The prohibition against causing hurt and suffering (ona’at devarim)
5. The Sages warn especially against causing pain to one’s wife. A wife is more sensitive to her husband’s words and actions, and her tears and prayer rise straight to Heaven, so punishment may follow immediately.
**** Rav Rechumi studied under Rava in the city of Mechoza. He returned home once a year before Yom Kippur. Once, he was delayed and did not arrive at the appointed time. His wife sat at the entrance to their home and waited a long time. At one point, she felt deeply distressed, and a tear rolled down her cheek. At that moment, her husband was sitting on the roof of a house, studying. The ceiling collapsed, and Rav Rechumi died.
6. A customer who has no money at the moment (or simply does not intend to buy anything) should not ask about prices. Even if the customer does not ask the price but spends a long time looking at an item, the seller begins to think that he is interested in the merchandise and will feel upset if the customer declines to buy it.
If a seller or craftsman has been told that the discussion of an item is not motivated by an intention to purchase it, the prohibition is not violated. (Therefore, if you enter a store and explain that you want to compare prices in several stores, there is no violation.) You do not have to explain yourself to the seller if your questions and behavior make your true reason clear.
There is an opinion that one may not casually inquire about fees for services if the professional assumes that you genuinely intend to place an order or hire him, while you actually have no intention of doing so.
****Rav Dimi arrived in Babylonia from Eretz Yisrael, bringing fruit to sell. The head of the Babylonian community sent Rav Adda to him to determine how learned he really was. If he proved to be a true Torah scholar, then by law his goods would have to be purchased first. Because of a short delay caused by this meeting, all the fruit spoiled, and Rav Dimi came to tell Rav Yosef everything. He listened and replied: “The One Who did not delay in exacting retribution from the king of Edom will not delay in repaying those who have hurt you.” Before long, everyone learned that Rav Adda had died. Afterward, many blamed themselves for what had happened.