כַּסְפּ֤וֹ ׀ לֹא־נָתַ֣ן בְּנֶשֶׁךְ֮ וְשֹׁ֥חַד עַל־נָקִ֗י לֹ֥א לָ֫קָ֥ח עֹֽשֵׂה־אֵ֑לֶּה לֹ֖א יִמּ֣וֹט לְעוֹלָֽם׃
yang tidak meminjamkan uangnya dengan memungut riba, dan tidak menerima suap terhadap orang yang tidak bersalah. Orang yang melakukan semuanya ini tidak akan goyah untuk selama-lamanya.
Kli Yakar
In the Torah portion of Emor (Leviticus 21:17), it will be explained, with God’s help, that any physical blemish is not so disqualifying in itself, but rather because it indicates some negative trait in the body, whether in animals or humans. Therefore, it is written which has a blemish, any evil thing, because the blemish indicates some evil thing as mentioned. For this reason, they were careful that the Sanhedrin [high court] members should be free from any blemish. Thus, they said: “Just as they were clean in righteousness, so were they clean from blemishes.” Why did they connect blemishes with righteousness? Certainly because one depends on the other.
And by way of allusion, we can say that we learn the unclear from the explicit. It is written here blemish, and it is written there And if there is a blemish in it, lame or blind (Deuteronomy 15:21) — just as there it refers to lameness or blindness, so too here. From this, derive also regarding the blemish that disqualifies one from the Sanhedrin: it refers to one who takes bribes, for this leads to blindness, and to the perversion of justice, for he limps on his thigh and his foot does not stand on level ground; rather he wavers between two opinions and he totters. As it is written and takes no bribe against the innocent; he who does these things shall never be moved (Psalms 15:5). This implies that one who takes bribes totters, and a lame person typically totters.
And by way of allusion, we can say that we learn the unclear from the explicit. It is written here blemish, and it is written there And if there is a blemish in it, lame or blind (Deuteronomy 15:21) — just as there it refers to lameness or blindness, so too here. From this, derive also regarding the blemish that disqualifies one from the Sanhedrin: it refers to one who takes bribes, for this leads to blindness, and to the perversion of justice, for he limps on his thigh and his foot does not stand on level ground; rather he wavers between two opinions and he totters. As it is written and takes no bribe against the innocent; he who does these things shall never be moved (Psalms 15:5). This implies that one who takes bribes totters, and a lame person typically totters.
Rabbeinu Bahya
לנכרי תשיך, “to the Gentile you may (or must) charge interest.” The prohibition of charging a Jewish borrower interest is at the same time a positive commandment to charge a Gentile interest on loans extended to him. Maimonides, in Hilchot malveh veloveh 5,1 rules that our verse is definitely a positive commandment, not merely permission to accept interest from a Gentile borrower. Others, such as Ibn Ezra, interpret our verse as merely granting permission to charge interest to Gentile borrowers. This statement is supposed to be similar to that of ששת ימים תעבוד, “during six days you are to work” (Exodus 20,9) which is a permission. The Torah permitted loans to Gentiles, and it permitted charging interest on those loans.
When the Talmud in Makkot 24 states that the words בספו לא נתן לנשך, “he has never lent money at interest” (Psalms 15,5) includes that the person referred to has not charged interest to a Gentile, this is not to be understood as a prohibition but is a voluntary restriction imposed upon himself by the lender. A person practicing such virtues will attain the spiritual level described as desirable in that psalm.
A statement by our sages in Baba Metzia 71 that it is forbidden to lend to a Gentile against excessive interest except if the lender was a Torah scholar, has to be understood against the following background. [The whole passage is strange, compare Rashi and Tossaphot. It is assumed that the Gentile had called the Jew “wicked,” had insulted him. Ed.]. Ordinary Jews may not charge an amount of interest which would reduce the income (net) of such a Gentile by more than a third. The restriction is designed to ensure that Jewish lenders do not learn bad habits from the Gentiles. Torah scholars are not presumed to copy such bad habits. When the Sifri writes that the words לנכרי תשיך are a positive commandment, the meaning is not that the Torah imposes an obligation on an Israelite to grant loans to, and to charge interest to Gentiles, but it addresses itself (obliquely) to the Israelite charging interest on a loan to a fellow Jew as also being guilty of violating a positive commandment, (not merely a negative commandment). The verse contrasts conduct vis-a-vis a Gentile with that towards an Israelite. The words “to a Gentile you must charge interest,” are a restatement of the prohibition not to do so to a fellow Israelite. It is something called לאו הבא מכלל עשה, “a negative commandment implied in a positive commandment.”
