DEUT1453 God's role as covenant partner and as Israel's Lover probably has the greatest effect on creating moral character within us. We should abide by God's commandments, in part, because we were at Sinai, we promised to obey them there, and we should keep our promises. Thus, as the Haggadah of Passover reminds us, "In each and every generation a person is obliged to view himself as if he himself went out of Egypt" on the trek to Sinai, where God made the covenant with all generations to come: "It is not with you alone that I created this Covenant and this oath [of obedience], but with those who are standing with us this day before the Lord, our God, and with those who are not with us today.… Secret things belong to the Lord, our God, but that which has been revealed is for us and our children forever to carry out the words of this Torah." (This verse, Deuteronomy 29:28). Ultimately, though, God serves to shape moral character by entering into a loving relationship with us. That is, not only is the covenant a legal document, with provisions for those who abide by it and those who do not, but also the covenant announces formal recognition of a relationship that has existed for a long while and that is intended to last, much as a covenant of marriage does. Relationships, especially intense ones like marriage, create mutual obligations that are fulfilled by the partners sometimes grudgingly but often lovingly, with no thought of a quid pro quo return. For God, as for a human marital partner (God is depicted as Israel's marital partner a number of times in the Bible, whether fondly, as in Jeremiah 2:2, or angrily when Israel proves to be an unfaithful lover, as in Hosea 2), we should do what the norms of morality require, and then we should go beyond the letter of the law (lifnim m'shurat ha-din) to do favors for our beloved. In moral terms, we then become the kind of people who seek to do both the right and the good, not out of hope for award but simply because that is the kind of people we are and the kind of relationships we have.

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DEUT1454 Unlike other forms of theft, errors made with weights and measures have no minimal level, nor a “statute of limitations” restricting the time period within which redress can be sought. Claims which are of insignificant value are usually considered by the rabbis to be waived in the usual course of business; This is not so, however, in the case of weights and measures errors, since they involve a moral and religious infringement, which the parties to the transaction do not have the power to overlook, even if they so desire. Indeed, the above-mentioned portion of Deuteronomy instructs (25:13-15): “You shall not keep in your pocket [both] a large weight and a small one; neither shall you keep in your house [both] a small measure and a small one, [but rather,] one perfect and just weight shall you have; one perfect and just measure shall you have”-- the emphasis here being on the crime of even possessing such faulty measures, let alone using them.

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DEUT1455 See [[DEUT1450]] Deuteronomy 25:13 alternate CCCBM 173

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DEUT1456 We must guard ourselves against our weaknesses. The Rabbis advise us to "make a fence around the Torah" (The Ethics of the Fathers 1:1). A fence protects a garden from being violated. This admonition is often applied to matters of Jewish ritual law. Thus, because the Torah forbids lighting a fire on the Sabbath, later Jewish law also forbids even holding a match on Shabbat, since doing so increases the chance that we will use it and violate the holy day of rest. Once we have identified our weaknesses, we should refrain not only from the forbidden activity itself, but also from any behavior that may cause us to engage in it. For example, a married man attracted to a woman other than his wife should not allow himself to be alone in a closed room with her. [According to traditional Jewish law, halacha, a man should not be alone in a closed room with a woman with whom he is forbidden to have relations (unless it is an immediate relative)]. Had this advice been followed some years ago by an American president who had a proclivity for inappropriate extramarital behavior, it would have saved him from behavior that humiliated him and his family, and almost cost him the presidency. Regarding the temptation to deceive, the Torah not only prohibits using false weights and measures, but outlaws having them in our possession. The assumption is that their presence will tempt us to use them (just as having a marked deck of cards can tempt a gambler). Therefore we must destroy them "so that they do not become a snare" (Sefer Charedim, number 97; this and previous verse]. What fences do you need to erect?

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DEUT1457 Our ethical literature of bounds in stories describing the meticulous honesty of great men who shunned every form of deception, especially when the victim was a non-Jew. (Hull. 94a; B. Bath 90b; Deuteronomy R. iii. 3). The most famous being that of R. Shimeon b. Shetah who returned the gem found in the saddle of an ass he had bought from an Arab. This honesty caused the owner of the gem to praise the God of the Jew.

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DEUT1460 We are forbidden to keep inaccurate weights and measures In our homes. These verses (25:13-16) prohibit us from keeping inaccurate weights and measures in our homes even if we do not use them. It is always possible that they will be used by someone who is not aware that they are inaccurate. (Chinuch 602; Choshen Mishpot 231:3)

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DEUT1459 See [[EXOD413]] Exodus 20:12 honor TELVOL1 13

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DEUT1458 See [[DEUT1129]] Deuteronomy 22:6 take TELVOL2 302

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DEUT1461 If he [the merchant] registered the exact [desired] weight, he gives him something in addition, it being written: "A whole and just weight" -- Be just [i.e., generous] with what is yours and give it to him (Bava Bathra 88b)

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DEUT1462 The Rabbis taught: Whence is it derived that grain is not struck where it is the practice to heap it, and that is not heaped where it is the practice to strike it? From: "a whole measure." And whence is it derived that if one said, in a place where it is generally heaped: I shall strike it and deduct from the price; or in a place where it is generally stricken: I shall heap it and add to the price -- whence is it derived that he is not heeded? From: "a whole and just measure shall there be unto you" (Bava Bathra 89b)

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