Комментарий к Шмот 22:25

אם חבל תחבל IF THOU TAKE TO PLEDGE — The root חבל never signifies “taking a pledge” at the time when the loan is transacted, but it means taking the goods of the debtor when the date of payment arrives and he does not pay (Bava Metzia 114b). [חבל תחבל — Scripture bids you take the pledge repeatedly — even many times (that is, repeatedly to defer the time of payment). The Holy One, blessed be He, says as it were: “How much do you owe Me! See, your soul ascends night by night to Me and renders account of its doing and so becomes My debtor, and should be kept as a pledge; and yet I return it to you every morning. Thus, too, you should do: take the pledge and restore it, take it again and again restore it!”) (Midrash Tanchuma, Mishpatim 16)].

אם חבול תחבול שלמת רעך, "If you take your neighbour's garment as a pledge, etc." The moral/ethical message of this verse may be to awaken a person in whose hand the garment of the king (G'd) has been entrusted. Proverbs 27,10 states: רעך ורעת אביך אל תעזב, "do not forsake your friend or the friend of your father." The person in question is supposed to relate to said garment in the manner described in Shabbat 152. The return of the soul to G'd is compared there to a king who had distributed Royal garments to his servants. The intelligent ones folded these garments and placed them in a chest for safe-keeping. The fools wore them and performed their daily routines while wearing them. When the day came when the king asked that his gaments be returned, the intelligent servants returned them in good condition, ironed, etc. The fools returned the garments soiled, crumpled, etc. The king rejoiced when he observed the care taken by his intelligent servants, while he was angry at the foolish servants. He sent the former back to their homes in peace whereas he made the fools spend a long time in jail while the garments were being cleaned. We have already explained that man's soul is part of G'd's light. The Psalmist describes G'd as garbed in light (Psalms 104,2). G'd ordered that if the item (soul) He had given man as a pledge had become soiled, i.e. that man had committed sins while "wearing" the soul, there would come a time when he has to return this pledge (i.e. his death, described in our verse as "sunset"). Psalms 90,3 speaks about "the soul returning to dust, or broken-hearted." Our sages in Kohelet Rabbah 2, understand the word דכא as the dismay of death; man was given an opportunity to repent until the day he died, i.e. until the day his sun set.

אם חבל תחבל, even when you take such a pledge with the approval of the court, (compare Deuteronomy 24,11 according to which even the official of the court overseeing such a procedure is not allowed into the house of the debtor, and the debtor must himself bring you such a pledge to serve as collateral) the pledge must not consist of chattels which the debtor cannot do without. All of these considerations are included in the words “do not be like creditor to him.”

אם חבול תחבול שלמת רעך עד בא השמש תשיבנו לו, “If you take your neighbour’s garment in pledge you must return it to him before the sun sets.” The verse speaks of a garment worn by day (Mechilta Nezikin 19). [The meaning is that if you took such a garment (as collateral, with the court’s approval) but during the day, you have to give it back and take it only after sunset when the owner does not need it. Ed.]
Shemot Rabbah 31,10 writes as follows on our verse: here the Torah describes the meaning of Jeremiah 6,30: “they are called ‘rejected silver,’ for the Lord rejected them.” You find that when the Israelites were exiled from Jerusalem that their captors led them in iron collars. Their enemies said: “their G’d has already despised them as He said concerning them that they are rejected silver.” Just as silver needs refinement before it can be trans-formed into usable vessels, and it has to be melted down and be refined again in order to make a different vessel out of it, eventually it will be used up and returned to the soil as it is of no further use, this is what happened to Israel who are of no further use.” As soon as Jeremiah heard this he exclaimed: “Have you then rejected Yehudah? Have You spurned Zion?” (Jeremiah 14,19) The matter is best explained by means of a parable. A king punished his wife, striking her; her friend said to him: ‘how long will you keep on hitting her? If you want to divorce her, go on striking her until she dies; if however, you intend to take her back eventually, why are you so exact in your demands of her?” The king replied: “even if my entire palace were nothing but a sword, I would still not divorce her.” This is what Jeremiah said to G’d: “If You want to divorce us, keep hitting us until our memory is wiped out.” This is what he meant with the words “Have you utterly despised us, etc.?” If not, why do You inflict punishments for which there is no cure?” G’d answered him: “I will not divorce Israel until the time comes when I will destroy My Universe.” This is what is reflected in the words of Jeremiah 31,37: “Thus said the Lord: ‘if the heavens above could be measured and the foundations below could be fathomed, only then would I reject all the offspring of Israel for all they have done- declares the Lord.’ In spite of their being wayward I have made a pledge to them when I said: “I will give My sanctuary to be amongst you.” Instead of reading the word משכני to mean “My sanctuary,” you can also read it to mean משכוני, “My pledge, My collateral.” This is what Bileam had in mind when he referred to the Tabernacle saying מה טובו אהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראל, “how goodly are your tents o Yaakov, your “pledges” o Israel” (Numbers 24,5). When the Tabernacle (Temple, Sanctuary) is in ruins its concept remains as the pledge that Israel is not permanently out of favour with its G’d. G’d, so to speak, said to Israel: “I do not offer you as a collateral, (captive) to the Gentiles because I love them but because your sins against Me.” This is what the prophet meant when he quoted G’d as saying: “where is the document of divorce of your mother whom I dismissed? And which of My creditors was it I sold you off to? You were only sold off for your sins, and your mother dismissed for your crimes.”
The Midrash continues elaborating on the words אם חבול תחבול, saying: “when the Israelites transgress the commandments I will sell them as two pledges. (this is a reference to the destruction of both the first and the second Temple). How long will they be in the pawnshop? עד בא השמש, “until the Messiah will arrive.” Of that Messiah it is written (Maleachi 3,20) “a sun of victory will shine to bring healing to those who revere My name.” It has also been written (Psalms 72,17) ”while the sun lasts may his name (Messiah) endure.” When that time arrives the Jewish people will be taken back by G’d as His “wife.” Thus far the Midrash.
It is well known that the people of Israel have been described as ריעים, “companions” of the Lord as we read in Psalms 122,8: “for the sake of My kin and friends.” The Holy Temple has been compared to G’d’s “mantle” (reading the word Shlomoh as Salmoh instead, i.e. with the letter ש having the dot on its left side). By the same token Solomon himself referred to the Temple as יריעות, (Song of Songs 1,5) a word which can mean either “draperies” or be a reference to this companionship we mentioned. Moses has referred to it asלבנון in Deut. 3,25 where he says: “this good mountain and the Lebanon.” Onkelos translates the word לבנון as בית מקדש, “the Holy Temple.” Yuma 39 understands the words “this good mountain” as a reference to Jerusalem whereas “Lebanon” is a reference to The Temple Mount and the Sanctuary.

