Last Shabbat, I had the pleasure of
delivering the drasha in shul for my son Kovi’s bar mitzvah. Although this week
is Parshat Bechukotai, I share with you a thought from Parshat Behar (which
often is connected as a double parsha).
אל תיקח
מאתו נשך ותרבות.... אני ה׳ אלקיכם אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצרים (כה:לו-לח)
The Torah warns us that when loaning money to
a fellow Jew, we may not charge interest (known as Ribis). Regardless of the
percentage, you cannot charge a penny more than the amount lent.
Chazal, in numerous places, discuss the
severity of one who violates this prohibition. Listed below are the exact
quotes - essentially the violator is
compared to one who denies the existence of G-d (quote #1), as if he committed
the most horrible of sins (quote #3), as one who will not receive his share in
Olam Haba (quote #4), as one who has given up the yoke of heaven (quote #5) and
as one who denies the reality of yetziat Mitzrayim (quote #6).
דברי
חז׳׳ל על איסור ריבית
1. כל המלוה בריבית כופר בעיקר (ירושלמי בבא מציאה ה:ח)
2. המלוה בריבית אין הקב׳׳ה נושא ונותן בדינו, אלא פוסק את דינו מיד
(תנחומא משפטים טו)
3. מי שנוטל ריבית מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו עשה את כל הרעות והעבירות
שבעולם (שמות רבה לא:יג)
4. וחי לא יחיה – אמר הקב׳׳ה מי שחי בריבית בעולם הזה לא יחיה לעולם הבא
(שמות רבה לא:ו)
5. אני ה׳ – מכאן אמרו כל המקבל עליו עול ריבית מקבל עול שמים, וכל הפורק
ממנו עול ריבית פורק ממנו עול שמים (תו׳׳כ כה)
6. אני ה׳ אלוקיכם אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצרים – על תנאי הוצאתי אתכם
מארץ מצרים, על תנאי שתקבלו את מצות ריבית, שכל המודה במצות ריבית מודה ביציאת
מצרים, וכל הכופר במצות ריבית כאילו כפר ביציאת מצרים (תו׳׳כ בהר)
Q: The
obvious question: what makes the prohibition of Ribis so crucial? Why is the
punishment so harsh? It is as if I deny G-d? As if I did all of the worst sins?
As if I deny the exodus from Mitzrayim? How are we to understand this?
The Malbim explains:
We find in this mitzvah the reality of Hashem, his presence and interaction in
this world, and how He took us out of Mitzrayim; who denies the mitzvah of
Ribis, denies all of this, for this mitzvah teaches us how to believe and have
trust in Hashem. For one who lends his money for free, shows his trust that
Hashem has given him enough money so he can afford to lend to others.
The Kli
Yakar adds the reason for the prohibition of Ribis is it removes our trust in
Hashem. One who does business with the recognition that it is the hand of
Hashem driving our success, and that we look to Him is increasing their level
of trust in Hashem. Equally, one who lends with Ribis has a fixed profit and is
not depending on Hashem to make his money. It is for this reason the mitzvah of
Ribis is put alongside the mitzvah of Shemita; another sign of our trust in
Hashem.
Trust in
Hashem is not some lofty ideal for only pious people of this generation.
Rather, it is an obligation of every Jew; it is sacred in the eyes of Hashem.
That is why Chazal provide harsh descriptions for one who lends with Ribis, and
doesn’t trust in G-d.
Let’s
explore the last question: If a person has issues with money and he
can’t forgo on charging his fellow Jew interest, does that mean that he denies
the historical fact of יציאת מצרים?
The Sefer
Sifsei Chaim quotes the Maharal who explains Ribis is an עול,
a yoke on a person because it is against his nature, and is more of a yoke than
any other mitzvah. Why? Because it is
beneficial for both parties to charge interest; the lender obviously has to
gain and the borrower would rather pay interest so he can receive the loan now.
Therefore, it is a challenging mitzvah, because it is so beneficial to everyone
involved. Therefore, when you lend money without charging interest, you are
going against your nature and that is why it is compared to מקבל עולו של הקב''ה,
accepting the yolk of heaven, and it is like you are fulfilling the entire
Torah. The opposite is also true. If you reject Ribis it is as if you reject עול
מלכות שמים וכופר בכל התורה כולה. This is because the entire Torah is an עול של
ה' and when you charge interest you reject the yoke of Hashem and
with that you are considered rejecting the yoke of mitzvot because all mitzvot
together = עולו של הקב''ה, the yoke of heaven.
So rejecting Ribis does not mean you reject the historical
facts of יציאת מצרים, but that is a rejection of the essence ofיציאת
מצרים. Because had you felt what יציאת מצרים
represents, then you would be prepared to accept the עול מצות in their completion, even mitzvot that you do
not understand, and that are against your nature.
These are the lessons we should all glean from this mitzvah:
1)
Rav Yisrael Salanter
explains our purpose in the world is to toil in fulfilling mitzvot and learning
Torah. It is a lifelong battle always trying to do what is expected of us. If
you are rich, are you using your money the way you should? If you are poor, how
are you responding? And so on… Our responsibility is to toil - the outcome is
not always what is important, rather it is our effort that matters most.
2) But this toil is not just in the areas of Mitzvot that are easy for us. We also have to toil in the areas that are harder for us and not in our nature to perform as well. G-d doesn’t want our natures to be serving Him, he wants US to serve Him. R’ Yisrael explains that is the problem with many people; they do what is easy for them or they do what they seem to understand, but if it is against their nature or they do not understand, they don’t do it, and rationalize why they don’t have to be concerned by it. But that is not serving Hashem! That is like serving your master half way.
2) But this toil is not just in the areas of Mitzvot that are easy for us. We also have to toil in the areas that are harder for us and not in our nature to perform as well. G-d doesn’t want our natures to be serving Him, he wants US to serve Him. R’ Yisrael explains that is the problem with many people; they do what is easy for them or they do what they seem to understand, but if it is against their nature or they do not understand, they don’t do it, and rationalize why they don’t have to be concerned by it. But that is not serving Hashem! That is like serving your master half way.
