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7 ‎[1] If a man weighs out to his neighbor with weights that are deficient by the standards agreed upon by the residents of his state, or uses a measure deficient by the agreed standards, he breaks a prohibition, as it is written: "You must never act dishonestly in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity" (Leviticus 19:35). ‎[2] Even though the man who measures or weighs deficiently is committing theft, he does not have to repay double but only the amount of deficiency in measure or weight. Lashing is not inflicted for breaking this prohibition, since he is required to pay. ‎[3] ‎[4] ‎[5] ‎[6] ‎[7] ‎[8] It makes no difference whether a man deals with a fellow Jew or a heathen, if he has measured or weighed deficiently he has broken a prohibition and must repay. So too, it is forbidden to deceive a heathen in computing an account, but one should be carefully precise in dealing with him, as it is written: "He must compute with his purchaser" (Leviticus 25:50), even if he is subject to Jewish rule ; and so much the more a heathen who is not subject to Jewish rule. This is implied in the biblical statement: "Anyone who does such things is abominable to the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 25:16)—anyone who acts dishonestly in any manner. ‎[9] ‎[10] ‎[11] If a man removed his neighbor's landmark and included some of his area into his own, even as much as a finger's length, he is deemed a robber if he did it forcibly, and a thief if he removed it secretly. If he removed a landmark in Eretz Yisrael, he has broken two prohibitions: robbery or theft, and: "You shall not remove your neighbor's landmark" (Deuteronomy 19:14). This last prohibition is applicable only in Eretz Yisrael, since it is written in the same verse: "In the inheritance which you will hold in the land…" ‎[12] The punishment for faking measurements is greater than the punishment for forbidden sexual relationships, for one is a sin between a person and God, and the other has an interpersonal dimension. Rejecting the commandment of fair weights is like a rejection of the exodus from Egypt, which was the source of the commandment. Likewise, anyone who accepts the commandment of fair weights is like one who accepts the reality of the exodus from Egypt, which is the source of all commandments.
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