In a similar fashion we find that Sifri Re'ay 103 understands the commandment “these you may eat” dealing with permissible fish (Deut. 14,9) as meaning that all the fish not enumerated in that verse as possessing certain identifying marks such as fins and scales are forbidden for Jews to eat. The line: “these you may eat,” certainly does not mean: “these you must eat.” The Torah simply says that if we eat fish which do not have fins and scales we have violated a positive commandment called “these you may eat.” At the same time one has violated the negative commandment “these you must not eat,” which is appended to “all those which do not have, etc.” The same holds true for the commandment dealing with interest in our Parshah. Our sages interpret the words ולאחיך לו תשיך, “and to your brother you must not charge interest,“ as referring to people acting like your brother, i.e. including recent converts, people who have now become like your brother seeing they are bound by the same rules of conduct as your brothers. At the same time this phraseology excludes the descendants of Esau as, though they are biologically related, they do not adopt the rules of conduct of your brethren. Hence one may or must charge interest on loans made to Edomites. Although in Numbers 20,14 Moses had described the Jewish people as “your brothers,” when speaking to the Edomites, the legal status of these people changed after they demonstrated that they did not consider themselves as “brothers.” It became perfectly permissible to charge interest on loans to Edomites. There is a statement by the prophet Ovadiah 11 ”on that day when you stood aloof, when aliens carried off his goods, when foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were as one of them.” This underscores the point we just made.
The whole reason for the prohibition of charging interest is based on our obligation to keep fellow Jews alive, to relate to them with deeds of loving kindness seeing the Torah wrote וחי אחיך עמך, “ensure that your brother will be able to live alongside you” (Leviticus 25,36). No such directive exists concerning Gentiles. A Jew who has decided to practice idolatry is also not subject to the law not to charge interest on loans to him. Seeing that the Torah made it clear that such a person’s very body is unprotected by Biblical injunctions, his property is most certainly not protected by Torah law! We find confirmation of this in Avodah Zarah 26: “one may push drowning idolaters (Jews) down into the pit and one is not allowed to pull them up (in order to save their lives).” On the other hand, accepting loans from such people and paying interest on such loans is probably forbidden as opposed to natural born pagans. The reason is that the Jewish heretic was born with the obligation to conduct himself as Jew, whereas the same cannot be said of the natural born pagan. Our sages in Sifri Ha'azinu 308 interpret the word (Deut. 32,5) בניו מומם as meaning: “although they are blemished they are still His children;” in other words, loans accepted from such people are considered as loans extended by Jews. At the very least, if one accepts a loan from such a Jewish idolater one violates the negative commandment ולפני עור לא תתן מכשול, “do not place obstacles in the way of a blind person. “
When the Talmud in Makkot 24 states that the words בספו לא נתן לנשך, “he has never lent money at interest” (Psalms 15,5) includes that the person referred to has not charged interest to a Gentile, this is not to be understood as a prohibition but is a voluntary restriction imposed upon himself by the lender. A person practicing such virtues will attain the spiritual level described as desirable in that psalm.
A statement by our sages in Baba Metzia 71 that it is forbidden to lend to a Gentile against excessive interest except if the lender was a Torah scholar, has to be understood against the following background. [The whole passage is strange, compare Rashi and Tossaphot. It is assumed that the Gentile had called the Jew “wicked,” had insulted him. Ed.]. Ordinary Jews may not charge an amount of interest which would reduce the income (net) of such a Gentile by more than a third. The restriction is designed to ensure that Jewish lenders do not learn bad habits from the Gentiles. Torah scholars are not presumed to copy such bad habits. When the Sifri writes that the words לנכרי תשיך are a positive commandment, the meaning is not that the Torah imposes an obligation on an Israelite to grant loans to, and to charge interest to Gentiles, but it addresses itself (obliquely) to the Israelite charging interest on a loan to a fellow Jew as also being guilty of violating a positive commandment, (not merely a negative commandment). The verse contrasts conduct vis-a-vis a Gentile with that towards an Israelite. The words “to a Gentile you must charge interest,” are a restatement of the prohibition not to do so to a fellow Israelite. It is something called לאו הבא מכלל עשה, “a negative commandment implied in a positive commandment.”
