Kommentar zu Wajikra 19:13

לא תעשק THOU SHALT NOT WRONG [THY FELLOW-MAN] — This refers to one who withholds the wages of a hired servant (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 2 9; Bava Metzia 61a).

לא תעשוק את דעך, "Do not oppress your fellow Jew." After the Torah had forbidden the acquisition of someone else's money through theft a person might conclude that the Torah's objection is only to thievery and not to other ways of appropriating something which is rightfully someone else's. This is why the Torah had to outlaw the obtaining of money by someone exploiting his position of strength vis-a-vis a person whose social or financial position places him at a disadvantage. The prohibition includes withholding wages of a labourer even only for one night.

לא תעשוק, withholding wages and suppressing just claims by converts.

This [refers to one] who withholds the wages of a hired hand. Because every expression of עשק (oppression) refers to the withholding of a hired hand’s wages. So explains Rashi in Bava Metzia 61b.

לא תלין פעולת שכיר, “do not withhold the wages of a day labourer overnight.” Torat Kohanim on this line asks the rhetorical question: “how do I know that the same rule applies to beasts which have laboured for you? The word שכיר followed by פעולת, “labour of,” shows that it applies not only to human beings who have laboured for you, but as well to animals and the soil that has worked for you.? When this verse is discussed in the Talmud, there is no reference to the soil.

You shall not withhold the wages. If a person permissibly gained possession of someone else’s property, such as by a loan or the like, but he does not intend to return it is called עושק (oppression) and not גזל (stealing). Stealing is only is the case of, “And he grabbed (ויגזול) the spear from the hand of the Egyptian” (Shmuel II 23:21), which is that he forcibly grabbed it in the first place.

פעולת שכיר, “the wages of a day labourer;” this expression in the same sense occurs also in Job 34,11, כי פועל אדם ישלם לו, “for He pays a man according to his actions.”

לא תלין The word תלין is feminine gender and refers to the wages.

לא תגזול, similar to Samuel II 23,21 ויגזול את החנית מידו, “he wrenched the spear out of his hand.”

[This verb] is feminine], referring to [the word] פעולה [“wages”]. Re’m explains that if the letterתי"ו [made תלין] a second person [male] verb, it would then make it a transitive verb, [i.e., a verb referring to an object]. But we never find this word used except as an intransitive verb, such as וילן שם , “And he spent the night there” (Bereishis 28:11), וילינו שם, “And they spent the night there” (Shoftim 19:4), כי ברחוב נלין , “We will spend the night in the street” (Bereishis 19:2), except for the verseערום ילין בלי לבוש , “They spend all the night naked without clothing” (Iyuv 24:7). [Therefore], it is better to explain it as referring to [the word] פעולה, so that it is intransitive like the others. [Alternatively], I think that if it referred to the householder, the word “in your possession” would be unnecessary as the verse should simply have said, לא תלין פעולת שכיר עד בוקר, “Do not leave the wages of a day-laborer overnight until morning.”

The reason the Torah describes the injured party as רע, a colleague or friend, is to warn us not to presume on the other party's friendship towards us to shortchange them in what is due to them. One must not play loose with a friend's money because he is one's friend and presumably will not voice his objection for the sake of preserving the friendship. The word את רעך is justified seeing the subject is one which involves only people, not G'd directly. Moreover, if the friend forgives the harm done to him such behaviour is not considered a sin vis-a-vis G'd.

You shall not rob. Scripture only needs to speak about a case where he intends to return it the next day, nevertheless, it is called robbery for a day. It shall not remain overnight, the wages of a day-laborer. Although it is only the payment of a loan, and he intends to pay later, nevertheless, the wages of a day-laborer are different, as the Torah explains in another place (Devarim 24:15), “You shall give him his wage on his day … for he is poor, and he risks his life for it”.

פעולת שכר, “this includes any type of compensation, for human beings, vessels borrowed, animals borrowed and land borrowed or rented. (Sifra)

עד בקר UNTIL THE MORNING — Scripture speaks here of a person hired for day-work (שכיר יום) whose departure from work is at sunset. The time for drawing his wages is therefore the whole night (and the law is not infringed provided he pays it before the moment of day break). In another passage (Deuteronomy 24:14) it states, "the sun shall not go down upon it (the man's wages)”. There, however, it is speaking of one hired for night-work (שכיר לילה) the end of whose period of work is at day break, therefore the time for drawing his wages is the whole day (but it must be done before sunset). The reason why he has the whole night or whole day to pay the wages is because the Torah gives the employer the time of one "Ona" (one half of the astronomical day; cf. for the meaning of the word Niddah 65b) to endeavour to obtain the money he requires for paying the wages (Bava Metzia 110b).

