Comentário sobre Levítico 25:17

ולא תונו איש את עמיתו YE SHALL NOT THEREFORE BE EXTORTIONATE TO ONE ANOTHER — Here Scripture warns against vexing by words (wounding a person’s feelings) — that one should not annoy his fellow-man, nor give him an advice which is unfitted for him, but is in accordance with the plan and the advantage of the adviser. But lest you should say, “Who knows whether I had any intention to do him evil?” Scripture therefore states: “but thou shalt fear thy God”! — He Who knows men’s thoughts, He knows it! In all cases where it is a matter of conscience (more lit., a matter handed over to the heart), when no one knows the truth except the one who has the thought in his heart, Scripture always states: “but be afraid of thy God”! (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 4 1-2; Bava Metzia 58b; cf. also Rashi on Leviticus 19:14.)

ולא תונו, the reason this is repeated so many times is to warn you that you must not even misrepresent by words and thereby treat your customer unfairly. Even if the damage caused is not measurable in terms of money, all manner of misrepresentation is forbidden.

ולא תונו איש את עמיתו, "And you shall not take advantage of one another." Baba Metzia 58 explains that our verse discusses אונאת דברים, "verbal wrongs." The plain meaning of the verse is that seeing the Torah had already issued a similarly phrased commandment in verse 14, and we had explained that commandment as applicable when overcharging for chattels, we could have thought that overcharging for land was permitted. The Torah therefore had to repeat this commandment in connection with land sales so that the reader would not err and assume it is permitted to overcharge on land. The verse therefore concludes with the exhortation: "you shall fear your G'd," telling us that although the normal legislation against overcharging does not have a legal effect when the sale of real estate is involved, this is so only in connection with land sales in the rest of the world and to members of society at large (Gentiles). The prohibition to overcharge is in effect, however. The reason there are no legal repercussions when someone overcharges for the land he sells is that G'd personally will exact the appropriate penalty from the guilty party; this is why after the words: "you shall fear your G'd" the Torah adds the words: "for I am the Lord your G'd." G'd reminds us that He Himself will judge us in this respect and that we must not assume that it is permissible to overcharge when selling real estate. There are many instances of the Torah forbidding something without making such prohibitions a matter punishable by our legal system. You may do well to read what I have written on Exodus 21,12 in this connection. In our specific case, a court might find it difficult to determine precisely when the seller has violated the rule that he must not overcharge, seeing a purchaser may have been willing to pay more than the market price. (the same applies if the buyer bought the property for less than the market price, exploiting the economic weakness of the seller). G'd alone knows where to draw the line between what a buyer is truly willing to pay and what he feels he is forced to pay. This is why G'd Himself will administer any penalty due to either of the parties involved.

ולא תונו איש את עמיתו ויראת מאלוקיך, “Do not wrong one another, but fear your G’d, etc.” The אונאה referred to in this verse is called אונאת דברים, hurting people with words. Examples are: not to offer deliberately poor advice; irritating one’s fellow and provoking him to become angry (Rashi). We have a statement in Baba Metzia 59 that “all the gates are closed (subject to being closed from time to time) except the gate of אונאה, i.e. the supervision by the watchful eye of G’d if someone is guilty of that sin. The sages based this on Amos 7,7 הנה ה' נצב על חומת אנך וידו אנך, “here the Lord was standing on a wall checked with a plumb line, and in His hand a plumb line.” [The word אנך in that verse is related to אונאה, and the prophet describes the constant alertness of G’d for deviations from the ‘straight and narrow’ symbolized by the plumb line. Ed.] The reason for this is that the victim of such provocations is ever upset and prays to G’d to deliver him from such verbal persecution. This results in G’d’s being involved in matters such as these around the clock. In the event the guilty party who employed language subject to different interpretations consoles himself by saying that his intention to cause his victim anguish could not be proven, the Torah reminds him: “and fear your G’d,” i.e. He knows.

Here [the verse] forbids insulting others with words. Rashi specifically says “here,” because since it is written עמיתו(his fellow), annoying someone with words is applicable. But in verse 14 where it says אל תונו איש את אחיו (do not cheat, a man his brother), one cannot say it means annoying with words because however he denigrates [his brother], he is denigrating with his own flaw since his brother’s honor is his own honor, and by insulting his brother he himself is insulted. Therefore, over there he explains it as cheating in monetary matters, and here he explains it as insulting with words. And so writes the Sheloh. (R. Yaakov Taryosh)

And you shall not defraud, each one their kin To sell according to the worth of the land, since it will return. Although there is no concept of fraud with regard to land (cf Sifra Behar 3:1), here there is fraud, since one does not acquire land in Eretz Yisrael but rather only its products, like the verse says "For the number of years they sell to you" (Leviticus 25:15). If it had been years like the years of Eliyahu (ie of drought, cf I Kings 17:1), or blasting and mildew (cf Devarim 28:22), one would not decrease the account of the money if the redeemer came to redeem. And so too the two years that the Sages said one needs to leave the land in their hand, they need to be productive years.

כי אני ה' אלוקיכם, I, G’d am both buyer and seller. This is why I am meticulous and adamant that neither practice be tolerated.

I have already stated earlier that the principle of a sale being declared an "erroneous transaction" and the court reversing it applies also to land sales. Maimonides also writes in that vein in chapter 15 of his treatise Hilchot Mechirah. The principle is based on the transaction having a blemish of which the buyer was unaware at the time he concluded the purchase. In such cases the buyer is at liberty to return the land even if a number of years have passed since the purchase was concluded. Our explanation is based on the wording of אל תונו the Torah uses here. The expression אונאת דברים covers every deception caused by words which misrepresent true facts. Lying to a person is a form of "wronging" him and includes overcharging for land, i.e. misrepresenting its true value.