Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Choshen Mishpat/228

Paragraph 1- Just as there is overcharge in commerce, there is a concept of afflicting others with words. Afflicting others with words is more severe than overcharging money, because money can be returned whereas words cannot, and verbal affliction is a crime against an individual, while overcharge is a crime against his money. A victim who cries out because of verbal abuse is answered immediately. There are those who say that the rules against verbal affliction only applies to those who have fear of heaven. If one afflicts another, the victim may afflict him back.

Paragraph 2- One must be extra cautious with respect to afflicting a convert, whether afflicting him personally or his property, because the Torah prohibits it in many places.

Paragraph 3- One must be cautions with respect to afflicting his wife because her tears are readily available.

Paragraph 4- What is affliction with words? A person should not say, “how much are you willing to accept for this item,” when he has no intention of purchasing it. If donkey-riders were looking to purchase grain, one may not say to them to go to so and so when he knows that person has nothing to sell. If someone had repented from his earlier ways, one may not say to him “remember your earlier actions.” If one is the son of converts, one may not say to him, “remember your father’s actions.” If a person was suffering a person may not tell him what Iyov was told by his friends, “is your fear of heaven not your confidence? Do you remember, please, anyone innocent who was destroyed?” If one is asked a question on a certain subject he should not tell someone who is unfamiliar with that subject to give an answer on this matter. The same applies to anything similar.

Paragraph 5- One should be cautious not to use a negative nickname on another. Even if that person is usually called by that name, if the intent of the person using it is to embarrass him, it is forbidden.

Paragraph 6- One is prohibited from defrauding another in commerce or misleading them. For example, if the item has a defect, he must inform the buyer. Even if the buyer is a gentile, he cannot sell non-kosher meat with the presumption that it is kosher. One cannot mislead others with words by showing that he is doing some for him when he is not. How so? A person should not invite someone to eat with him where he knows he won’t come. He should not send a lot of gifts where he knows he will not accept. He should not open barrels that he is opening for a storekeeper and the other will assume he opened them for him. Rather, he must inform the other that he did not open for him. If it is something that the other should have realized was not being done for him, and he mislead himself by assuming it was done for his honor, such as where he meets someone on the street and assumes he came specifically to greet him, he would not have to inform the other.

Paragraph 7- One may not say, “smear oil from this jug” when the jug is empty or go to a mourner’s house with an empty vessel and the mourner will think it is full of wine. If he does it to bring honor to the mourner it is permitted.

Paragraph 8- One may not sell skin of an animal that died with the understanding that it was slaughtered. One may not send a barrel of wine with oil floating on top to another.

Paragraph 9- One may not artificially adorn a person, animal or vessels, such as by dying the beard of a slave that is being sold so that he looks young or feeding an animal bran-liquid which will fatten the animal and make its hairs stand up so that it looks fat. Similarly, one many not comb or rake an animal so that its hairs stand up or dye old vessels so they look like new. One may not blow up innards so they look fat and wide. One may not soak meat in water to so that it should look white and fat.

Paragraph 10- One may not combine a few inferior fruits with many beautiful fruits in order to sell them as beautiful, even if he would be combining new fruits with new fruits. It goes without saying that one cannot combine new with old or even old with new, even if the old was more expensive than the new, because the buyer wants to age them.

Paragraph 11- With respect to wine, the authorities permitted one to combine strong with weak only in the winepress, because it makes the wine better. All the more so would one be permitted to combine weak with strong. If the taste can be detected, one can combine anywhere because anything where taste can be detected will be discovered by the buyer and thus can always be combined.

Paragraph 12- One may not combine water with wine. One who had his water combined with his wine may not sell it in a store unless he informs the buyer. He may not sell it to a merchant, even if he informs him, because the merchant may defraud others.

Paragraph 13- In a place where the custom is to combine water in the winepress, one is permitted to combine the amount that is the practice to combine.

Paragraph 14- In a place where the custom is that anyone who purchases something first tastes the product, one is always permitted to combine. If not everyone tastes, however, that would not apply.

Paragraph 15- One may not combine wine sediments with wine. Even if one is purchasing two barrels of wine, the seller may not combine the sediments of one barrel with the other. If they purchased a barrel of wine by a specific amount per measurement, when the buyer comes to measure, the seller may mix the sediments with the wine and sell everything together.

Paragraph 16- A merchant may take from five threshing floors and place it one place or wine from five winepresses and place it in one barrel because everyone is aware he did not grow them all in his own property and that is the presumption of those that buy from him, so long as he does not intentionally purchase the majority from a superior location so that he earns a reputation that he acquires everything from a superior location, when he is actually purchasing from an inferior location and combining.

Paragraph 17- One is permitted to remove the waste from grits and beans so that they look nice because this is something visible and a buyer will be able to see and understand how much more the product is worth because the waste has been removed, so long as the seller does not remove the waste on top and leave the waste on bottom.

Paragraph 18- A storekeeper is permitted to distribute toasted grain and nuts to children to get them to buy from him frequently. Similarly, he may sell below market rate to get people to buy from him, and the others in the market cannot stop him. See above 156:5.

Paragraph 19- One is prohibited from combining any amount of sediment with either wine or oil.

Paragraph 20- If one sells refined oil to another, the buyer does not accept the sediments. If he sold oil without specification, the buyer would accept 1.5 lug of sediments for every 100 lug. He would also accept other sediments of murky oil that rises on top of the oil in addition to the know sediments of that location. When is this true? Where the buyer gave money in Tishrei when the oil is murky and took the oil in Nisan using the Tishrei measurement, which is larger because of the oil that congeals on top. If he purchased using a Nisan measurement, which is small because the oil is already clear, however, he would only accept the sediments. There are those who say the seller would not have to deduct the sediments. Rather, the seller is permitted to combine the sediments in his barrels. If he did not combine, however, he cannot deduct the sediments other than those floating on top. When is this true? Where the seller sold them when the oil was murky. If he sold it when it was clear, however, he would not even be able to deduct the sediments floating on top.