In a similar fashion we find that Sifri Re'ay 103 understands the commandment “these you may eat” dealing with permissible fish (Deut. 14,9) as meaning that all the fish not enumerated in that verse as possessing certain identifying marks such as fins and scales are forbidden for Jews to eat. The line: “these you may eat,” certainly does not mean: “these you must eat.” The Torah simply says that if we eat fish which do not have fins and scales we have violated a positive commandment called “these you may eat.” At the same time one has violated the negative commandment “these you must not eat,” which is appended to “all those which do not have, etc.” The same holds true for the commandment dealing with interest in our Parshah. Our sages interpret the words ולאחיך לו תשיך, “and to your brother you must not charge interest,“ as referring to people acting like your brother, i.e. including recent converts, people who have now become like your brother seeing they are bound by the same rules of conduct as your brothers. At the same time this phraseology excludes the descendants of Esau as, though they are biologically related, they do not adopt the rules of conduct of your brethren. Hence one may or must charge interest on loans made to Edomites. Although in Numbers 20,14 Moses had described the Jewish people as “your brothers,” when speaking to the Edomites, the legal status of these people changed after they demonstrated that they did not consider themselves as “brothers.” It became perfectly permissible to charge interest on loans to Edomites. There is a statement by the prophet Ovadiah 11 ”on that day when you stood aloof, when aliens carried off his goods, when foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were as one of them.” This underscores the point we just made.
The whole reason for the prohibition of charging interest is based on our obligation to keep fellow Jews alive, to relate to them with deeds of loving kindness seeing the Torah wrote וחי אחיך עמך, “ensure that your brother will be able to live alongside you” (Leviticus 25,36). No such directive exists concerning Gentiles. A Jew who has decided to practice idolatry is also not subject to the law not to charge interest on loans to him. Seeing that the Torah made it clear that such a person’s very body is unprotected by Biblical injunctions, his property is most certainly not protected by Torah law! We find confirmation of this in Avodah Zarah 26: “one may push drowning idolaters (Jews) down into the pit and one is not allowed to pull them up (in order to save their lives).” On the other hand, accepting loans from such people and paying interest on such loans is probably forbidden as opposed to natural born pagans. The reason is that the Jewish heretic was born with the obligation to conduct himself as Jew, whereas the same cannot be said of the natural born pagan. Our sages in Sifri Ha'azinu 308 interpret the word (Deut. 32,5) בניו מומם as meaning: “although they are blemished they are still His children;” in other words, loans accepted from such people are considered as loans extended by Jews. At the very least, if one accepts a loan from such a Jewish idolater one violates the negative commandment ולפני עור לא תתן מכשול, “do not place obstacles in the way of a blind person. “
Rabbeinu Bahya
A Midrashic approach to our verse based on Shemot Rabbah 31,15. The words: “when you lend money to My people,” are a reminder that all of G’d’s creatures are constantly borrowing from each other as well as lending to one another. The day borrows from the night and the night borrows from the day. They did not need to resort to litigation on account of this, ever. This is the meaning of Psalms 19, 3-4: “Day to Day makes utterance, Night to Night speaks out; there is no utterance, there are no words whose sound goes unheard.” The moon borrows from the stars and the stars borrow from the moon; whenever G’d so desires He does not display either of them. This is the meaning of Job 9,7: “Who commands the sun not to shine; who seals up the stars.” Light borrows from the Sun and the Sun borrows from Light; this is the meaning of: “sun and moon stand still on high;” (Chabakuk 3,11). Wisdom borrows from Understanding, and Understanding borrows from Wisdom as we know from Proverbs 7,4: “Say to Wisdom “you are my sister and call Understanding a kinswoman.” Heaven borrows from Earth and Earth borrows from Heaven. This is the meaning of Deut. 28,12: “The Lord will open for you His bounteous store, the heavens, to provide rain for your land at its appropriate season.” His creatures borrow from each other and repay each other. Contrast this with the behaviour of man who lends only if he can swallow the borrower through charging him interest. This is why the psalmist described an upright individual, as someone “who does not lend his money by charging interest nor accepting bribes against the innocent” (Psalms 15,5).
Please note that anyone who is wealthy and who gives charity to the poor and does not charge interest on the loans he extends is considered as if he personally had kept all the recipients alive. This is what David meant when he said (Psalms 15,5) “he who does all these will never be shaken.” Who was an individual who fitted the description mentioned by the psalmist? This was Ovadiah, who was both wealthy and a supervisor of the treasury of King Achav, King of Israel. We read in Kings I 18,3: “Achav called Ovadiah who was in charge of his palace.” He was exceedingly wealthy, spending all his money on charitable deeds as we know from verse 13 in that same chapter in Kings where he told the prophet Elijah: “I have hidden one hundred of G’d’s prophets, fifty and fifty in two different caves each. I have supplied all of them with bread and water (food and drink).” When the famine decreed by Elijah materialized this man was forced to borrow from Yehoram, Achhav’s son, (paying him interest) in order to ensure the continued survival of these prophets. Actually, Ovadiah had not meant to pay the interest to Yehoram. This is the meaning of כספו לא נתן בנשך, “he did not give his money as interest”. Yehoram had a different idea, however. He had every intention of collecting the interest agreed upon. This is why G’d dispatched Yehu to kill him. This is the true meaning of (Kings II 9,24) “Yehu drew his bow and hit Yehoram between the shoulders so that the arrow pierced his heart and he collapsed in his chariot.” In this way we can understand the statement of Ezekiel 18,13: “he has lent at advanced interest or exacted accrued interest—shall he live?” To warn us of all this the Torah here exhorts us by writing: “when you lend money to My people you must not charge interest.”
