[Avodah] Even veAven

[Kenneth Miller]

R' Micha Berger wrote:

> I would think the question of whether even va'aven applies
> to time would depend on whether we classify time measurers
> (clocks / watches) as of the same kind as weight measurers
> (scales) and volume measurers (measuring cups, etc...)
> In terms of not wanting to even own something someone else
> could use to cheat in business, a dishonest watch could be
> used for clocking in late or clocking out early.

This is possible, but unlikely, since the same timepiece would usually be used for both the starting and ending. I think that a better example might be deception about whether the time is being measured in long hours or short hours. This could easily happen if there's confusion about shaos zmanios vs. regular hours.

Maaseh she'hayah: I had been learning in my kollel for a short while (days or weeks, I don't remember) when I found out that my monthly stipend was paid on Rosh Chodesh. I was pleasantly surprised, given that the Jewish months are slightly shorter than the civil months. But if I had heard this not from my employer, but instead from my landlord, I would not have been so pleased.

> And the pasuq itself only includes volume (eifah) and weight
> (even).
> So what about length? A dishonest ruler would allow someone
> to cheat when doing business in cloth, thread, rope...

If I'm reading it correctly, Choshen Mishpat 231:18 says not to measure land at certain times, because the weather may cause the measuring rope to stretch or contract. This seems to answer that question quite explicitly. But I do concede that volume, weight and length are all tangible, while time is not, and might not be included in this halacha.

Another intangible unit might be currency. I know that there are many teshuvos about loans in Israel, and whether or not they are paid back in local currency, or whether the loan is linked to the dollar. The question there is mainly about prohibited interest, but -- among those who allow the loan to be tied to another currency -- I wonder if anyone speaks about the importance of clarifying exactly which conversion rate is to be used. Leaving this point vague would be very similar to vague units of time that I mentioned above.

I noticed an interesting Torah Temimah (Devarim 21:185) on this pasuk, which speak about these halachos in very modern "consumer protection" terms. He explains that in the marketplace, the mashgichim do need to check the weights and measures, but they do NOT check the prices. This is because the consumer is at the mercy of the shopkeepers scales, but he is quite capable of doing his own price comparisons. As long as there's full disclosure about the prices, no one is fooling the customer in the way that illegal scales would fool him. According to this, I'd think that units of time and units of currency are totally exempt from these halachos, as long as there is full disclosure about *which* units are being used.

Full disclosure, that's the key. If I come to work at 9 AM and leave at 5 PM, but the timeclock records it at 9:10 and 5:10, that's okay if the payroll department cares only about the time worked. But it is *not* okay if I'll get reprimanded for being late.

I'm still up in the air about what time to put on an invitation, and whether there might be something wrong (at least on a personal, spirit-of-the-law level) with setting one's wristwatch to another time.

Akiva Miller
____________________________________________________________
30-second trick for a flat belly
This daily 30-second trick BOOSTS your body's #1 fat-burning hormone
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/521612d350c8c12d30e7bst04vuc