ASK THE REBBE from the virtual desk of the OU Vebbe Rebbe Question: As far as I know, no one owes me money now. Do I need a pruzbol [a halachic device to prevent the end of Shmita from canceling debts]? Answer: You may not need a pruzbol, but it is probably worthwhile for you to make one (before Rosh Hashana). I don’t know your specific circumstances, so I will deal with likely issues. In addition to classic loans people give, many people are owed money by their employers. The basic rule is that Shmita does not cancel salary (Mishna, Shvi’it 10:1). The simplest explanation is that the laws of shmitat kesafim (canceling financial obligations) is unique to loans or very similar obligations, not to financial obligations of various sorts (see Rambam’s Commentary on the Mishna ad loc., Urim 67:30; Shut Chatam Sofer, Choshen Mishpat 50). The Beit Yosef (CM 67) brings a different explanation, which should, in theory, affect the halacha. He says that payment of accounts at the grocer and salaries are usually paid only after a long time, and are, therefore, like loans which are due after Shmita, which Shmita doesn’t affect (Shulchan Aruch, CM 67:17). According to his logic, it should follow that when the accounts or salary are clearly due, they should be subject to shmitat kesafim. However, there are strong questions on the Beit Yosef (see Urim and Chatam Sofer, ibid.) and even the Beit Yosef and those who accept his reasoning, bring the law of the Mishna in its plain form (see, for example, Yalkut Yosef, Shvi’it 24:20). It is important to point out that the Mishna says explicitly that once the sum of money is “raised up into a loan,” Shmita does cancel the obligation. The Rama (67:14) brings a couple of opinions as to what actions turn an account or salary into a loan, and the modern application is more complex than I can get into in this forum. Because of the possibility of forgotten loans, the complexity of the question of salaries and other possible issues, I suggest you make a pruzbol. For example, if you have an account in a Jewish owned bank, be aware that even with a heter iska, part of the deposited money is usually still categorized as a loan and needs a pruzbol. There is no bracha on pruzbol or other reason not to “covers one’s bases” and make one in any case. It is a relatively simple process, and your local rabbi should have forms available. “Ask the Rabbi” Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim, the weekly parsha sheet published by Eretz Hemdah. You can read this section or the entire Hemdat Yamim at
www.ou.org or www.eretzhemdah.org. If you would like to receive Hemdat Yamim by email, on a weekly basis, please send an email to
lists@eretzhemdah.org with the message:JoinHemdatya- Please leave the subject blank. REASON This is done to commemorate the sounding of the CHATZOTZ'ROT (trumpets) when Korbanot were offered on the Mizbei'ach in the Beit HaMikdash. The Bimah where the Torah is read is compared to the Mizbei'ach and the Torah is likened to Korbanot. REASON "Ever since the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, we have nothing to shield us, or remind HaShem to judge us favorably, like the Torah. The Torah is the foundation upon which we stand and it is what sustains our existence." [Ed. note: Maybe we can say it like this: The Shofar is the reminder, the call to heed the words of the Torah. It is therefore significant to have the Torahs around while we blow the Shofar.] The first "session" of Shofar blowing is called TEKI'OT D'M'YUSHAV (implying that one may sit for Shofar-blowing) despite the fact that generallythe congregation does stand for them. REASON Halacha permits the listeners to sit when this series of Shofar blasts is sounded. This is because the principal mitzva is to sound the Shofar during the BRACHOT of the Musaf prayer. Then the listeners are required to stand when hearing the Shofar, because they are praying the AMIDA. [Ed. note: The first set of Shofar blasts allows us to hear a "full set" of blasts at one time, thereby fulfilling the Torah's mitzva. The preferred situation of inter weaving the Shofar sounds with the Brachot of the Amida (during the repetition, and in some communities, also during the silent Amida) is spread over a longer period of time, and some individuals might not be able to be present in shul throughout. If one needs to leave shul during Musaf, because of not feeling well, or tending an infant, he/she will still have heard the 30 required blasts during the Teki'ot D'M'yushav.] Reproach in this harsh form addresses that part of us that fears G- d, fears sin, and fears punishment. Those fears are the main motivation for one's undertaking of the path to Repentance. But there is a flip side to the focus on the negative. Fourteen p'sukim earlier, we read: "And if you will listen to the Voice of G-d, your G-d, to preserve and do all of the mitzvot..., then you will have the upper hand vis-a-vis the nations of the world and all the blessings will come to you... because you listened to G-d." You are blessed in the city; you are blessed in the field; etc. MASHAL, to what is it comparable? To a child who misbehaved. The parent can say, because of what you did you will be punished. You will be sent to your room. You will be spanked. Etc. This is one way. Or, the parent can tell the child of the wonderful trip to the amusement park he will miss out on. And the picnic. And most importantly, he will miss out on the precious, close relationship with his parents. Some children are motivated to mend their ways by fear of the spank. Others are motivated by the (hopefully temporary) loss of good things. So too it is with us, the people of Israel. What motivates us to repent our sins. What puts us on the path to T'shuva. For some (and for a part in all of us) it is fear of sin and fear of punishment. But for some it is the higher form of motivation - Ahavat HaShem - love of G-d, that speaks so much more eloquently that the dreaded Tochacha. One more point. This "positive form of reproach" does not begin with chapter 28. Right at the beginning of the sedra we find the mitzva of Bikurim. It is a perfect example of the ideal state of the Jew - mitzva-observant, in Eretz Yisrael, with a Beit HaMikdash, with bountiful yield of the land, peace, tranquility, security...and joy in who and what he is. What greater reproach can we have to shame us and challenge us in a loving way to return to G-d and be privileged to all of G-d's promises. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, z’l, noted that the injunction, “Velakachta mireishit kol pri ha’adama” - ‘You should take from the first of every fruit of the ground’ - indicates that the farmer should select the very best of his fruit. Why should this be so? The Rebbe explains that offering the choice fruit to the Kohen is precisely reflective of the attitude to property that the Torah is trying to inculcate. By relinquishing his select products, the farmer is in fact acknowledging that the fruits for which he toiled so long are ultimately a function of Hashem’s beneficence and not of his own talents. After the ceremony, the Kohen can eat the choice fruits at his leisure. The Rebbe adds, however, that now the pilgrim also has the opportunity to eat his own fruit on the Temple Mount. And by thus emulating the Kohen, the farmer and his family have a chance to elevate themselves, as it were, to the higher level of priesthood. The Rebbe teaches us, in fact, that the art of serving Hashem is to know how to take advantage of all such opportunities to add kedusha in every aspect of our lives. Sincerely yours, Menachem Persoff, Director, Israel Center [The Ki Tavo Homepage]
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