Commento su Deuteronomio 23:20

לא תשיך implies a prohibition addressed to the borrower that he should not pay interest to the creditor (cf. Sifrei Devarim 262:1; Bava Metzia 75b) [and afterwards (Leviticus 25:37) follows the prohibition addressed to the creditor, “thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest”].

LO THASHICH³¹³The hiph’il form tashich is understood in a causative sense as meaning: “Thou shalt not cause thy brother to take interest.” See “The Commandments,” Vol. II, pp. 224-225. L’ACHICHA’ (THOU SHALT NOT CAUSE THY BROTHER TO TAKE INTEREST). This also is an explanatory commandment, adding here an admonition to the borrower as well, unlike all civil cases, for if a person wishes to damage his belongings he may do so [and it should, therefore, be permitted to the borrower to give freely to the lender]. However, because of the habitual nature of this sin [of giving interest], Scripture admonishes the borrower as well.³¹⁴In other words there is no need to admonish people against needlessly diminishing their fortunes through improvident gifts. But the paying of interest to a creditor is a common practice; therefore the Torah specified that the prohibition extends even to the borrower. And he explained here³¹⁵Verse 21. See Ramban above, 15:3. that a heathen’s interest is permissible. This he did not mention with reference to robbery and theft, as the Rabbis have said.³¹⁶Baba Kamma 113b. “Theft from a heathen is forbidden.” But borrowing for interest, which is agreed upon by both parties and is done voluntarily, was forbidden [by the Torah] only because of brotherliness and kindness, as He commanded, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,³¹⁷Leviticus 19:18. and as he said, Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart etc. [and thine eye be evil against thy needy brother, and thou give him nought].³¹⁸Above, 15:9. Therefore he said [here], that the Eternal thy G-d may bless thee,³¹⁹Verse 21. for it is an act of mercy and compassion that one does for his brother by lending him without interest, and it will be accounted to him for righteousness.³²⁰Genesis 15:6. The release of debts [in the Seventh year] is also an act of mercy among brothers, and therefore he said, Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it,³²¹Above, 15:3. and for him [who releases the debt of a brother] he designated a blessing,³²²See ibid., Verse 4. for Scripture mentions a blessing only in connection with charity and acts of mercy, and not for [the mere abstention from] robbery, theft, and fraud.
He mentions interest of money, interest of victuals³²³In Verse 20 before us. in order to explain that he who lends one measure of wheat for a measure and a half is [guilty of taking] true interest even if at the time of payment a measure and a half is not worth as much as was the one measure that he lent him. And he further explained, interest of any thing that is lent upon interest,³²³In Verse 20 before us. meaning even building-blocks and other articles which are lent. For it might occur to one to think that “interest” applies only to money with which everything can be purchased and to victuals which sustain life, but in other things we should go according to the cash value at the time of the loan and the repayment [therefore Scripture prohibited all such interest expressly]. Now our Rabbis have interpreted³²⁴Sifre, Ki Theitzei 263. See also Ramban above 15:3 where this subject is explained more fully. the verse, Unto a foreigner thou shalt lend upon interest³¹⁹Verse 21. as being a negative commandment derived from a positive commandment [which carries the force of a positive commandment] with respect to lending to an Israelite.³²⁵Thus one who lends money to an Israelite on interest violates both an explicit negative commandment that is inferred from a positive Scriptural statement, which has the same force as the positive commandment from which it is derived. This excludes the interpretation that there is a positive commandment that we are to lend a foreigner upon interest. [They rendered this interpretation] because the verse is redundant, for he already stated ‘lo thashich’ thy brother [which implies clearly that it is permitted to exact interest from a foreigner; why then the repetition, Unto a foreigner etc.? It was to teach that an interest-bearing loan to an Israelite is in violation of both a negative and a positive commandment].

