DEUT1384 I have further seen fit to append to these laws the regulations governing paying the hire of laborers, since this matter is of supreme importance. It involves a number of explicit Torah prohibitions. Yet many individuals treat these laws lightly, because of our many sins. They find it easy to defer payment for some minor excuse, such as being too lazy to go and withdraw their deposits, or to change a large bill so as to pay the worker on time. Legally, one is obliged to comply with all the regulations, even where the worker is well-to-do. How much more careful must the employer be where the worker is poor, to pay him on time, so that he and his household will have the wherewithal to live, as Scripture states [this verse]. Come now and see what the Zohar (Leviticus 19:13) has to say: "Why does Scripture state: 'The wages of a hired servant shall not abide with you all night until the morning'? The reason for this last injunction is to be found in [this] verse, that is to say, that you not be gathered from the world on his account before your time comes. From this we learn another thing, that if one restores the soul of a poor man, even if his own time has arrived to depart from the world, God restores his soul and gives him a further lease on life. To withhold the wages of a poor man is like taking his life and the life of his household. As he (the employer) diminishes their souls, so God diminishes his days, and cuts off his soul from the other world. For all the breaths which issue from his (the poor man's) mouth for the whole of that day ascend and stand before the Almighty, and afterwards his soul and the souls of his household ascend and stand in those breaths. Thus even if the length of days and many blessings have been decreed for that man, they are all withdrawn, nor does his soul mount aloft. Therefore R. Abba said: God save us from them and their plaint! And the same is true even if it is a rich man, and his right is withheld from him, and surely if he is a poor man.

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DEUT1383 As the wording of this verse suggests, this law would apply with particular force to those who employ domestic help, [If the person is employed on a full-time basis, then other mutually agreed upon arrangements can be made, such as payment once a week] people who often require their wages for their daily needs and who have little or no savings.

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DEUT1385 This teaches us that if one holds back a laborer's wages, it is as if he would take his life. Why did this laborer ascend the incline or hang from a tree, if not for his wage! (Bava Metzia 112a)

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DEUT1386 See [[LEV370]] Leviticus 19:13 wages CCCBM 131-3

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DEUT1388 See [[LEV370]] Leviticus 19:13 wages CCCBM 131-3

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DEUT1387 Pay daily laborers their wage at the completion of the work day. Such laborers are usually poor. They need their wages immediately so that they can buy food for themselves and for their families. Therefore, their employers must be punctual in paying their wages. Out of His great kindness, Hashem commands us about the matter to teach us to behave with mercy and concern towards others, and make sure that the needs of the poor are met. Thereby, we perfect our characters and become worthy of Hashem's blessings, which pleases Him, for out of His perfect goodness, He wants to bestow His blessings upon us. See [[LEV369]] Leviticus 19:13 wages CHINUCH 147-8.

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DEUT1389 "He who with holds a worker's wages is as though he deprived him of his life" (Baba Metzia 112a). The rabbis also warned employers that the withheld wages would not enrich them. On the contrary, their transgression would result in the loss of their estates (Bamidbar Rabbah 11). The biblical allegation that a worker "sets his soul upon it" [his wages; this verse] was interpreted literally by the rabbis. "Why did the man ascend the ladder, suspend himself from the tree, and risk death itself; was it not that you should pay him his wages?" (Baba Metzia 112a)

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DEUT1390 See [[LEV356]] Leviticus 19:13 defraud SACTAB 281-2

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DEUT1391 It is a negative commandment for the court not to accept the testimony of a close relative for Scripture states, Fathers should not be put to death through children [this verse], which means through the testimony of the children; and the law is the same for other new relatives.

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DEUT1392 See [[EXOD1040]] Exodus 34:7 parents TELVOL 1 87

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