In a message dated 8/10/2014 12:20:31 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, p________@hotmail.com writes:Dear Rabbi Arthur Segal:=I am a Christian and have always tried to respect the "shopkeepers law". I heard about it long ago and I just found the moral principal behind it obvious. I have never been able to find its source though. Would you mind returning my email with its location in the Torah?Thanking you in advance,P____________SHALOM P_____________:MUCH THANKS FOR THE QUESTION.THE SHOP KEEPER'S LAW IN NOT DIRECTLY IN THE TORAH (THE 5 BOOKS OF MOSES), NOR IS IT IN THE TaNaK (THE REST OF THE JEWISH BIBLE).IT IS IN THE TALMUD.Talmud Tractate Bava Metzia 4:10FOR THIS LAW, AND OTHER SPIRITUAL AND ETHICAL WAY OF LIVING IN THE TALMUD, DERIVED AND EXTRAPOLATED FROM THE TORAH, PLEASE SEE: http://www.jewishspiritualrenewal.org/books/a-spiritual-and-ethical-compendium-to-the-torah-and-talmud/FOR A SHORT PARA ON THE SHOPKEEPER'S LAW, PLEASE SEEFrom one of my Talmudic discourse on Jewish Business Ethics on the Shop Keeper's Law, {AKA Shopkeeper's Law}:
3. Ona'at devarim (verbal deception)
This teaching is based on another verse in the same chapter of Vayikra (Lev)(25:17): "Do not deceive one another, but fear your God, for I the Lord am your God." Since the verse cited above had explicitly mentioned monetary deception, the rabbis concluded that this verse refers to verbal deception. Thus we learn in the Talmud (Tractate Bava Metzia 4:10): "Just as there is deception in buying and selling, there is deception in words. A person should not say to a merchant: 'How much does this cost?' if he has no intention of buying it."
Let us say that Reuven goes into a warehouse outlet in order to buy a computer, but he wants a demonstration before he spends $1000. The warehouse outlet is not equipped for demonstrations. The salesman says to Reuven: "Go to the IBM showroom down the block and ask for a demonstration, then come back here and buy the computer at our low, low price." Reuven complies and gets a free demonstration from IBM, plus a discount when he buys the product from the warehouse outlet store.
When Reuven asks for the demonstration at the IBM store, he has absolutely no intention of purchasing the computer there. He merely wants a free demonstration. The IBM salesman is being deceived. He either loses a real customer while waiting on Reuven, or feels badly when Reuven walks out on him after a half-hour demonstration. This is ona'at devarim, verbal deception.
This is called the ''shop keeper's law.'' It not only steals time but can actually make the IBM salesman think the fellow left because his fee is too high and lower his fee, causing him to loose money over and over.
FOR A LONGER TALMUDIC DISCOURSE ON BUSINESS ETHICS, PLEASE SEEFOR ARTICLES ON THE SHOP KEEPER'S LAW [AKA SHOPKEEPER'S LAW] : https://www.google.com/search?as_q=SHOP+KEEPER'S+LAW&as_epq=RABBI+ARTHUR+SEGAL&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=&as_occt=any&safe=images&tbs=&as_filetype=&as_rights=&gws_rd=ssl#as_qdr=all&filter=0&newwindow=1&q=SHOP+KEEPER'S+LAW+%22RABBI+ARTHUR+SEGAL%22LASTLY, PLEASE WRITE BACK AFTER YOU'VE READ THE ABOVE AND TELL ME IF THIS WAS HELPFUL.MANY BLESSINGS!RABBI DR ARTHUR SEGAL
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