Bava Batra 89a (פט.) — the Talmud in English

From “And if you diligently obey”

[Deuteronomy 28:1], which begins with the letter vav,

until “to serve them”

[ibid., 14], which ends with the letter mem—that is, eight letters.

And He cursed them with twenty-two

letters—

from “And if you do not obey”

the voice of the Lord [Deuteronomy 28:15], which begins with the letter vav,

until “and there is no buyer”

[ibid., 68], which ends with the letter heh. If one proceeds in order from the letter vav and returns until reaching the letter heh, one passes through all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet—that is, twenty-two letters.

We learned in the Mishna:

“In a place where the practice is to measure with a heaping measure”

one may not measure with a level [smaller] measure. If the practice is to level, one may not heap; if the practice is to heap, one may not level.

(A mnemonic

for the following halakhot:

one may not inspect and one may not heap with the agardemin; with a litra, three and ten; soul; weights; leveling; thick; you shall not make; he shall not make.)

The Sages taught: From where is it derived that one may not level in a place where the practice is to heap,

even if the buyer forgoes the difference,

and one may not heap in a place where the practice is to level,

even if the seller forgoes the difference?

The verse states

[Deuteronomy 25:15]:

“A complete measure,”

meaning that the measure must be complete, so that people will not come to deceive others. If they deviate from the local practice, even if they forgo the difference for one another, there is concern that others will see them and say: This is the practice, and they will come to deceive.

And from where is it derived that if he said

the seller:

“I will level in a place where the practice is to heap and deduct for him”

the buyer

from the money

corresponding to the amount of the leveling,

“and I will heap in a place where the practice is to level and add for him”

the buyer

to the money

corresponding to the amount of the added heap—in such a case there is no concern that others will see them and not know that he deviated, since they see that he adjusts the price of the sale according to the amount leveled or heaped—from where is it derived

that we do not heed him

even in this case?

The verse states

[Deuteronomy 25:15]:

“A complete and just measure,”

and they expound from the word “just” that even in this case he may not measure in this manner; rather, he must measure with a “just” measure, according to the local practice. For even this can lead to deception: someone might see the measuring but not see the payment, and not know that the buyer altered the payment, and think that this is the local practice.

The Sages taught: From where is it derived that one may not weigh evenly

on a balance—that is, exactly level,

in a place where the practice is to tip

the pan of the balance by a tefach in favor of the buyer,

and one may not tip

the pan of the balance in favor of the buyer

in a place where the practice is to weigh evenly

exactly level?

The verse states: “A complete weight,”

meaning that the weight [the “stone”] must be complete, in accordance with the practice in that place—neither less nor more—so that people will not come to deception.

And from where is it derived that if he said

the seller:

“I will weigh evenly”

his balance

in a place where the practice is to tip

the pan of the balance in favor of the buyer

and deduct for him

the buyer

from the money

the amount of the tipping,

“and I will tip”

the pan in favor of the buyer

in a place where the practice is to weigh evenly

his balance,

and add for him

the buyer

to the money

that he will pay, corresponding to the additional tipping—since the change in the payment makes it evident that he deviated from the local practice—from where is it derived

that we do not heed him

to do so?

The verse states: “A complete and just weight,”

meaning that even in this case he may not measure in this manner; rather, he must measure with a “just” measure, according to the local practice. For even this can lead to deception: someone might see the measuring but not see the payment, and not know that the buyer altered the payment, and think that this is the local practice.

Rav Yehuda of Sura said:

One should expound the verse [Deuteronomy 25:14], “You shall not have in your house diverse measures,” homiletically.

“You shall not have in your house”

money, and you will ultimately become poor, with nothing in your house.

What is the reason? Because

you engaged in commerce in the manner of

“a measure and a measure.”

“You shall not have in your pocket”

money.

What is the reason? Because

you had in your pocket

“a weight and a weight.”

But

if you conduct yourself in the manner of

“a complete and just weight,”

then

you will have

money. As they said [Nidda 70b]: What should a person do in order to become wealthy? He should conduct business faithfully.

And likewise, if you conduct yourself in the manner of

“a complete and just measure,”

then

you will have

money.

The Sages taught:

It is written [Deuteronomy 25:13]:

“You shall not have

in your pocket a weight and a weight, a large one and a small one, and so on; a complete and just weight shall you have, and so on.” It could have been written: “You shall not have a weight and a weight, but only a complete and just weight.” From the superfluous wording we derive:

It teaches that they appoint agardemin over measures,

officials appointed to flog and punish those who deceive with measures.

But they do not appoint agardemin over prices,

officials to supervise prices so that merchants will not sell at excessive prices, since the buyers will themselves go to the merchant who sells cheaply, and the former merchant will necessarily have to lower his price.

