EXOD845 One of the most basic features of the business world today is the contract. Whenever two companies enter into a business relationship, a contract defines the terms of the deal and generally specifies what happens if something goes wrong. Contracts are common with consumers as well; one of the most common forms of contract nowadays governs the purchase of software. The manufacturers generally state that by opening a package or clicking "purchase," the buyer is in essence entering into a contract with the seller and is agreeing to abide by the terms of the sale and the restrictions on making copies. The acceptability and authority of such "shrink-wrap" contracts are complex issues in both American and Jewish law. The Jewish approach to contracting is similar to the approach highlighted above regarding offices transactions: "play fair." Two basic rules in the Jewish approach to contracts are: (1) deception is forbidden; and (2) you have to have a "meeting of the minds." • Mi'dvar sheker tirhak -- "Stay far from a false matter" [this verse]. The Rabbis of the Talmud, in tractate Shevu'ot (oaths), explicitly apply this rule of the Torah to settling a variety of disputes. For example, they say this: • How do we know that if three persons have a claim of a hundred zuzim one should not be the litigant, and the other two, the witnesses, in order that they may extract the hundred zuzim and divide it? Because it is said: "From a false matter keep far." (B. Shevu'ot 31a) • The rabbis also acknowledge, however, that in normal daily life there may be some exceptions. So, for example, when Shammai opposes calling an ugly woman a "beautiful bride," in keeping with "Keep far from a false matter," his colleague, Hillel, retorts that she is surely beautiful in the eyes of the groom, so is it is no sin to praise her to the groom. • Mekah ta'ut--an erroneous transaction. If two parties make an agreement but it turns out that one of the basic assumptions was wrong, the deal is null and void. The Talmud gives an example of a person who thought he had some excess money, contracted with his partners to use that money to pay their tax bill, but later found out that he did not actually have any excess money. The Rabbis called this a flawed transaction and cancelled the contract. (B. Gittin 14a) (By Barry J. Leff, "Jewish Business Ethics")