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Is there any problem with lifnei iver (giving bad information) in having an inaccurate clock that someone else will look at?

I'll examine a few cases here.

  1. The clock is a few minutes off. I don't think this is a problem -- people who need super accurate clocks will have their own (rocket scientists).
  2. The clock is totally dead, not moving at all. It should be clear enough after a minute or two that the clock is dead.
  3. Clock is moving slowly. Say, it only changes one minute every two minutes. This is probably harder to notice at first.
  4. Clock is totally off. It keeps time alright, but is 3 hours and 10 minutes slow.

A related case: is rounding to the nearest round number related to any of these?

msh210
  • 73,729
  • 12
  • 120
  • 359
Scimonster
  • 23,124
  • 4
  • 55
  • 127
  • 8
    If you have two clocks, does it violate having two sets of weights? – Charles Koppelman Dec 29 '14 at 20:31
  • @CharlesKoppelman, if so, I'm sure that we're all chayav. – Noach MiFrankfurt Dec 29 '14 at 20:34
  • @NoachmiFrankfurt what if you're a lawyer or consultant or another person who charges by the hour/six-minute? Maybe this is a new question, but not one I'm sufficiently interested in to ask. – Charles Koppelman Dec 29 '14 at 20:37
  • @Charles, I think you're right, that should be a separate question. – Noach MiFrankfurt Dec 29 '14 at 20:42
  • related on the second case: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/16883/is-the-passage-describing-an-approximation-of-pi-or-is-it-one-of-the-miracles-of – Charles Koppelman Dec 29 '14 at 20:42
  • Could #3 be part of the separate issur of having inaccurate weights? – Clint Eastwood Dec 30 '14 at 00:30
  • I think that much of this depends on intention to mislead. Offhand - 1 doesn't sound intentional. Many clocks are off a few mins. #2 - depends why and when it went dead - even if it's that way for a year, it could be hard to change the battery. Also, the other person would realize it's dead, so I don't think this is misleading. #3 - might be lifnei iver, if the owner knows of the problem. #4 sounds like like a most definite case of lifnei iver. Sounds like the owner was trying to play a trick, as this is not easy to notice. Again, depends mainly on owner's intention to damage, I think. – DanF Dec 30 '14 at 04:10
  • "Clock is moving slowly. Say, it only changes one minute every two minutes. This is probably harder to notice at first." At first, yeah, but after a few minutes it'll be readily apparent. Maybe running at 95% rather than 50% of true speed would be a better example. – msh210 Dec 30 '14 at 07:34
  • @ClintEastwood Actually, that would ONLY be a problem if the clocks were explicitly used for commercial purposes, just like the scales and weights mentioned in the possuk - the Torah doesn't assur you from misrepresenting your ability to benchpress, it prohibits engaging in deceptive business practices. – Isaac Kotlicky Jun 29 '15 at 13:46

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