{"id":10550,"date":"2007-02-15T22:55:00","date_gmt":"2007-02-15T22:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/production.ou.org\/life\/other\/mm_loans\/"},"modified":"2015-10-25T08:08:19","modified_gmt":"2015-10-25T13:08:19","slug":"mm_loans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/mm_loans\/","title":{"rendered":"Mishpatim: Commandment to Give Loans"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Torah specifically commands us to help our fellow man with free loans: \u201cIf you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, don\u2019t be like a creditor to him, don\u2019t impose interest on him. If you should pawn your fellow\u2019s garment, return it to him by nightfall.\u201d (Shemot 22:24-25)<\/span><\/p>\n

We might think that helping out a needy person with charity would be an even greater kindness, but our tradition clearly indicates the opposite. Giving a loan is considered a greater mitzva than giving charity, so much so that the Hebrew word for a free loan is a \u201cgemach\u201d \u2013 an acronym for \u201cgemilut chasadim\u201d, meaning \u201cgranting kindness\u201d. This linguistic identity points to a cultural reality, that giving a loan is the basic act of mutual aid in Judaism.<\/span><\/p>\n

This special importance is not only because the lender is getting no benefit from the loan. In fact, making a business partnership with a needy person, where there is an expectation of profit, is considered on an equal level with a loan. \u201cThe greatest level of charity, with nothing higher, is to strengthen the hand of a weakened Jew, giving him a present or a loan or starting a partnership, or giving him work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

(SA YD 249:6. While a present is also mentioned, the intention is not a hand-out but a normal present like those given among equals, where there is an expectation of reciprocation.)<\/span><\/p>\n

FAITH IN OUR FELLOW MAN<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

One reason we can identify why a loan is even more beneficial than a hand-out is that it indicates that the lender has faith in the borrower. In this way it provides not only material support but also moral support.<\/span><\/p>\n

This faith has two aspects. On the most basic level, giving a loan shows faith that the borrower is an honest person who won\u2019t disappear with the money. But a loan also shows the lender\u2019s faith that the borrower is a successful person \u2013 one who, though he has fallen on hard times, is sure to recoup his losses and find himself earning a respectable income. Very often the monetary difficulties caused by financial setbacks are the least of the problems. A few bad seasons in business or losing a job can cause a person to become discouraged about the future and lose hope. The encouragement provided by the lender\u2019s faith in the borrower may be even more important to the needy person than the money itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

A FELLOW, NOT A SLAVE<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

This aspect of encouragement is particularly evident in the various limitations on collecting a loan. The passage we cited states, \u201cDon\u2019t act like a creditor\u201d towards the borrower, meaning don\u2019t hound him for repayment if you know he can\u2019t pay. (Rashi.) Other limitations on collection include the rules which prevent collecting from possessions which are essential to the borrower\u2019s livelihood, including the following verse which indicates that we may not take the borrower\u2019s garment as a pledge unless we return it when he needs it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, in ancient times the borrower himself, or his family members, were themselves pledged to a loan and could be enslaved if a loan was not repaid (Melakhim II 4:1), and even today debtors may be put in prison for failing to repay a loan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such drastic collection measures contradict the idea of encouragement in two ways. First of all, if the loan has the effect of subjugating and demeaning the borrower, it will not be very successful in providing him with moral support.<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, if the lender has iron-clad guarantees that he will get his money back, then the loan is not much of a vote of confidence. But since the lender is limited in his ability to seize assets and can\u2019t \u201clien\u201d the borrower himself, his loan shows his confidence in the borrower\u2019s ability to improve his financial situation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course the halakha demands that the borrower do his best to be worthy of this confidence, and not make unnecessary expenditures or unjustified gifts which would prevent the lender from recouping his investment. Of such a borrower Scripture states, \u201cIt is a wicked borrower who doesn\u2019t repay.\u201d (Tehillim 37:21)<\/span><\/p>\n

Rabbi Asher Meir is the author of the book <\/span><\/i>Meaning in Mitzvot, distributed by Feldheim. The book provides insights into the inner meaning of our daily practices, following the order of the 221 chapters of the Kitzur Shulchan Arukh.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Torah specifically commands us to help our fellow man with free loans: \u201cIf you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, don\u2019t be like a creditor to him, don\u2019t impose interest on him. If you should pawn your fellow\u2019s garment, return it to him by nightfall.\u201d (Shemot 22:24-25) We might think<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":41611,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-torah","series-meaning-in-mitzvot"],"yoast_head":"\nMishpatim: Commandment to Give Loans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The word for a free loan is a \u201cgemach\u201d (short for \u201cgemilut chasadim) - granting kindness, indicating that giving a loan is the basic act of mutual aid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/mm_loans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mishpatim: Commandment to Give Loans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The word for a free loan is a \u201cgemach\u201d (short for \u201cgemilut chasadim) - granting kindness, indicating that giving a loan is the basic act of mutual aid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/mm_loans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-02-15T22:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-10-25T13:08:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/shutterstock_83745655.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"375\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Asher Meir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Asher Meir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/mm_loans\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/mm_loans\/\",\"name\":\"Mishpatim: Commandment to Give Loans\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/mm_loans\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/mm_loans\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/shutterstock_83745655.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2007-02-15T22:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-10-25T13:08:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/4c2f4ad1d72111dec1fdf83f0a909af9\"},\"description\":\"The word for a free loan is a \u201cgemach\u201d (short for \u201cgemilut chasadim) - granting kindness, indicating that giving a loan is the basic act of mutual aid\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/mm_loans\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/mm_loans\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/shutterstock_83745655.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/shutterstock_83745655.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":375},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/\",\"name\":\"OU Life\",\"description\":\"Everyday Jewish Living\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/4c2f4ad1d72111dec1fdf83f0a909af9\",\"name\":\"Asher Meir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0510faaa140f017ea10abbcd307dd7f96ad61b6976b05c887145d87bd1d3a4cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0510faaa140f017ea10abbcd307dd7f96ad61b6976b05c887145d87bd1d3a4cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Asher Meir\"},\"description\":\"Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir is one of the Jewish world's best-known lecturers and educators in the area of business ethics. 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