לא תלין, withholding wages from night workers.

The verse speaks of a day-laborer. Rashi is answering the question: This verse implies that the wage may remain the whole night and there is only a prohibition until the morning, but in parshas Ki Seitzei (Devarim 24:15) it is written “And let the sun not set upon it.” He therefore answers that the verse speaks of a day-laborer.

A moral-ethical dimension of these verses is found in Berachot 35 where the Talmud discusses Proverbs 28,24: "he who robs father or mother saying it is no sin is a companion of a destroyer." The Talmud views the verse as referring to someone enjoying the products of this world without first reciting a benediction acknowledging that it all belongs to G'd. Father and mother in that verse are supposed to be G'd and the concept of the people of Israel, commonly referred to as כנסת ישראל. The word רעך in our verse would refer to G'd Himself. We are entitled to this homiletical approach based on Proverbs 27,10 where Solomon warns not to abandon "your friend and the friend of your father." This means one should not "rob" G'd of what He provides without first acknowledging it, taking permission, so to speak. The reason the Torah adds the words "do not rob," is to tell you that even the paucity of מצוה-performance contains an element of robbery. When one fails to carry out a commandment which one is obligated to observe and has the opportunity to observe one causes harm to the entire Jewish people, i.e. one is guilty of transgressing the commandment לא תלין, not performing one's duty on time. When the Torah writes: "do not keep overnight with you the wages due to a labourer," this is a demand to perform daily and punctually in one's מצוה-performance. Vayikra Rabbah 26,4 describes the practice of day borrowing from night during the summer months, whereas night borrows from day during the winter months. [ideally, both day and night should be 12 hours long all year long were it not for the fact that the earth's axis is (nowadays, since the deluge) at an angle. Ed.] The Midrash presents this as an ideal way of two parties helping each other out without recourse to written contracts, demands for repayment, etc. When the Torah writes לא תלין פעולת שכיר אתך, "do not hold back the wages of your labourer with you all night long," the word אתך, refers back to the word שכיר, "someone hired by G'd," a reference to the spirit G'd has granted His labourers, i.e. man. G'd looks upon man as His hired hand. He has granted this spirit both to the hired hand as well as to the resident. Man's wages are that he is granted the privilege to carry out the commandments of G'd. Anyone of us failing to do so or doing so belatedly harms the whole people.

A half-day period (עונה). A twelve hour period of either day of night, is called “עונה.”

This verse also contains an allusion to the well known statement by our sages (Berachot 28) that Torah scholars do not find much sustenance in this life. We also have a Yalkut Shimoni (item 934 on Proverbs) on Proverbs 3,3 which appears to promise much temporal reward for Torah study. The Torah is supposed to have wanted to know why people studying it are usually so poor. I have heard a good answer to this question in the name of the Ari Zal. He explained that the physical universe we live in would be unable to absorb all the goodness G'd would have to bestow on the Torah scholars. G'd therefore decided to bestow such goodness only on the average individuals who in turn are charged with looking after the material needs of the Torah scholars. This teaches that the only reason there are apparently undeserving wealthy people in this world is that they serve as a מרזב, a channel to furnish sustenace to the Torah scholars. G'd has commanded here that that a (wealthy) person must not oppress a Torah scholar by withholding the material benefits from him which it is his function to provide for his רע, his friend, the Torah scholar.

The word את in the verse לא תעשוק, next to the word רעך, -a reference to G'd as we explained,- is to be understood as similar to what Rabbi Akiva explained in Pessachim 22. In that instance Rabbi Akiva explains the word את in את ה׳ אלוקיך תירא as referring to Torah scholars. The Torah intended to warn us to revere Torah scholars, the judges, in much the same manner as we revere G'd Himself. Judges are also known as אלהים, so that we can say the Torah warns not to steal or rob as G'd has representatives on earth who will deprive the thief or robber of whatever he has taken unlawfully.