Rabbi's Blog

After a busy summer spent primarily in Eretz Yisrael, our trip home was diverted to New York to attend my nephew’s wedding, an event that was scheduled after we had already purchased  tickets to return directly to San Diego. After the wedding we continued our journey back west,  stopping in Chicago for the weekend before continuing on to San Diego a few days later.

At the airport we had an experience that I still cannot believe actually took place. We know that airlines have raked in millions of dollars on baggage fees. One area where baggage handlers seem to have had some discretion was on the fifty-pound weight limit, and occasionally allowing  a bag go through that was a pound or two over the limit, freeing the passenger from reshuffling the contents of the suitcase or taking out something to get the suitcase  under the weight limit. Airlines caught on to this, and I believe some of the scales automatically register an ‘overweight’ message if over fifty pounds, forcing the attendant to charge the extra fee. As the first piece was only about forty-six pounds, I knew that if the other piece of luggage was a few pounds over I could maneuver things arounds.  I did notice, however, from the corner of my eye, that the scale, when empty, still registered 2.5 pounds. I thought it would re-set itself soon after, but it didn’t. I placed my second bag on the scale, and sure enough it was overweight by three pounds. The agent pronounced, “Overweight,” and, as I removed the luggage from the scale, it still registered  2.5 lbs. I pointed this out  to the agent, yet he adamantly stated, “The scale said it’s overweight.” I asked if I could weigh my luggage on the next scale. He said, ”Yes.” Sure enough, it was under the limit! I turned to him and said, “You see -  the scale is broken.” He replied  in an angry and aggravated tone, ”I don’t have anything to do with the scales.” This is outright fraud, but at the moment we were shocked as he made us feel that we were in the wrong.  I was afraid to appear as if I were making a Chilul Hashem, so we walked away. A few seconds later we regained our composure and took a picture of the empty scale, displaying the weight still registering 2.5 pounds. We wrote a letter to the airline threatening to report this to the U.S. Department of Weights and Measures. As of this printing we are still waiting for a response to our complaint.

I have before never experienced an outright denial of fraud. In all of my life’s experiences, it is the customer who is always right, especially when he really is right. This situation was totally foreign to me. When I was a senior in high school, I worked at a take-home food store on Fridays. The owner, who was a tough and strict business man, was, at the same time extremely honest. He instructed the workers to weigh the coleslaw or any dish without the liquid. Then, after pricing, added the liquid. The scales also were preprogrammed to take off for the tare. [Help!!! for the what?? tape?? Don’t understand this word!] Here I was seeing with my own eyes the Torah law of being honest with weights and measures. As far as a Torah law is concerned, this discussion falls under the category of stealing, which is one of the seven Noachide laws and, to my knowledge, even airlines are obligated to keep. This is not solely a Jewish discussion it applies to all of mankind. It is interesting to note that one of the major causes the Mabul destroyed the world and cut off life as they knew it was because of ‘chamas’. Chamas has a few definitions (of which none are very nice) in addition to evil and treachery. Chamas refers to stealing in a certain manner. One of the words we use to describe our faults in Viduy/Confession is Chamasnu. There is a connection between integrity and being dishonest to living a long life or being destroyed. This comparison is found in this week’s parsha.

In Parshas Ki Seitzay the Torah in Devarim 25:15 states: “Ehven Shelaima VaTzedek Yihiye Lach, Eifah Sheleima VaTzedek Yihye Lach, L’Maan YaArichu Yamecha Al HoAdama Asher Hashem Elokecha Nosein Lach.” “You must have a full, honest weight and a full, honest measure. If you do, you will long endure on the land that God your Lord is giving you.” Conversely, anyone who is dishonest and has dishonest weights or measures is repulsive to God your Lord.”  The Sefer Pninim Yikarim (an unknown author of a collection of Torah commentary in the last century) says we need to explain the connection between honest weights or measures and long life. The Gemarah Sotah 9a states: Amar Rav Hamnuna, Ein HaKadosh Baruch Hu Nifrah Min Ha’Adam Ad SheTimalay S’Eiso: God does not punish a person until his plate is filled with sins.  Someone who intentionally ‘alters his scale,’  thereby making his basket or scale appear to be full, will be judged sooner than he would have been. By cheating with his weights or measures, the scale only looks full but he is actually giving his friend less. In reality he is only short changing his friend a few bucks, but he now brings with him the full scale as it appears to God and will begin his retribution for his lifetime acts. We can now understand why, if a person is righteous with his measurements and weights,  his plate will not appear to be full prematurely, his honesty giving him the opportunity to extend his life. Someone who is honest is not in a hurry to fill his basket with aveiros so as to be judged quickly preferring to delay the process as long as he can to increase his days.

We can now apply this concept of cheating and stealing through weights and measures and death. Stealing - ‘chamas’ -  was a major factor during the time of Noach. It was this stealing that forced God to bring the calamity of the world immediately or even before Hashem would have normally done so. Hashem grants a person time in this world to do as much good as possible while only tolerating evil up to a point.

As we now mentally prepare to approach the New Year, we look forward to a year of life and not death, of health and of goodness. To a degree we can control the scales of justice by controlling the scales of how we measure our goods and wares. Equally  important is to make sure our weights and measures aren’t too heavy in judging others but rather to go lightly on that scale allowing us to merit a long life this coming year.

Ah Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky