One-Page Learn · The Halachos at a glance
הִלְכוֹת מְכִירָה
Sales 13-15
Sefer Kinyan · The edges of ona'ah • Fair prices and fair words • The sale made in error
1/6
Profit cap the court sets
on wine, oil and flour
4
Things with no ona'ah:
land, servants, notes, hekdesh
3
Prohibitions broken by
wronging a convert
101
Nuts for 100: the extra one
goes back, even years later
Ch 13Where the Sixth Does Not Reach
- Barter is outside ona'ah. Exchanging one article or animal for another, even a needle for a necklace, carries no ona'ah, since a person may want the needle more. Produce for produce is different and ona'ah applies. A homeowner selling his own personal belongings is also exempt, since nobody parts with those without an inflated offer. (13:1-2)
- A waiver needs a number. A condition that there will be no claim of ona'ah is void, because the other side does not know how much he is forgoing. A seller who says it is worth 100, I am selling it for 200, on condition you do not hold me responsible, makes a binding condition. (13:3-4)
- The faithful merchant. One who states his cost and his profit is outside ona'ah. He must price a whole lot by one method, may add porters, donkey drivers and lodging to his cost, but must name his own labor as profit. (13:5-6)
- Four exclusions, and who is selling. Land, servants, promissory notes and consecrated property carry no ona'ah, though livestock, pearls, a sword and a Torah scroll do. All this is for one selling his own property: an agent who errs at all is void, and the Rambam extends this to a guardian; a court is held to the sixth. (13:8-10, 13:13)
- Partners, rentals, contractors. Brothers or partners dividing movables are buyers. Renting land and hiring a worker carry no ona'ah; renting a utensil or animal does, as a sale for a day. The Rambam rules a contractor who weaves or sews for a fee is under ona'ah. (13:12, 13:14-18)
RememberYou can give money away, but only if you know how much you are giving.
Ch 14Prices, Storehouses, and Words
- The court regulates staples. Profit on things our lives depend on, wine, oil and fine flour, is capped at a sixth. Herbs and fragrances like costus and frankincense have no cap. Eggs carry only one profit; the next seller sells at cost. (14:1-3)
- No trading, hoarding or exporting staples. In Eretz Yisrael one does not trade in staples, except oil where it is abundant. Purchased staples may not be stored there or in a majority-Jewish place; one's own produce may be, and storage is allowed in the three years around the Sabbatical year. In drought not even carobs. The hoarder is likened to a lender at interest. (14:4-8)
- Local price rules. A city may fix prices and penalties, even on meat and bread, and craftsmen may make agreements. Where a distinguished sage guides the city, a craftsmen's stipulation needs his consent, and one who caused a loss under it without consent pays. (14:9-11)
- Ona'ah of words. Do not remind a penitent of his past or a convert's descendant of his ancestors, speak to the bereaved like Job's friends, send donkey drivers to a man who never sold grain, or quiz someone on a subject he never studied. Wronging a convert breaks three prohibitions. (14:12-17)
- Words are worse than money. Money can be returned, words cannot; money touches possessions, words touch the person. Hence and you shall fear your God, and whoever cries out over words is answered at once. (14:18)
RememberOvercharging takes his money. A cruel sentence takes him. Only one of them can be paid back.
Ch 15The Sale Built on a Mistake
- Miscounts are always reversible. Ona'ah concerns value; an error in measure, weight or number, however small, can be corrected at any time. 100 nuts for a dinar and he gave 101 or 99: the sale stands and the nut is returned, even after years and even after a kinyan declaring nothing owed. (15:1-2)
- Hidden blemish, no measuring. A flaw the buyer did not know of lets him return land, a servant, an animal or a utensil even years later, unless he used it after discovering the flaw. A blemish worth an isar on a ten-dinar utensil suffices, since he wanted a perfect article; if he wants a discount instead, the seller chooses. (15:3-4)
- Custom defines a blemish. What the city calls a blemish is one. A blanket condition of no return is void unless the buyer accepts any blemish even though it lowers the value by a stated amount. (15:5-6)
- The list designed to be dismissed. Blind, lame, bites, crouches: if the obvious ones are false and a hidden one is true, the sale was in error. If the cow was lame but not blind and turns out to bite, it stands. Showing one real blemish and listing others makes them all disclosed. (15:7-10)
- Servants. Only flaws that prevent work allow return: not a mole, a dog-bite scar or bad breath; yes for debilitating boils, epilepsy, insanity, a revolting affliction, an armed robber or one conscripted by the king. A thief or runaway is presumed and not grounds unless stipulated. (15:12-13)
RememberThe sale is not undone for a bad price. It is undone for a false picture.