משנה: הַשׁוֹלֵחַ אֶת בְּנוֹ אֵצֶל חֶנְװָנִי וּמָדַד לוֹ בְּאִיסָּר שֶׁמֶן וְנָתַן לוֹ אֶת הָאִיסָּר שָׁבַר אֶת הַצְּלוֹחִית וְאִיבֵּד אֶת הָאִיסָּר הַחֶנְװָנִי חַייָב. רִבִּי יְהוּדָה פוֹטֵר שֶׁעַל מְנָת כֵּן שִׁילְּחוֹ. וּמוֹדִים חֲכָמִים לְרִבִּי יְהוּדָה בִּזְמַן שֶׁהַצְּלוֹחִית בְּיַד הַתִּינוֹק וּמָדַד הַחֶנְװָנִי לְתוֹכָהּ הַחֶנְװָנִי פָטוּר. הַסִּיטוֹן מְקַנֵּחַ מִידּוֹתָיו אַחַת לִשְׁלֹשִׁים יוֹם וּבַעַל הַבַּיִת לִשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ. רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר חִילּוּף הַדְּבָרִים. הַחֶנְװָנִי מְקַנֵּחַ מִידּוֹתָיו פַּעֲמַיִם בַּשַׁבָּת וּמַמְחֶה מִשְׁקְלוֹתָיו פַּעַם אַחַת בַּשַׁבָּת וּמְקַנֵּחַ מֹאזְנַיִם עַל כָּל־מִשְׁקָל וּמִשְׁקָל. אָמַר רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל בַמֶּה דְבָרִים אֲמוּרִים. בַּלַּח אֲבַל בַּיָּבֵשׁ אֵינוֹ צָרִיךְ. וְחַייָב לְהַכְרִיעַ לוֹ טֶפַח. הָיָה שׁוֹקֵל לוֹ עַיִן בְּעַיִן נוֹתֵן לוֹ גֵּירוּמִים אֶחָד לָעֲשָׂרָה בַּלַּח וְאֶחָד לָעֶשְׂרִים בַּיָּבֵשׁ. מָקוֹם שֶׁנָּהֲגוּ לָמוֹד בַּדַּקָּה לֹא יָמוֹד בַּגַּסָּה. בַּגַּסָּה לֹא יָמוֹד בַּדַּקָּה. לִמְחוֹק לֹא יִגְדּוֹשׁ. לִגְדּוֹשׁ לֹא יִמְחוֹק. MISHNAH: Somebody sent his son to a grocer who measured him oil for an assarius and he gave him the assarius; if he93The child. The majority hold that if a child is sent to the grocer, the sender only intends to give the grocer a message that he should deliver the goods to the sender’s house, not give them to the child. broke the flask and lost the assarius94It is difficult to see where the coin comes in. Rashbam reports that his grandfather Rashi changed the text of the Mishnah to the effect that the child was sent with a dupondius, to get oil for an assarius and an assarius in change. But the ms. evidence and Maimonides’s text do not support the emendation., the grocer is liable. Rebbi Jehudah holds him not liable since for that he sent him95In the Tosephta, 5:2, R. Jehudah explains that anybody sending money and a breakable vessel by a child expects the money to be lost and the vessel broken.. The Sages agree with Rebbi Jehudah that if the flask was in the child’s hand and the grocer measured into the flask, the grocer is not liable96If he never took the vessel into his hand, he never became responsible..
The wolesaler cleans his measuring vessels once every thirty days, the householder every twelve months. Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel says, it is the other way around97He holds that the wholesaler uses his measuring vessels all the time; nothing will stick and, since each vessel is always used for the same commodity, no customer is disadvantaged. But the householder who only sells sporadically must clean his vessels lest some leftover fluid clot and diminish the volume.. The retail grocer cleans his measuring vessels twice a week, wipes his weights clean once a week, and cleans his scales after each weighing.
Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel said, when has this been said? For fluids, but for dry matter it is not necessary; he has to let [the scales] bend down a handbreadth98The scales holding the merchandise have to be visibly lower than the weights.. If he weighed strictly by eyesight99The lever of the balance being exactly parallel to the ground. he has to give him surplus, one tenth for fluids and one twentieth for dry products100Which method is chosen will depend on local usage..
At a place where one is used to small measures he should not use large ones, to large measures he should not use small ones, to level one must not heap, to heap one must not level.
הלכה: הַשׁוֹלֵחַ אֶת בְּנוֹ אֵצֶל הַחֶנְװָנִי כול׳. אָמַר רִבִּי בָּא בַּר מָמָל. בָּעֲשִׂירוֹת חַייָב לְהַכְרִיעַ לוֹ טֶפַח. כְּתִיב מֹאזְנֵי צֶדֶק אַבְנֵי צֶדֶק. מִיכָּן אָֽמְרוּ חֲכָמִים. כָּל־מִצְוָה שֶׁמַּתַּן שְׂכָרָהּ בְּצִידָּהּ אֵין בֵּית דִּין מוּזְהָרִין עָלֶיהָ. יִהְיֶה לָךְ. מְנֵה לָךְ אנגרמוס עַל כָּךְ. וְתֵימַר הָכֵין. אָמַר רִבִּי בּוּן בַּר חִייָה. כֵּינִי מַתְנִיתָא. כָּל־מִצְוָה שֶׁמַּתַּן שְׂכָרָהּ בְּצִידָּהּ אֵין בֵּית דִּין נֶעֱנָשִׁין עָלֶיהָ. רַב מַנְייֵהּ רֵישׁ גָּלוּתָא אנגרמוס וַהֲוָה מָחֵי עַל מְכִילָתָא וְלָא עַל שִׁיעוּרַיָּא. חָֽבְשֵׁיהּ רֵישׁ גָּלוּתָא. עָאַל רַב קַרְנָא גַּבֵּיהּ. אָמַר לֵיהּ. אנגרמוס שֶׁאָֽמְרוּ לַמִּידּוֹת וְלֹא לַשִּׁיעוּרִין. אָמַר לֵיהּ. וְהָא תַנִּית. אנגרמוס לַמִּידּוֹת וְלַשִּׁיעוּרִין. אָמַר לֵיהּ. פּוּק אֱמוֹר לוֹן. אנגרמוס שֶׁאָֽמְרוּ לַמִּידּוֹת וְלֹא לַשִּׁיעוּרִין. נְפַק וְאָמַר לוֹן. בַּר נַשׁ דְּתַנָּה כְּבָשָׁה דָא הִינּוֹ חָֽבְשִׁין לֵיהּ. HALAKHAH: “Somebody sent his son to a grocer,” etc. Rebbi Abba bar Mamal said, for the tenths he has to let bend down a handbreadth101In the Babli, 88b, R. Abba bar Mamal explains that the bending down of the scales should correspond to 1/10 of a pound for every 10 pounds, or 1%.. It is written102Leviticus.19.36">Lev. 19:36.: “Fair scales, fair weights.” From here103It is not from here but from Deuteronomy.25.15">Deut. 25:15: “A full and fair weightstone you shall have, a full and fair ephah you shall have, that your days be prolonged on the land which the Eternal, your God, gives to you.” the Sages said that any commandment whose reward is noted, the court is not warned about. “You shall have,104Deuteronomy.25.15">Deut. 25:15; in Leviticus.19.36">Lev. 19:36 the plural is used, יִהְיֶה לָכֶם. It is a generally accepted talmudic principle of interpretation that a commandment formulated in the plural is addressed to every individual. In Leviticus.19.36">Lev. 19:36, the verse ends: I am the Eternal, your God, I Who took you out from the land of Egypt, on which Sifra Qedošim Pereq8(10) notes: “On condition that you accept the obligation of fair measures, for every person who accepts the obligation of fair measures confirms the Exodus, and everyone who violates the obligation of fair measures negates the Exodus.” But commandments in the singular are considered as commandments in the collective, addressed to the community.” appoint market overseers105Greek ἀγορανόμος. In Demay2:1 (23c l. 26, Bava Batra 5:1:3" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Bava_Batra.5.1.3">Note 22) the transliteration is אגורנימום. over this106Babli 89a, Sifry Deut. 294. This inference clearly contradicts the prior statement that oversight over measures is not a public duty.. Rebbi Abun bar Ḥiyya said, so is the baraita: Any commandment whose reward is noted the court is not punished about. Rav was appointed market overseer by the Head of the Diaspora107Over Jewish markets in Babylonia.; he intervened about measuring vessels but not prices108In the Roman Empire, price control was introduced by Diocletian. But Rav was trained in Galilee under the Severans, almost a century before Diocletian. In Demay also, control of prices is described as an anomaly.. The Head of the Diaspora jailed him. Rav Qarna went to see him and said, the market overseer about whom they spoke was for measures but not prices. He answered, but you had stated: the market overseer is for both measures and prices109In the Babli, 89a, it is reported that Qarna taught this against the explicit instructions of Samuel; and that in consequence a horn grew on his forehead for which he was called Qarna.. He said to him, go out and tell them, the market overseer is for measures but not prices. He went out and said to them, a person who teaches hidden things they send to jail!
מָקוֹם שֶׁנָּהֲגוּ לָמוֹד בַּדַּקָּה לֹא יָמוֹד בַּגַּסָּה. בַּגַּסָּה לֹא יָמוֹד בַּדַּקָּה. לִמְחוֹק לֹא יִגְדּוֹשׁ. לִגְדּוֹשׁ לֹא יִמְחוֹק. At a place where one is used to small measures he should not use large ones, to large measures he should not use small ones, to level one must not heap, to heap one must not level.