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What’s so Bad about nominal interest?
Author: Rabbi Moshe Pruzansky
In this week’s parashah the Torah teaches us about the prohibition of charging another Jew interest (for a loan). The intricacies of this law encompass a myriad of scenarios and prohibit benefiting from even a few cents of interest. In fact, even if the borrower states explicitly and sincerely that he doesn’t mind being charged interest, it is still prohibited. This demonstrates the severity of this prohibition. Furthermore, at least six mitzvos are violated if one transgresses this single prohibition.
This begs the question: why is charging interest such a severe sin? Why is it that even if the amount of interest is trivial and the bor- rower doesn’t mind, it remains strictly prohibited? Interest doesn’t seem to be a cruelty. On the contrary; in today’s society, charging interest is normal and even beneficial. Ask anyone who recently got approved for a mortgage and they will express their happiness that a bank agreed to supply the full amount of cash necessary to pur- chase their home in exchange for monthly payments with nominal interest that can be paid over the course of many years. Additionally, if charging interest is indeed unfair or cruel, why is it that we are allowed to charge non-Jews interest? We are supposed to be a light unto the nations and surely we may not act unfairly or cruelly to any other human being.
Consider the following true story:
Mrs. rice was driving through Toowoomba, australia, on Monday to buy her children school uniforms during a terrible storm. With her two sons, Jordan (thirteen years old) and Blake (ten years old), in the car, their white Mercedes suddenly broke down in shallow flood water. as she tried in vain to restart it, the flood waters quickly rose. desperately, the mother of four called emergency services and was told to remain where she was. however, as the water continued to rise, Mrs. rice and her sons were forced to actually clamber onto the roof of their stranded vehicle.
It was then that passerby Warren McErlean and another man set out to rescue them, tying ropes around themselves. however, as the storm worsened, the water turned into a torrent and the rescuers themselves ran into trouble. Time was running out. The men quickly reached for one of the boys, Jordan, in order to save him. Jordan’s father later explained to reporters that Jordan could not swim and was terrified of water. however, Jordan turned down the rescuers and told them to save his brother, Blake, first. They explained that this was life and death, but he was adamant.
They carried Blake from the waters, but then, Jordan and his 43-year-old mother were swept off the roof by a sudden current and were carried away to their deaths. Jordan’s last action was to sacrifice his own life to save his little brother from certain death.*
A final true story:
About fifteen hours after a 4.7-magnitude earthquake struck the town of ascoli Piceno, in central Italy, firefighters were desper- ately searching for survivors among the ruins. Suddenly, a rescue dog signaled that he smelled something. Rescuers soon found a doll… and two young sisters caught in a life-saving embrace. Bishop Giovanni d’Ercole shared the story of Giulia and Giorgia during a funeral Mass for 35 of the 290 people killed in the earthquake.
“The older one, Giulia, was sprawled over and protecting her younger sister, Giorgia. Giulia, dead, Giorgia, alive. They were in an embrace,” d’Ercole said, according to news reports. Giulia was only nine years old when she gave her life to save her four-year-old sister.*
With this, we can understand a beautiful answer provided by Rav Shimon Schwab (Parashas Behar): In reality, charging nominal interest is neither cruel nor unfair. Why then is it so severely prohib- ited? This prohibition is not intended to forbid a particular action as much as it is intended to prohibit a particular mentality. Family will do just about anything to help family. Imagine that you have a sister with whom you are very close. Unfortunately, this sister is strug- gling financially, while you have plenty of money in the bank. When she approaches you and requests a loan to help her get through her tough situation, who in the world would even consider allowing her to pay back the loan with interest? even though it is normal to charge reasonable interest to a stranger, you would never consider doing so to a struggling family member. It is for this reason that the Torah prohibits charging one’s fellow Jew interest. These laws are intended to instill within us one crucial and vital understanding: all Jews are family. Not just “distant relative” family; rather, loyal and immediate family. It is for this reason that even the most nominal amount of interest is prohibited, regardless of whether or not the borrower minds — because family never charges family interest. Ever. It is also for this reason that it’s only prohibited to charge a Jew interest, for while we must always be kind and fair to non-Jews, we do not share a familial relationship with them.
The myriad of sensitive laws that prohibit charging a fellow Jew in- terest are intended to teach you just how far you must go to regard every Jew as your sibling and not just as a stranger who lives down the block. In fact, every interpersonal commandment is intended to drive this single lesson home. Indeed, when Hillel was asked to sum up the entire Torah in one sentence he answered: “That which you hate, don’t do to others,” an Aramaic paraphrase of the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Shabbos 31a and Maharsha ad loc.). Although how this command encapsulates the mitzvos between man and G-d requires an explanation, one thing is clear: the purpose of all interpersonal mitzvos is not simply to do kind acts for our fellow Jew. Rather, as demonstrated by Hillel’s words and the prohibition of charging interest, it is to strengthen and encourage genuine emo- tions of love and care for every Jew.
If we spend our lifetimes being scrupulous with interpersonal mitzvos in a passive manner, and never put effort into acquiring a true sense of love for every Jew, we have arguably not yet fulfilled even a single interpersonal mitzvah. Learning to relate to every Jew with the same non-judgmental, accepting, and caring manner as one does for a close sibling isn’t simply an “extra-credit” pursuit. Rather, it is the sole litmus test of whether or not you are succeed- ing in fulfilling the interpersonal mitzvos. While it may take a life- time to master, it is well worth the commitment of spending one’s lifetime to doing so. In the words of Hillel, someone who succeeds in this area has succeeded in fulfilling the entire Torah. This is no simple praise and is one that should earn our unwavering commitment to accomplish.