In All Honesty

The Gemara states that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai was actively involved in business for forty years. Undoubtedly, during those years, he understood all the deceptive tactics that an unscrupulous dealer may employ. Rabbi Yochanan then contemplated delivering a shiur that delved into the topic of honesty during commerce, drawing upon his own extensive experiences. This shiur would ensure that honest businessmen do not inadvertently commit fraud.

However, giving this lecture would reveal many deceitful practices. This left Rebbe Yochanon in a dilemma. If he delivered the lecture, dishonest people would learn new ways to trick their customers. On the other hand, if he refrained from delivering the discourse, fraudsters would claim, “The only reason these righteous people are honest is because they don’t know any other way. Surely, if they were as knowledgeable as we are about these deceptions, they would be the same criminals we are.” This weak attempt at self-justification would encourage the thieves to commit more crimes. They would argue that everyone, deep down, is as dishonest as they are. The lecture would dispel this notion, and show that although righteous people are indeed knowledgeable about acts of trickery, they remain honest.

The Mahrasha questions why Rabbe Yochanon Ben Zakai needed this last reason (to prevent criminals’ self-justification) to deliver the shiur. What was his original purpose? It was to ensure that honest businessmen could indeed be honest, as they might mistakenly err. They needed to learn what not to do in order to prevent unintentional fraud. However, the reason stated in the Gemara for delivering the shiur is that he wanted to show criminals that tzaddikim remain honest even though they are well versed in the art of deception. Why did he change his original reasoning?

The Ahavas Aisan explains that, at this point, Rabbe Yochanon Ben Zakai did not think that the possibility of honest merchants accidentally committing fraud was a significant issue. After all, if the merchant was trying to be honest, they probably wouldn’t fall into the pitfalls of fraud even accidentally. And even if they did err, the discrepancy would likely be minor. So, while there would be some benefit, it wasn’t a decisive reason.

After explaining Rabbe Yochanon’s dilemma, the Gemara wonders, “What did he do in the end? Did he give the shiur or not?”

Rav Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak says that he did. Rabbe Yochanon based his decision on the verse, (Hoshea 14:10) “For the ways of Hashem are straight, and the righteous will progress in them but the wicked will stumble in them.” Regardless of what any wicked thief might do with the knowledge he gained from the discourse, the shiur still needed to be delivered. Honesty and integrity are such important qualities that even an accidental slight mistake made by a tzaddik is a terrible occurrence. As the Ahavas Aisan pointed out, these mistakes will be rare; after all, we are discussing tzaddikim who are perfect in every other way. Yet, the Torah demands us to do our best, to be honest to an extreme, even avoiding unintentional slight errors in commerce.

The extent of the integrity the Torah demands of us can be further illustrated by a famous story mentioned by the Rashbam (Bava Basra 89a). According to the story, Rav Safra was reciting the Shema when a customer walked into his store. The customer offered to pay a certain price for an item that he wanted. Despite the potential financial gain, Rav Safra, committed to fulfilling the prayer without interruption, did not respond to the customer’s offer. The customer, misunderstanding Rav Safra’s silence as a lack of interest in the initial offer, proceeded to raise his offer multiple times. However, Rav Safra continued with his recitation of the Shema without acknowledging the customer’s increasing offers.

After finishing reciting the Shema, Rav Safra explained that he had already agreed to the initial price offered by the customer in his mind and would not break his internal commitment, even for a potentially lucrative profit. Despite the opportunity for personal gain, Rav Safra sold the item to the customer at the original offer price, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to honesty and integrity.

This story serves as a powerful example of the ethical standards upheld by individuals like Rav Safra, emphasizing the importance of honoring commitments, even those made solely in one’s mind. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch tells us that this story is not meant just to highlight how great Rav Safra was. Rather, the story is cited so that we may be inspired to emulate the honesty and integrity displayed by Rav Safra in our own lives.