(טז) כִּ֧י תוֹעֲבַ֛ת יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ כׇּל־עֹ֣שֵׂה אֵ֑לֶּה כֹּ֖ל עֹ֥שֵׂה עָֽוֶל׃ {פ}
(16) For everyone who does those things, everyone who deals dishonestly, is abhorrent to your God יהוה.
Reading through Torah and Talmud texts, we are challenged to balance the needs of the merchant and the interests of the consumer. Further color is added to the conversation when considering the economic status of the customer, the local needs as compared to foreign needs, unfair business tactics, and proper pricing.
Consider these competing values: When setting economic policy, the moral obligation to reduce poverty competes with the societal obligation to maximize the benefits of a robust economy. For example, a rise in interest rates may reduce price inflation but also imperils low-income wage earners reliant on debt. A rise in interest rates also causes the value of the dollar to soar, adversely affecting currencies in other countries.
(יא) הַאֶזְכֶּ֖ה בְּמֹ֣אזְנֵי רֶ֑שַׁע וּבְכִ֖יס אַבְנֵ֥י מִרְמָֽה׃
(11) Shall he be acquitted despite wicked balances
And a bag of fraudulent weights?—
And a bag of fraudulent weights?—
אָמַר רָבָא: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁמַּכְנִיסִין אָדָם לְדִין, אוֹמְרִים לוֹ: נָשָׂאתָ וְנָתַתָּ בָּאֱמוּנָה? קָבַעְתָּ עִתִּים לַתּוֹרָה? עָסַקְתָּ בִּפְרִיָּה וּרְבִיָּה? צָפִיתָ לִישׁוּעָה? פִּלְפַּלְתָּ בְּחׇכְמָה? הֵבַנְתָּ דָּבָר מִתּוֹךְ דָּבָר? וַאֲפִילּוּ הָכִי, אִי יִרְאַת ה׳ הִיא אוֹצָרוֹ — אִין, אִי לָא — לָא. מָשָׁל לְאָדָם שֶׁאָמַר לִשְׁלוּחוֹ: הַעֲלֵה לִי כּוֹר חִיטִּין לָעֲלִיָּיה. הָלַךְ וְהֶעֱלָה לוֹ. אָמַר לוֹ: עֵירַבְתָּ לִי בָּהֶן קַב חוֹמְטוֹן? אָמַר לוֹ: לָאו. אָמַר לוֹ: מוּטָב אִם לֹא הֶעֱלֵיתָה.
With regard to the same verse, Rava said: After departing from this world, when a person is brought to judgment for the life he lived in this world, they say to him in the order of that verse: Did you conduct business faithfully? Did you designate times for Torah study? Did you engage in procreation? Did you await salvation? Did you engage in the dialectics of wisdom or understand one matter from another? And, nevertheless, beyond all these, if the fear of the Lord is his treasure, yes, he is worthy, and if not, no, none of these accomplishments have any value. There is a parable that illustrates this. A person who said to his emissary: Bring a kor of wheat up to the attic for me to store there. The messenger went and brought it up for him. He said to the emissary: Did you mix a kav of ḥomton, a preservative to keep away worms, into it for me? He said to him: No. He said to him: If so, it would have been preferable had you not brought it up. Of what use is worm-infested wheat? Likewise, Torah and mitzvot without the fear of God are of no value.
(יד) וְכִֽי־תִמְכְּר֤וּ מִמְכָּר֙ לַעֲמִיתֶ֔ךָ א֥וֹ קָנֹ֖ה מִיַּ֣ד עֲמִיתֶ֑ךָ אַל־תּוֹנ֖וּ אִ֥ישׁ אֶת־אָחִֽיו׃
(14) When you sell property to your neighbor, or buy any from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another.
אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל אֵין מוֹסִיפִין עַל הַמִּדּוֹת יוֹתֵר מִשְּׁתוּת וְלֹא עַל הַמַּטְבֵּעַ יָתֵר מִשְּׁתוּת וְהַמִּשְׂתַּכֵּר אַל יִשְׁתַּכֵּר יוֹתֵר מִשְּׁתוּת אֵין מוֹסִיפִין עַל הַמִּדּוֹת יוֹתֵר מִשְּׁתוּת מַאי טַעְמָא אִילֵּימָא מִשּׁוּם אַפְקוֹעֵי תַּרְעָא שְׁתוּת נָמֵי לָא
§ Shmuel says: If the residents of a certain place want to change the standard of their measures and augment them by a certain fraction, they may not increase the measures by more than one-sixth, and they may not increase the value of a coin by more than one-sixth of its previous value. And one who profits from his sales may not profit by more than one-sixth. The Gemara analyzes these statements. When Shmuel said: They may not increase the measures by more than one-sixth, what is the reason for this? If we say it is because doing so causes market prices to rise, the same concern should apply to raising the prices by one-sixth, and therefore this should also not be allowed.
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן אֵין מוֹצִיאִין פֵּירוֹת מֵאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל דְּבָרִים שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהֶן חַיֵּי נֶפֶשׁ כְּגוֹן יֵינוֹת שְׁמָנִים וּסְלָתוֹת רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בֶּן בְּתֵירָא מַתִּיר בַּיַּיִן מִפְּנֵי שֶׁמְּמַעֵט אֶת הַתִּיפְלָה וּכְשֵׁם שֶׁאֵין מוֹצִיאִין מֵאֶרֶץ לְחוּץ לָאָרֶץ כָּךְ אֵין מוֹצִיאִין מֵאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְסוּרְיָא וְרַבִּי מַתִּיר מֵהִיפַּרְכְיָא לְהִיפַּרְכְיָא
§ The Sages taught: One may not export produce from Eretz Yisrael if it consists of items that contain an element of basic sustenance, such as wines, oils, and flours, because this causes them to become more expensive in Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira permits export in the case of wine, because this lessens licentiousness in Eretz Yisrael. And just as one may not export these types of produce from Eretz Yisrael to outside of Eretz Yisrael, so too one may not export them from Eretz Yisrael to Syria, as Syria is not considered part of Eretz Yisrael in this context. And Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi permits the export of produce from the northernmost province [mehiparkheya] of Eretz Yisrael to the southernmost province of Syria.
גמ׳ ת"ר אין צ"ל חדשות מארבע וישנות משלש דאין מערבין אלא אפילו חדשות משלש וישנות מארבע אין מערבין מפני. שאדם רוצה לישנן:
GEMARA: The Sages taught: Needless to say, if the price of the new produce is four se’a for a sela and the price of the old produce is three se’a for a sela, one may not intermingle them together. That is full-fledged deceit, as one is selling inexpensive produce at the price of expensive produce. Rather, even if the price of the new produce is three se’a for a sela and the price of the old produce is four se’a for a sela, one may not intermingle them. This is because in this case the price of the new produce is higher, as people want to age the produce, i.e., new produce is more valuable to those who seek to place it in storage for a lengthy period, although it may be of inferior quality compared to old produce.
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.