Baba Basra 5:10-11

Baba Basra 5:10

A wholesaler must clean his measuring utensils once every 30 days (to ensure honest measures) and a homeowner must do so once every 12 months. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says that the opposite is true (because a wholesaler’s measuring utensils are in constant use). A shopkeeper must clean his measuring utensils twice a week, polish them once a week, and clean his scales before each use.

Baba Basra 5:11

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says that the rules about cleaning the measuring utensils apply when they are used with liquids but not when they are used for dry measures. The seller must allow the produce that he is weighing to sink a handbreadth (about three inches) lower than the scale’s weights (when purchasing in a sufficiently large quantity). If the scales balance exactly, then the seller must give the buyer additions: 10% for a liquid and 5% for dry measures. In a place where the practice is to measure in small increments, one may not use large; with large increments, one may not use small. In a place where the practice is to smooth the measure, one may not heap; where the practice is to heap, one may not smooth.