But rather the security. . . from the borrower. This is why the verse says afterwards, “[you must return it to him] till sunset.” Whereas if you took it at the time of the loan, you need not return it.

V. 25. Es dürfte noch der Entscheidung bedürfen, in welchem Sinne der Begriff Pfand durch חבל, ursprünglich: Strick, seinen Ausdruck findet, ob, weil das Pfandobjekt "vinkuliert", für den Gläubiger gebunden bleibt, von dem Schuldner nicht zum Nachteil des Gläubigers veräußert werden kann, oder weil er selbst zum Mittel wird, den Schuldner dadurch zur Zahlung "gebunden zu halten". Ähnlich ist der andere Ausdruck für Pfand: עבוט, auch mit עבות, Strick, lautverwandt. Die näheren Bestimmungen des Pfändungsrechtes sind Dewarim 24, 6. 10 f. niedergelegt. Sie sind von der möglichsten Schonung der Persönlichkeit und der Achtung des Hausrechts diktiert. Hier heißt es: אם חבל תחבל, in welcher Weise du auch zu dem Pfand gekommen, selbst auf ganz gesetzliche Weise (B. M. 31 b). Der Begriff חבל setzt übrigens ein Einschreiten des Gläubigers voraus, der durch den Akt sich das Objekt oder den Schuldner "binden" will. Die hier folgende Bestimmung hat daher nur auf Pfändung für eine bereits erhaltene Schuld bezug, משכון שלא בשעת הלואה; übergibt der Schuldner im Momente des Darlehens ein Objekt zum Unterpfand, משכון בשעת הלואה, so ist der Gläubiger zu der hier gebotenen zeitweiligen Rückgabe nicht verpflichtet.

אם חבול תחבול, “if you will take a pledge,” (as a security for an overdue loan) the repetition of this verb is to tell the lender that the value of the pledge is not to exceed the value of the debt; G–d is telling the lender that he must remember how much he himself owes G–d at any given time. If he is conscious of that, He in turn, will remember this every evening when his soul rises to heaven and He restores that soul to him in the morning. If he fails to deal fairly with the borrower, G–d will remember this in His dealings with the lender and treat his soul as a pledge.

אם חבול תחבול, “if you have taken as a pledge,” (security for overdue loan) the pawn had been collected by the court’s messenger with the court’s permission. This is clear from Deuteronomy 24,11, where the Torah commands the creditor to remain outside the borrower’s house when collecting or returning it. This is an example of what has been discussed in verse 24: “do not treat him like a creditor.”

עד בא השמש תשיבנו לו RESTORE IT UNTO HIM TILL THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN — Restore it unto him for the whole day until the sun-set, and at night-fall you may take it again till the day-break of the next morning. Scripture speaks here of garment which is worn during the day and which is not required during the night (Bava Metzia 114b).