An incident occurred:

At the house of the Nasi, they appointed

in the Nasi’s house they appointed

agardemin over both measures and prices. Shmuel said to Karna

his student,

“Go out and teach them”

go and repeat to them:

“They appoint agardemin over measures, but they do not appoint agardemin over prices.”

He went out and expounded to them

Karna went out and expounded to them:

“They appoint agardemin over both measures and prices.”

The matter became known to Shmuel.

He said to him

Shmuel said to Karna:

“What is your name?”

He said to him:

“Karna.”

Shmuel said to him:

“May a horn emerge in his eye.”

May a horn emerge in his eye.

And because of Shmuel’s curse, indeed

a horn emerged in his eye,

a horn emerged in his eye—that is, a growth of flesh developed on his eye.

And he,

Karna, who deviated from the words of his teacher,

in accordance with whose opinion did he hold?

He held

in accordance with that which Rami bar Hama said in the name of Rabbi Yitzhak: “They appoint agardemin over both measures and prices, because of the swindlers,”

who wait until that merchant sells cheaply, and then sell at a high price.

An alternative explanation: “because of the swindlers”—those who sell at a high price and claim that they added to the measure; or who place the superior type of wheat on the outside of the package and put the inferior type inside the package; or who employ various other forms of deception.

The Sages taught: If

the buyer

asked him

the seller to sell him by weight

a litra—

he weighs for him

the seller, using a weight that weighs

a litra.

And if the buyer asked to purchase

half a litra—

he weighs for him

with a weight of

half a litra; a quarter-litra—

he weighs for him a quarter-litra.

What does this teach us?

Clearly, according to the amount that the buyer purchases, the seller weighs it for him.

And we answer: The beraita comes to teach us

that weights are prepared only up to this point,

that weights are prepared only in these measures—a litra, half a litra, and a quarter-litra—which the earlier court instituted, so that no other weights should be made, lest people come to deceive and mislead customers regarding the measure of the weights. And if one needs to weigh an amount less than a quarter-litra, he should weigh it using coins.

The Sages taught: If

the buyer

asked him

for a weight of

three-quarters of a litra,

and there is no weight that measures three-quarters,

the buyer should not say to him

the buyer:

“Weigh for me three-quarters of a litra, one at a time,”

each quarter-litra separately, because the seller cannot weigh precisely and must add to the weight, with the result that the seller loses, as he must add to each and every weighing.

Rather, he weighs

the seller a weight of

a litra

in one pan of the balance,

and places

a weight of

a quarter-litra

in the other pan together

with the meat

being sold, so that he weighs the three-quarters of a litra of meat all at once.

The Sages taught: If

the buyer

asked him

for a weight of

ten litrin, the buyer should not say to him

the buyer:

“Weigh them for me one at a time and tip

the balance with each weighing,” because a small amount is always added with each tipping, and this causes a loss to the seller.

Rather, he weighs them all at once and gives one tipping for all of them.

The Sages taught:

What are the dimensions of balances?

For balances intended for weighing heavy objects,

the balance beam,

the upper part from which the balance is suspended, must be

suspended in the air,

away from the ceiling

three tefachim,

so that the balance will not touch the ceiling when he tips the pan in favor of the buyer.

And it must be three tefachim above the ground,

so that the pan of the balance will not touch the ground when he tips it.

And the beam,

from whose two sides the pans of the balance are suspended,

and its cords,

the cords by which each pan is suspended, must together be

twelve tefachim long—

four tefachim for the beam, and four tefachim for each of the cords suspended from the two ends of the beam. For if their measure is less, the balance does not tip for a small amount, since it carries a heavy weight. And for wool merchants,

who sell wool by weight,

and for glass merchants,

who sell glass vessels—their weights are lighter, and they do not require balances so large. Rather, the dimensions of the balances they require are that they be

suspended in the air

away from the ceiling

two tefachim, and two tefachim above the ground, and the beam and its cords

must together be

nine tefachim long—

three tefachim for the beam, and three tefachim for each of the cords suspended from the two ends of the beam.

And for a shopkeeper and a householder,

who weigh with even lighter weights, the dimensions of the balances they require are that they be

suspended in the air

away from the ceiling

one tefach, and one tefach above the ground, and the beam and its cords

must together be

six tefachim long—

two tefachim for the beam, and two tefachim for each of the cords suspended from the two ends of the beam.

And for a turtani,

a craftsman who sells gold and silver and weighs with still lighter weights, the dimensions of the balance he requires are that it be

suspended in the air

away from the ceiling

three fingerbreadths, and three fingerbreadths above the ground

,

and its beam and cords—I do not know,

what length they must be.

In all the dimensions of balances cited in the beraita, it is explained what they are intended for, except for the first balance,

but this first one

the first, large balance mentioned by the beraita—

what is it for?

What is it intended for?