Yerushalmi Bava Metzia 6:1 ירושלמי בבא מציעא ו׳:א׳

MISHNAH: If somebody hired tradesmen¹Independent contractors. and they tricked one another²This Chapter is the continuation of Chapter Four. While in trade there is a notion of fair price, and overcharge or underpayment are reasons to annul the contract, there is no mechanism to establish fair rates for services (or labor wages, Chapter 7); the notions of overcharge or underpayment do not apply. In addition, a contract for services becomes final only with the start of work; before that time each party is in principle free to annul the contract at any moment. While this right is unalienable for workers (Halakhah 2), for contractors it is restricted to cases where no irreparable loss would be caused to the other party., they only have mutual complaints on one another³The injured party in general has no recourse in court. But if the injured party tells others about the bad treatment he received, it is no slander.. If somebody hired a donkey driver, or a teamster⁴Reading קרר “teamster” instead of קדר “potter”., carriage carriers⁵Reading with D. Hoffmann πορεῖο φόροι. [Cf. Greek πόρευμα “means of transportation or φέρετρον “bier, litter, frame” (E.G.)] {Musaphia reads περιφέραια “circumference, circle” and interprets as “curved trumpets”. Arukh explains “a kind of litter” without indicating an etymology Rashi: prepared wood to construct a litter, φορεῖον.}, or flute players for a bride or a burial, workers to bring his flax from the soaking pond, or anything in danger of being lost, if they reneged at a place where nobody is available⁶If the contractor had agreed to a certain price but then, when the employer was in a situation in which it was impossible for him to quickly find a replacement that would save him from a big loss, reneged on the contract and demanded a much higher price, he can either try to get a replacement at a much higher rate and then sue the original contractor for the difference, or he can agree to the exorbitant amount and then pay only the original rate with the blessing of the court., he hires at their expense or tricks them.

HALAKHAH: “If somebody hired tradesmen,” etc. ⁷The Babli has a completely different interpretation. What means, they tricked one another? Come, work for me for five large [coins]. It turned out it was work for ten large [coins]⁸The employer tricked the contractor.. You work for me a job which needs ten days. It turned out it was work for five days⁹The contractor tricked the employer.. What means, [they]¹⁰Reading of E, supported by Ran (Commentary to the Mishnah). L reads: The employer tricks them. Both statements apply. tricked the householder? Come, work for me with your colleagues {for ten large [coins]. It turned out it was work for five large [coins]⁹The contractor tricked the employer.. You work for me a job which needs five days.}¹⁰Reading of E, supported by Ran (Commentary to the Mishnah). L reads: The employer tricks them. Both statements apply. It turned out it was work for ten days⁸The employer tricked the contractor.. ¹¹Tosephta 7:1; Babli 76b.“When was this said; if the donkey drivers did not start yet. But if they went and did not find grain, or workers to weed and found the field flooded, he has to pay them for going and coming¹²In the Babli and in 2 out of 3 Tosephta sources: “their fee completely.”. But one cannot compare coming loaded with coming empty, or working with being idle, sitting in the shadow with sitting in the sun.¹³When it would spoil in transport.” Rebbi Ḥiyya the Elder hired donkey drivers to bring his flax. They went and found it wet¹³When it would spoil in transport.. (Rav)¹⁴The Tosephta and the Babli allow the employer to pay only for the actual work done, not the contract sum. said to him, go and pay them their full fee. He said to them, not that I would be obligated to pay you your fee but I, Ḥiyya, am handing it over to you¹⁵As a voluntary gift; by this declaration he barred himself from appealing to the court to get his money back and established practice to pay the full fee due..

¹¹Tosephta 7:1; Babli 76b.“When was this said? Before they started. But if he accepted to harvest a field for two tetradrachmas, harvested half and left half uncut, a garment to weave for two tetradrachmas, wove half and left half unwoven, one estimates for him. How does one estimate what he did? If what he did was worth six denar, he gives him a sela‘ or he has to finish his work¹⁶According to Rashi, the anonymous Tanna holds that a contractor, like a hired worker, has an unlimited right to stop his work. Therefore, the contractor is always paid what is due him; for half the contract work done he must be paid half the contract sum. Even if the replacement contractor will charge 6 denars for work specified in the original contract for a sela‘ or 4 denars, the additional costs are to be borne by the employer.. If it was worth a tetradrachma he gives him a tetradrachma; Rebbi Dosa says, one estimates what remains to be done¹⁷The Babli, 67a, explains that R. Dosa follows Mishnah 2 and restricts the unlimited right to leave work without notice to workers only. The contractor can only claim the difference between the contract sum and what was paid to his replacement.. If what remains to be done was worth three denar, he gives him a šeqel or he has to finish his work¹⁸This is difficult to understand. Instead of “3 denars”, in the Tosephta, the reading is “5 denars”, in the Babli “6 denars”. The Babli is clear: The contract sum was 8 denars. If the substitute contractor gets 6, the original one gets 2 denars, or one šeqel. S. Lieberman conjectures that in L the numeral was spelled out, as it is in E, and that שלשה was a copyist’s error for ששה, the Babli’s reading.. If it was a šeqel, he gives him a šeqel¹⁹This reading is confirmed by the Tosephta; the Babli reads as in the preceding sentence, “if a tetradrachma, he gives a tetradrachma.” M. Margalit in Pene Moshe (supported by D. Pardo, Ḥasde David) writes that in case the first contractor finished exactly half the job, he is paid the smaller of half the contract sum or the amount another contractor takes to finish the job. If that would be one šeqel, the original contractor also gets only one šeqel; since he broke the contract, the earlier obligation of his employer was abrogated..” Rebbi Ze‘ira in the name of Rav Ḥuna, Rebbi Bina, Rebbi Jeremiah²⁰The Babylonian. The statement is not mentioned in the Babli but is accepted by Maimonides. in the name of Rav: practice follows Rebbi Dosa.

¹¹Tosephta 7:1; Babli 76b.“When was this said? If nothing is in danger to be lost. But if it is in danger to be lost, he hires others on his account²¹In this case, the anonymous Tanna agrees with R. Dosa that the original contractor cannot claim more than the difference between the original contract sum and the amount paid to the second contractor. or tricks him and tells him, I contracted with you for one tetradrachma, I shall give you two. He takes from one and gives to the other.” Rebbi Ila said, only up to his wages²²If the substitute contractor charges more than the original amount, the defaulting contractor cannot be sued for the difference. (Babli 78a).. So far, only up to his wages for that day, or only up to his wages for that hour? ¹¹Tosephta 7:1; Babli 76b.“When was this said? At a place where no workers are ready to be hired. But if one saw that donkey drivers approached, or that he was unloading his ship in a port²³Greek λιμήν., he²⁴The first contractor can get out of the contract without penalty. “He” is the contractor,” “him” the employer. may tell him, go and hire yourself one of these; he only has a complaint on him.”