale, he must repay.
וְכִֽי־תִמְכְּר֤וּ מִמְכָּר֙ לַעֲמִיתֶ֔ךָ א֥וֹ קָנֹ֖ה מִיַּ֣ד עֲמִיתֶ֑ךָ אַל־תּוֹנ֖וּ אִ֥ישׁ אֶת־אָחִֽיו׃
When you sell property to your neighbor, or buy any from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.
כְּשֵׁם שֶׁאוֹנָאָה בְמִקָּח וּמִמְכָּר, כָּךְ אוֹנָאָה בִדְבָרִים. לֹא יֹאמַר לוֹ בְּכַמָּה חֵפֶץ זֶה, וְהוּא אֵינוֹ רוֹצֶה לִקַּח. אִם הָיָה בַעַל תְּשׁוּבָה, לֹא יֹאמַר לוֹ זְכֹר מַעֲשֶׂיךָ הָרִאשׁוֹנִים. אִם הוּא בֶן גֵּרִים, לֹא יֹאמַר לוֹ זְכֹר מַעֲשֵׂה אֲבוֹתֶיךָ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות כב) וְגֵר לֹא תוֹנֶה וְלֹא תִלְחָצֶנּוּ:
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. If one is the child of converts, another may not say to him: Remember the deeds of your ancestors, as it is stated: “And a convert shall you neither mistreat, nor shall you oppress him” (Exodus 22:20).
לֹא־תְקַלֵּ֣ל חֵרֵ֔שׁ וְלִפְנֵ֣י עִוֵּ֔ר לֹ֥א תִתֵּ֖ן מִכְשֹׁ֑ל וְיָרֵ֥אתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃
You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God: I am יהוה.
מתני׳ רבי יהודה אומר לא יחלק החנוני קליות ואגוזין לתינוקות מפני שהוא מרגילן לבא אצלו וחכמים מתירין ולא יפחות את השער וחכ"א זכור לטוב
MISHNA: Rabbi Yehuda says: A storekeeper may not hand out toasted grain and nuts to children who patronize his store, due to the fact that he thereby accustoms them to come to him at the expense of competing storekeepers. And the Rabbis permit doing so. And one may not reduce the price of sale items below the market rate. And the Rabbis say: If he wishes to do so, he should be remembered positively.
לא יבור את הגריסין דברי אבא שאול וחכמים מתירין ומודים שלא יבור מעל פי מגורה שאינו אלא כגונב את העין אין מפרכסין לא את האדם ולא את הבהמה ולא את הכלים:
One may not sift ground beans to remove the waste, lest he charge an inappropriately high price for the sifted meal, beyond its actual value; this is the statement of Abba Shaul. And the Rabbis permit doing so. And the Rabbis concede that one may not sift the meal only from the beans that are close to the opening of the bin to create the impression that the contents of the entire bin were sifted, as this is nothing other than deception. One may neither adorn a person before selling him on the slave market, nor an animal nor vessels that he seeks to sell. Rather, they must be sold unembellished, to avoid deceiving the buyer.
גמ׳ מאי טעמייהו דרבנן דאמר ליה אנא מפליגנא אמגוזי ואת פליג שיסקי:
GEMARA: The Gemara asks: What is the reason for the opinion of the Rabbis, who permit the free distribution of toasted grain and nuts? It is because the storekeeper can say to his competitors: I hand out nuts; and you hand out jujubes [shiskei]. All merchants are able to hand out goods that will attract children, and consequently this is not unfair competition.
ולא יפחות את השער וחכ"א זכור לטוב וכו': מאי טעמא דרבנן
The mishna teaches: And one may not reduce the price of items below the market rate. And the Rabbis say: If he wishes to do so, he should be remembered positively. The Gemara asks: What is the reason for the opinion of the Rabbis, who not only condone the practice but even praise the person, saying that he should be remembered positively?
משום דקא מרווח לתרעא:
The Gemara explains: It is due to the fact that by lowering the price he eases the market rate, i.e., his actions lead to the establishment of a lower market price.
ולא יבור את הגריסין דברי אבא שאול וחכמים מתירין וכו': מאן חכמים רבי אחא דתניא רבי אחא מתיר בדבר הנראה:
The mishna teaches: And one may not sift ground beans to remove the waste and charge a higher price; this is the statement of Abba Shaul. And the Rabbis permit doing so. The Gemara comments: Who are the Rabbis whose opinion is cited in the mishna? It is Rabbi Aḥa, as it is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Aḥa permits mixing, and sifting, and the like, in the case of an item in which the change is obvious.
אין מפרכסין לא את האדם וכו' ולא את הכלים: ת"ר אין משרבטין את הבהמה ואין נופחין בקרביים ואין. שורין את הבשר במים מאי אין משרבטין הכא תרגמו מיא דחיזרא זעירי אמר רב כהנא מזקפתא
The mishna taught: One may neither adorn a person, nor an animal, nor vessels. The Sages taught: One may neither stiffen the hair of an animal to create the impression that it is more voluminous than it is, nor inflate innards sold as meat to create the impression that it is a more substantial piece of meat, nor soak meat in water in order to change its color and create the impression that it is a choice cut. The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of: One may not stiffen the hair of an animal? Here, in Babylonia, they explained that it means to feed the animal bran water, which inflates its intestines and causes its hair to stand on end. Ze’eiri said in the name of Rav Kahana: It means scrubbing the hair clean to increase its volume.