A Borrower and a Lender Thou Shalt Be - Mishpatim 5786

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“Neither a borrower nor a lender be...” So wrote a world famous antisemitic writer, whom many consider a voice for morality.  His reasoning is that this way you will not lose friendships.  


Contrast that with what is written in this week’s Parsha, Mishpatim.  “Im kesef talveh et ami.”  The words “kesef talve” mean “you will lend money.”  What about the first word, “Im?”  Generally the word “im” is translated as “if.”  Using that translation, the words would mean “if you lend money to my people.”  But the Talmud tells us, and Rashi quotes this, that in a few places in the Torah the word “im” means “when,” and this is one of them.  As Rashi says: “Rabbi Yishmael says: Every instance of “im” written in the Torah regarding a commandment means “if” and signifies that the commandment is optional, except for three cases where “im” means “when,” as the commandment is obligatory, and this is one of them.  (The others are: “When you bring an offering of first fruits,” and “When there will be a Yovel (Jubilee) year.”


So the translation of the verse is: “When you lend money to My people, to the poor person with you, you must not act toward him like a creditor. You may not charge him interest.”  Lending money is not only a good idea.  It is a Torah value of the highest order.  Not just to lend money, but to do it interest free.  


In addition, there is the way we treat the borrower.  “Do not act toward him like a creditor” means that if a person is having difficulty repaying the loan, we may not harass him, and we must go out of our way to ensure he does not feel shamed.  Taking a step further, Rashi explains the words “the poor person with you,” to mean that you should consider yourself the poor person, on the same level as the borrower.


This is one of the highest values in Judaism.  It is referred to as Gemilut Chassadim - giving of kindness.  Rambam lists eight levels of Tzedakah, one greater than the other.  The highest is to help a person on his feet before he has reached the point of needing to beg.  One of the ways to do that is with a loan.  There is an acronym for Gemilut Chassadim - Gemach.  Every Jewish community has historically had a “Gemach fund” to lend money, interest free, to people who need it.  


How is it possible for a lender to consider himself equal to the borrower?  How is it fair to ask a lender not to accept interest for his money?  (I mean him or her.)  The truth is that if I think of my money as mine, earned through my hard work, it is very difficult to feel that way.  But we recognize that our money is a blessing from Hashem.  Yes, we work hard for it, but it is Hashem’s blessings that make us succeed.  Just like the farmer who ploughs and weeds and plants seeds, and Hashem brings the rain that makes them grow.


Lending money is an important component of this faith.  I am lending not because I am richer or better or to control others.  I am fulfilling Hashem’s commandment to help another step up and succeed.  For me to live a full, rich life, I need to do acts of kindness.  In this sense, the borrower is giving me the ability to live up to my spiritual potential.  So in reality the borrower is enriching my life, just as I am helping to enrich his.


There is a saying: “Hashem does not remain in debt.”  When we lend with the above attitude, we realize that by following Hashem’s path and doing Gemilut Chasadim, we are actually lending to Hashem, and He will repay us in many ways, spiritual and material.  


Tzedakah is one of the ways to bring Moshiach closer.  So lending money, when necessary and when you have the means, is actually also bringing redemption to the world.

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