לא תשיך לאחיך, after warning us concerning behaviour the result of which is G’d’s withdrawing His benevolent presence from the Jewish people, He cautions us concerning the acts of loving kindness which would ensure the continued presence of His Shechinah. Two major steps in that direction are: 1) not to charge a fellow Jew interest on a loan extended to him, 2) not to be tardy in discharging the obligations assumed when making a vow in favour of G’d. (verse 22) These include vows representing donations to charity which are due without delay, seeing that there is never a shortage of people in need who have to be supported by charity.
Then there is the subject of what a labourer may eat when he is surrounded by fruit belonging to his employer, as well as the matter of divorce, something that must not be given to a woman unless she has been guilty of a serious misdemeanour, i.e. ערות דבר. (24,1) A major reason for granting a divorce is the effort to prevent bastards from being born. No other reason is considered as valid to divorce one’s wife, the prophet Maleachi 2,14 reminding people that at least G’d will testify against the husband who dealt treacherously with the wife he married in his youth and now abandoned.
The loving kindness performed with a newly wed (betrothed) woman is that her husband is given a chance to fulfill the commandment of making his bride joyful during the first year of their marriage. (24,5). The prohibition against taking as a pledge, i.e. collateral for overdue debts, tools needed for the debtor to make his living, such as millstones is self-evident. (24,6) Precautions against potential hazards that could hurt many people, prohibition against kidnappers coupled with the death penalty is a preventive measure, i.e. an act of kindness designed to protect parents against their children becoming the victims of such “stealing.” The isolation of people afflicted with the skin disease known as tzoraat, is all too well known. It not only prods the victim to mend his asocial behaviour, but it protects society at the same time. Cautions against tale-bearing and other forms of abuse of the power of speech are acts of kindness in respect of the potential victims of such slander. Not muzzling an ox while he threshes, is a show of understanding for the ox’s feelings in helping to provide food for its owner while himself being denied that same food. Etc. Etc.

לא תשיך, according to the plain meaning the Torah speaks of the lender.

לא תשיך, ”do not let the lender, your brother, take interest.” We have been taught already (Leviticus 25,36-37) that we must not lend money at interest to fellow Jews, but here Moses warns the borrower not to allow his brother, the Jew to become guilty by accepting such interest from him. This is a dimension not found in other aspects dealing with laws involving money, etc. The Torah, ordinarily, does not use preventive legislation to stop people from causing themselves financial harm. Seeing, however, that the incidence of paying and accepting interest on loans is so widespread, the Torah made an exception in this instance. It went further in the definition of what is interest, writing:

לא תשיך לאחיך, “Do not pay interest to your brother.” This is a warning (prohibition) for the borrower not to pay interest for a loan received from a Jew. The corresponding prohibition for the lender not to charge interest on loans to Jews is found In Leviticus 25,37: “do not give him your money against interest.” The reason that interest is called נשך by the Torah is the verse in Kohelet 10,11 אם ישוך הנחש, “if the snake bites;” that it is something which “bites” the borrower. It is as poisonous as a snake bite, i.e. נחש. Just as the poison of the snake enters the victim and afflicts his various organs so agent chosen as punishment for this sin will attack the property of the lender as tit-for tat.
נשך כל דבר, “interest of any kind.” Even words could be understood as interest payments or charges. This is how the Talmud in Baba Metzia 75 describes it: “how do we know that if someone has extended a loan to his fellow, and the borrower had not been in the habit of greeting the lender when he saw him on the street, that it is forbidden for him to make a point of being the first one to extend a greeting to the lender? it says ‘interest of any kind.’” Even using words to ingratiate oneself with the lender is forbidden. It is an overriding rule concerning anything of direct or indirect benefit to the lender that it is forbidden for the borrower to do now that he is a debtor.

This prohibits the borrower. Otherwise it should have written לא תשך. [לא תשיך in the causative] implies that the borrower is causing the lender to extract interest from him.

V. 20. לא תשיך וגו׳ ist das Verbot an den לוה, den Anleiher, keinen Zins für Darlehen zu geben (B. M. 61 a u. 75 a). Es liegt dies in der הפעיל-Form נשך, im Kal eigentlich Beißen, heißt: Abbruch tun und bezeichnet das Zinsennehmen. Daher im Hiffil: Zinsen geben. Und zwar wird hier durch נשך כסף וגו׳ נשך כל דבר ׳וגו der Begriff Zinsen in weitester Ausdehnung gefaßt, so dass darunter eine jede Leistung verstanden wird, die der Schuldner dem Gläubiger infolge seines Darlehns zuwendet, so dass der Gläubiger sich von dem Schuldner als solchem auch keine Botschaft, keine Erkundigung etc. vermitteln lassen darf, יש רבית דברים לא יאמר לו דע כי (נ׳׳א אם) בא איש פלוני ממקום פלוני, ja sogar ein zuvorkommendes Grüßen des Gläubigers darunter begriffen wird, wenn sonst der Schuldner ihm gegenüber dies nicht zu tun gewöhnt war מנין לנושה בחברו מנה ואינו רגיל להקדים לו שלום שאסור להקדים לו שלום ת׳׳ל נשך כל דבר אשר ישך אפילו דבור אסור (B. M. 75 a).

