BS” D
INTEREST
INTRIGUE: PARSHAT BEHAR
Shira Smiles shiur
2009/5779
Adapted by Channie
Koplowitz Stein
Parshat Behar includes the prohibition against
charging a fellow Jew or paying interest on a loan to a fellow Jew. One would
think that it is illogical to expect someone to forgo earning interest when one
could make a profit by investing that same money in other ways. Yet we are
commanded against this practice and, as if to emphasize this point, the verse
concludes with “I am Hashem.”
Understanding the difficulty that may be posed in
observing this mitzvah, (especially if substantial sums are involved), the Ner
Uziel points out that the Torah does allow for circumstances that would
permit charging interest. First, if the loan in any way helps start or support
a person’s business, one may construct the loan as a business investment,
becoming a partner and sharing in the profits. [Rav S. R. Hirsch makes a
wonderful observation in Exodus 22:24 where the prohibition is first
introduced. He writes that with this law, a partnership between labor and
capital is introduced wherein both the lender and the borrower can both prosper
from otherwise idle money, and where labor is valued as highly as capital,
creating a more equal and harmonious society. CKS] Another option a lender
might employ is using a non Jew as a middleman. The Jew would lend his money to
the gentile from whom he is permitted to charge interest and who in turn may
charge a Jew interest on the forwarded loan. Nevertheless, when one encounters
a truly impoverished Jew, one should not seek out loopholes, but should lend
his brother whatever he can to support him.
While a superficial reading of this law seems to imply
that it is more relevant to men, it is extremely applicable to everyone, women
and teenagers as well, and the intricacies can be extremely complex. When a
woman “borrows” some eggs to complete her recipe, for example, is she returning
the same grade and size eggs, not just the number of eggs? When one pays his
babysitter late, may he round up the charges as a late payment? The list goes
on and on. Therefore, Rav Pam explains that the first question we will be asked
in heaven is, “Did you conduct all your dealings faithfully,” followed by, “Did
you schedule time for Torah study?” Because one can observe these laws
correctly only by studying them with appropriate sources.
Interestingly, we will not be asked if we conducted
our business honestly, but if we conducted our business faithfully. With this,
Rav Dovid Hofstedter connects our business dealings to our faith in Hakodosh
Boruch Hu, for if we have full faith in Hashem, we would base our dealings on
the knowledge that our success or failure depends on Him, not on the cleverness
of our own business acumen. In fact, dealing dishonestly, with false and
inaccurate weights and measures for example, is such an abomination that it is
even compared to avodah zarah/worship of false gods. In fact, Rav
Hofstedter continues, the source for both dishonesty and avodah zarah is
the same, a belief that God is no longer involved in the world and therefore I,
the individual, must take all necessary action. Instead, you must understand
that you are the trustee of any wealth Hashem has bestowed upon you, and you
must be a faithful trustee.
The connection between charging interest on a loan and
the passages that precedes it about shemitah and yovel, those
times we are not permitted to work the land, then becomes very clear. Only with
full faith that Hashem will provide can a farmer refrain from working his field
not only one year, as in shemitah, but two consecutive years, as in yovel.
Faith will also give a businessman the support he needs to help a fellow Jew
earn a livelihood even it it means his friend’s business will compete with his
own. As we practice these laws prohibiting interest, our faith in Hashem is
strengthened and we train ourselves in honesty.
Conversely, writes Rabbi Kofman z”l in Mishchat
Hashemen, citing the Kli Yakar, charging our fellow Jew interest
erodes our faith in Hakodosh Boruch Hu. We are relying on another person to
give us a profit on our money and we also anticipate the profit as already in
our hands. That the Torah then links this mitzvah to Hashem Who took us out of
Egypt emphasizes the point that Hashem can provide for us in supernatural ways
just as our redemption from Egypt was supernatural.