An alternate approach (based on Shemot Rabbah 31,10) the unusual formulation in our verse where the Torah writes עמי, “My people,” is a hint that G’d considers the poor as “My people” by excellence. The word עמו “His people,” is found in Scripture repeatedly in reference to the poor. Examples: Isaiah 49,13 “for the Lord has comforted His people and has taken His afflicted ones in love.” Or, Isaiah 14,32: ”that Zion has been established by the Lord. In it the needy of His people shall find shelter.” It is a characteristic amongst people not to want to be saddled with poor relatives. This is what Proverbs 19,7 describes as: “all the brothers of a poor man hate him;” in chapter 14,20 Solomon expands on this further when he writes: “the poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends.” Contrast the way G’d relates to the poor. He is certainly wealthy as testified to by Chronicles I 29,12: “Riches and Honor are Yours to dispense; You have dominion over all.” Or, Chagai 2,8: “Silver is Mine and gold is Mine- says the Lord of Hosts.” Nonetheless He extends His cover and protection only to the poor as we know from Isaiah 14,32: “that Zion has been established by the Lord. In it the needy of His people shall find shelter.” This is the message of the verse commencing with the words: “when you lend money to My people.”
Please note that anyone who is wealthy and who gives charity to the poor and does not charge interest on the loans he extends is considered as if he personally had kept all the recipients alive. This is what David meant when he said (Psalms 15,5) “he who does all these will never be shaken.” Who was an individual who fitted the description mentioned by the psalmist? This was Ovadiah, who was both wealthy and a supervisor of the treasury of King Achav, King of Israel. We read in Kings I 18,3: “Achav called Ovadiah who was in charge of his palace.” He was exceedingly wealthy, spending all his money on charitable deeds as we know from verse 13 in that same chapter in Kings where he told the prophet Elijah: “I have hidden one hundred of G’d’s prophets, fifty and fifty in two different caves each. I have supplied all of them with bread and water (food and drink).” When the famine decreed by Elijah materialized this man was forced to borrow from Yehoram, Achhav’s son, (paying him interest) in order to ensure the continued survival of these prophets. Actually, Ovadiah had not meant to pay the interest to Yehoram. This is the meaning of כספו לא נתן בנשך, “he did not give his money as interest”. Yehoram had a different idea, however. He had every intention of collecting the interest agreed upon. This is why G’d dispatched Yehu to kill him. This is the true meaning of (Kings II 9,24) “Yehu drew his bow and hit Yehoram between the shoulders so that the arrow pierced his heart and he collapsed in his chariot.” In this way we can understand the statement of Ezekiel 18,13: “he has lent at advanced interest or exacted accrued interest—shall he live?” To warn us of all this the Torah here exhorts us by writing: “when you lend money to My people you must not charge interest.”
An alternate approach (based on Shemot Rabbah 31,10) the unusual formulation in our verse where the Torah writes עמי, “My people,” is a hint that G’d considers the poor as “My people” by excellence. The word עמו “His people,” is found in Scripture repeatedly in reference to the poor. Examples: Isaiah 49,13 “for the Lord has comforted His people and has taken His afflicted ones in love.” Or, Isaiah 14,32: ”that Zion has been established by the Lord. In it the needy of His people shall find shelter.” It is a characteristic amongst people not to want to be saddled with poor relatives. This is what Proverbs 19,7 describes as: “all the brothers of a poor man hate him;” in chapter 14,20 Solomon expands on this further when he writes: “the poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends.” Contrast the way G’d relates to the poor. He is certainly wealthy as testified to by Chronicles I 29,12: “Riches and Honor are Yours to dispense; You have dominion over all.” Or, Chagai 2,8: “Silver is Mine and gold is Mine- says the Lord of Hosts.” Nonetheless He extends His cover and protection only to the poor as we know from Isaiah 14,32: “that Zion has been established by the Lord. In it the needy of His people shall find shelter.” This is the message of the verse commencing with the words: “when you lend money to My people.”