לא תשיך לאחיך, “do not charge your brother interest on a loan.” (Brother=fellow Jew) In Leviticus 25,36 we read about this subject as applying to the poor even if he is a resident stranger. Here it is addressed only to fellow Jews, but includes wealthy Jews who are short of cash but not short of saleable assets. The reason that this verse appears here is that seeing we have been warned not to treat escaped gentile slaves unfairly, this does not include that we must extend loans to such people without charging interest.

נשך כסף, נשך אוכל, וגו', “regardless of whether such interest consists of actual money, or its equivalent such as food, etc.” The Torah is at pains to warn us that the concept of “interest” is not limited to the payment of cash, but includes any consideration that normally would not have been shown by the borrower to the lender had he not been in a position of owing money to the lender. Charging interest is not by itself something reprehensible, as one receives a compensation for services rendered. However, charging interest to a fellow Jew is denying that he is family, is one’s brother, and that is why the Torah keeps stressing the element אחיך, “who is your brother.” The Torah stresses that charging or paying interest when dealing with a gentile is in order, to tell us that this is a normal commercial transaction. It is not even remotely related to stealing or robbing, as it is freely given.

Wir haben bereits zu Schmot 22, 24 und Wajikra 25, 36 das Zinsverbot ausführlich beleuchtet. Wir haben erkannt, dass das jüdische Zinsverbot das Nehmen landesüblicher Zinsen keineswegs als ein dem Rechtsbegriff widerstreitendes Unrecht begreift, dass dasselbe vielmehr in den Kreis jener großen jüdisch gesetzlichen Bekenntnistaten gehört, durch welche, wie יובל ,שמיטה ,שביעית ,שבת, Gott als der eigentliche Eigentümer alles jüdischen Besitztums begriffen und bekannt wird. Wir haben die hervorragende Stellung des Zinsverbots und dessen bedeutungsschweren Folgen für den ganzen nationalen Verkehr anzudeuten versucht, den die Gründung Israels als "Gottes Volk" anzubahnen beabsichtigte. Wir haben auch bereits bemerkt, wie eben durch die beiden gesetzlichen Tatsachen, dass einerseits nicht nur das Zinsnehmen, sondern in ganz gleicher Schärfe auch das Zinsgeben verboten, und anderseits beides Nichtjuden gegenüber gestattet ist, das רבית-Verbot entschieden der allgemeinen Rechtssphäre enthoben und als große von Gott geforderte Bekenntnistat charakterisiert wird, ein Bekenntnis, dem ebenso das Zinsgeben wie das Zinsnehmen entgegensteht.

כל דבר אשר ישך, “anything that he may take as interest.” This includes any kinds of vessels, and other items that most people would never consider as representing interest when someone gives it to them. The Torah added these words to make sure we would not think that unless paid in hard cash it does not fall under the heading of “interest.” Cash, after all, is only a means to acquiring items that we need or want to possess. Hence it is not the actual cash that is the interest, but what this cash enables you to do with it.

Wir begreifen demnach auch, warum nicht nur ein wiederholtes Einschärfen des רבית-Verbotes, sondern ganz eigentlich die beiden charakteristischen Seiten desselben diesem Kompendium für die Niederlassung im Lande vorbehalten blieben. Beginnt doch eben mit dieser Niederlassung erst der eigentliche Geschäfts- und Volksverkehr, für welchen die Pflicht zum zinslosen Darlehen, insbesondere aber das Verbot jeglichen Darlehnzinses, von grundlegendster Bedeutung und jenen Geist zu pflegen geeignet sind, unter dessen Einfluss allein die sozialen Volksverhältnisse eine des Heiles und des göttlichen Segens würdige Gestaltung zu gewinnen vermögen.