והעריך הכהן אתה… (בחקותי כז:יב)

The Rebbetzin of Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin Ztz” once bought a large consignment of goods, and—as it was done in those days—a porter schlepped all the packages from the marketplace into the Diskin home. When the Rav arrived home in the evening and saw the stack of merchandise, he asked his wife how much she paid the porter for his efforts.

The Rebbetzin told her husband the sum she paid the worker, but the Rav was unhappy, as – in his view, she should have paid him more; Rabbi Yehoshua Leib retrieved an additional sum of money and sent it to the porter’s home without delay, as he wanted to keep to the Torah’s commandment of “ביומו תתן שכרו” (you shall give his wages on the day) and the negative commandment of “לא תלין פעולת שכיר עד בוקר” (you shall not allow a worker’s pay to wait for the morning).

The Rebbetzin could not understand why her husband was overpaying the worker – at least according to her estimate – and countered that the porter left their house in quite a happy mood, having been paid handsomely!  She turned to the Rov and asked how she knew the pay rate when she sat and read the holy Torah books all day. Why did she never spend time in the marketplace, where the porters’ wages are pretty well-known?

The Rav answered with a twinkle in his eyes: Am I telling you something new?! When a Yid gifts an animal to the Beis HaMikdash that cannot serve as an offering (e.g. an impure animal), we see in the Torah: ”והעמיד את הבהמה לפני הכהן, והעריך הכהן אותה” (and he shall present the animal to the Kohen, who will appraise it).  How would a Kohen know the value of a camel or a donkey?  Similarly, when it says ”ואיש כי יקדיש את ביתו קדש לשם והעריכו הכהן, כאשר יעריך אותו הכהן כן יקום” (and a man who will donate his house to be sanctified to HaShem and the Kohen should evaluate it.  The value that the Kohen will name, so it shall stand).  What does a Kohen know about the price of buildings or other assets?!  The answer is as follows: The Kohen is bestowed with heavenly assistance so that when he needs to assess these items of value, he is given the insight to name their actual worth.

The Rav finished his argument by saying that when it comes to the laws of paying a worker, it is a given that the guardians of Halacha—the Rabbi—are given special knowledge to know the correct amount owed to the worker, such as our porter.