daf bit: Bava Metzia 52

The talmud (and halacha in general) is very concerned about ona'ah, overreaching. This is the principle that prevents overcharging for goods, among other things. Today the discussion is about the value of coins. This discussion takes place in a time when coins (a) were not completely uniform and (b) were measured by actual value, as opposed to modern currency where your $1 bill isn't actually worth a dollar in materials, but it stands in for $1 in value. So we're talking about coins with intended value that might actually be a bit under.

When someone buys something with coins, and the coins were deficient, the mishna tells us that the seller is allowed to retract the sale if he acts quickly enough. And how quickly is that? In a town, it is until he can show the coins to a moneylender (who is an expert appraiser). In a village, which is assumed here to have no moneylenders, he has until the eve of the next Shabbat, because in buying what he needs for Shabbat he will find out the real value of the coins. All that said, a buyer who recognizes his coin is required to accept it back even after twelve months. (52a)

ADL: "never is now"

A friend sent me a link to this speech from the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League at a conference today. Excerpt:

And let me say this. There recently have been reports that the new Administration plans to force Muslim-Americans to register for some sort of master government list.

Look, Islamic extremism is a threat to us all. But as Jews, we know what it means to be registered and tagged, held out as different from our fellow citizens.

As Jews, we know the righteous and just response. All of us have heard the story of the Danish king who said if his country’s Jews had to wear a gold star…all of Denmark would too.

So I pledge to you right here and now, because I care about the fight against anti-Semitism, that if one day in these United States, if one day Muslim-Americans will be forced to register their identities, then that is the day that this proud Jew will register as a Muslim.

Because fighting prejudice against the marginalized is not just the fight of those minorities. It’s our fight. Just as the fight against anti-Semitism is not only the fight of us Jews. It’s everyone’s fight.

The rest is worth reading too.