Kommentar zu Bava Metzia 4:10

כְּשֵׁם שֶׁאוֹנָאָה בְמִקָּח וּמִמְכָּר, כָּךְ אוֹנָאָה בִדְבָרִים. לֹא יֹאמַר לוֹ בְּכַמָּה חֵפֶץ זֶה, וְהוּא אֵינוֹ רוֹצֶה לִקַּח. אִם הָיָה בַעַל תְּשׁוּבָה, לֹא יֹאמַר לוֹ זְכֹר מַעֲשֶׂיךָ הָרִאשׁוֹנִים. אִם הוּא בֶן גֵּרִים, לֹא יֹאמַר לוֹ זְכֹר מַעֲשֵׂה אֲבוֹתֶיךָ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות כב) וְגֵר לֹא תוֹנֶה וְלֹא תִלְחָצֶנּוּ:

So wie es Ona'ah beim Kaufen und Verkaufen gibt, so gibt es Ona'ah in Worten [es wird geschrieben (3. Mose 25:17): "Und du sollst dich nicht irren, ein Mann sein Gefährte, und du sollst dein G fürchten d. " Dies spricht von verbalem Unrecht, wobei die gute oder böse Absicht der eigenen Worte nicht offenkundig ist, sondern nur dem Sprecher bekannt ist.] Man sollte einen anderen nicht nach dem Preis eines Artikels fragen, wenn er nicht beabsichtigt, ihn zu kaufen. Wenn er ein Büßer wäre, sollte er ihm nicht sagen: "Erinnere dich an deine vergangenen Taten." Wenn er der Nachkomme von Proselyten wäre, sollte er nicht zu ihm sagen: "Erinnere dich an die Taten deiner Vorfahren", wie geschrieben steht (2. Mose 22, 20): "Und ein Fremder sollst du nicht falsch machen und ihn nicht unterdrücken." . "

Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Metzia

כל אונאה בדברים – as it is stated (Leviticus 25:17): “Do not wrong one another, but fear your God; [for I the LORD am Your God],” this is stated with regard to the wrong one does with words, for their goodness nor their evil is not given to be recognized other than in the heart of the person who speaks who knows if for evil he intended them or for good.

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English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Metzia

Just as the laws of fraud apply to buying and selling, so to do they apply to the spoken word. One may not say, “How much is this object?, if he does not wish to buy it. If one had repented, another should not say to him, “Remember your earlier deeds”. If one descended from converts, another should not say to him, “Remember the deeds of your ancestors”.
For it is said (Exodus 22:21), “And a stranger you shall not wrong or oppress.”
Just as a person can wrong another person by cheating him on a sale, so too can a person wrong another person through words. One may not ask someone how much something costs he doesn’t intend to buy it. This would raise false hopes for the seller. One may not remind a person who had repented of his former deeds. Nor may one remind a convert that his ancestors were idol worshippers. These laws are learned from a midrash on the verse in Exodus 22:21. The verse uses the word “ger” which in Biblical Hebrew means stranger but in Rabbinic Hebrew means convert. The word for “wrong” in this verse is the same word used in Leviticus 25:14 (see above) from where we learned the laws of fraud. The Rabbis extended the “wrong” mentioned in the verse to include even wrong done through words alone.

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