Rabbi Kofman z”lcites the Baal Haturim that Neshech/charging
interest on a loan is equal numerically to zeh nachash/this is [like a]
snake who gets its power from its neshech/bite. The snake sinned by
turning Adam and Chavah away from Hashem, and so the snake would be punished by
biting the ubiquitous dust for food so that he would never have to turn to
Hashem, and Hashem would never hear from him.
Not charging our fellow Jew interest is a
demonstration of our belief of Hashem’s hashgachah protis/personal
guidance over each of us. It is this concept that the Men of the Great Assembly
emphasized by writing only one of the morning blessings in the singular,
“Blessed are You Hashem… Who has provided me my every need.” Charging
interest undermines this belief and our relationship with Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
The idea that Hashem is always with us and guarding us and that we can rely on
Him should be a constant thought in our minds.
But, cautions Rabbi Druck z”l, do not use this idea to
lecture someone coming to you for help. As a matter of fact, Rabbi Pam z”l
suggests that Hashem may have given the poor man his achy bones or his lazy
nature as part of His plan to keep this man poor as part of this man’s mission.
Your first obligation is to help him.
The verses state, “If your brother becomes
impoverished… strengthen him so he can live with you. Do not take from him
interest… and let your brother live with you.” There is an emphasis here on
your brother and on his living with you. Rav Reiss in Meirosh Tzurim
sees in this a partnership that Hashem has created between the rich and the
poor. Hashem has sent the poor man to you because Hashem has given you the
means to help him. The fortunes may change at any time. And the ability to help
another applies not only with money, but also with advice, emotional support,
or any other way that helps another.
We live in a post-prophecy era, a time when Hashem’s
“face” is hidden from us. Yet, although He is hidden, He is still present, and
sometimes we can actually sense the Divine hand orchestrating events in our
lives, writes the Tolna Rebbe, citing the Chazon Ish z”l. Our job is to
respond appropriately as witnesses to His presence, and not ascribe events to
coincidence. We may not recognize Hashem’s guidance until years later, when
more pieces of the puzzle are in place. For example, Rebbetzin Smiles spent her
first few years with her family in Dayton, Ohio. At that time, Dayton’s
Orthodox Jewish community was very small with very few opportunities for a
proper Jewish education. Shira’s parents made the decision to move to the New
York area where the children would receive a more intense Jewish education.
Rebbetzin Smiles credits that move about fifty years ago with her current
ability to impact so many other lives with her Torah teaching and shiurim. [May
Hashem give Rebbetzin Smiles many more years of health to continue this work,
and may the Torah she teaches be a credit and joy to her parents. CKS]
We may not understand why we may not charge interest,
writes the Sifsei Chaim citing the Maharal, but this too is part
of our accepting “the yoke of Heaven”. After all, we were redeemed from the
yoke of the Egyptians so that we would be free to serve Hashem.
Rav Reiss gives an interesting psychological
perspective to this prohibition. We as human beings have a tendency to be
egocentric, to ask ourselves, “What’s in it for me?” This prohibition trains us
to take our attention off ourselves and think of others. This may be easier if we
think of the other as our brother rather than as our friend, as the Torah
writes it, writes Rabbi Wolbe zt”l. Hashem knows our intention. Are we
giving selflessly, or are we giving for profit, for rewards of recognition or
other benefit? This too may be a form of interest.
We’ve already noted some often overlooked ways we may
transgress the prohibition of charging or receiving interest, such as how we
ask for a cup of sugar or an onion from a neighbor, and how we pay our
employees. Rabbi Reissman’s manual on this topic exemplifies how complex these
laws are. Even overstating a thank you may be construed as giving interest
beyond the normal “rate”. So what about refilling the gas in a car you’ve
borrowed? Interestingly, you’ve borrowed (or rented) the car, not the gas from
a friend. The law may be different if renting a car from a Jewish company who
monitors the gas when you return it.
These laws, as intricate as they are, help us be
careful in all our relationships, in our trust and faith in Hakodosh Boruch Hu,
in our interactions with others, and in keeping our own egos in check so that
we may continue to grow spiritually.