עד בא השמש , you may hold on to this garment only during the night when the wearer has no need for it. (based on Baba Metzia 114).

A garment worn by day. The Nachalas Yaakov explains: Since it is written [in the next verse], “With what shall he lie down?” it is obvious that it is referring to a garment worn by night. [Thus we might think that this verse, too, is the same.] And when it is written, “You must return it to him till sunset,” it means before sunset, as in the verse, “Before ( עד ) I came to you” (Bereishis 48:5). Or [it could mean] that till sunset the garment remains in your hand, and then you should return it to him. Therefore, Rashi [needed to] explain that it is referring to “a garment worn by day.” [Rashi knows this] since he explained in Parshas Ki Seitzei that “and he will lie down in his garment” (Devarim 24:13) [refers to a garment worn by night. Thus, this verse must refer] to a garment worn by day. And [here, following our verse,] it concludes: “With what shall he lie down?” to also include [various types of other] garments [and bedding] used at night. You might ask: What does the lender gain by taking the security from him, if he has to return it [every day]? The Gemara (Bava Metzia 114b) already answered: If he lends with a security, the shmittah year does not release the loan. Furthermore, [if the borrower dies,] the security will not be considered as moveable possessions of the orphans. Therefore these possesions cannot be collected by the creditor.

The reason the Torah repeated the words חבול תחבול, is that every Israelite has three levels of soul known in ascending order as נפש, רוח, נשמה. Our verse refers to all three levels of his soul. When the Torah speaks of אם חבול, it refers to the נשמה. The word תחבול refers to the רוח; whereas the words שלמת רעך refer to the נפש. The Torah repeats this division when it defines the nature of these respective levels of pledges, i.e. the words כי היא כסותה לבדו, "for that is his only covering," refer to the נשמה. The words היא שמלתו לעורו, "it is the garment of his skin," refer to the רוח level of man's soul; finally, the words במה ישכב, "wherein he shall sleep," refer to the נפש level of man's soul. The latter is the remnant of the soul which remains with man even while he is in the grave as we know from Job 14,22: ונפשו עליו תאבל, "and his soul will mourn him."

עד בא השמש וגו׳. Es ist wohl vorauszusetzen, daß חבל תחבל als ein gerichtlicher Akt, in der Regel am Tage vorgenommen war. Daher: wenn du am Tage das Kleid deines Schuldners als Pfand genommen, sollst du es ihm bis zum Sonnenuntergange wieder zurückgeben und es erst abends fortnehmen. Es ist klar, dass hier von כסות יום von einem Tagekleide die Rede ist. Vergleichen wir ohnehin die Stellen, in welchen שלמה vorkommt, so ist nicht eine, die entschieden an etwas anderes, als an ein "Kleidungsstück" denken lässt. Hierauf weist auch die Verwandtschaft mit צלם, die Figur, hin, somit ein der Menschenfigur angepasstes Kleid, während שמלה sowohl dieses als auch in den Stellen: Bereschit 9, 23; Dewarim 22, 17; Richter 8, 25; Sam. I. 21, 10 u. Prov. 30, 4 entschieden ein Tuch zum Zudecken, Einwickeln, ein Betttuch, somit ein Gewand überhaupt bedeutet. Darauf weist auch wohl סמל, womit שמלה verwandt ist, hin, das auch wohl mehr eine unvollkommene Darstellung einer Figur, so תמונת כל סמל, Dewarim 4, 16 bedeutet. Daher wird in der מכילתא das שמלתו לעורו des folgenden Verses als: Hemd erklärt. Wenn es daher in der korrespondierenden Stelle Dewarim 24, 13 ושכב בשלמתו und nicht בשמלתו heißt, so ist wohl darunter ein Nachtkleid, כסות לילה, zu verstehen, und nicht etwa ein Bettgewand, und wäre damit selbst die Rückgabe eines Nachtkleides für die Nacht zur Pflicht gemacht, obgleich das Bedürfnis nach einem solchen nicht so dringend erscheint, da ja ein sonst für den Tag bestimmtes Kleid auch zur Nachtbekleidung dienen kann. כסות und שמלה bezeichnen wohl die beiden Zwecke der Kleidung: schützende Bedeckung und Verhüllung des tierischen Leibes.

תשיבנו לו, “you have to restore it to him;” you may argue that if this is the procedure to be followed then the borrower can drag out repayment until the day he dies? We therefore have to understand this verse as follows: the agent of the court did not secure this pledge until after the loan had already become overdue, and he had handed it to the lender. The rule of restoring such a pledge for immediate use by the borrower is valid only for thirty days. This is the period that the court intervenes in the matter. When the thirty days have elapsed and the loan has not been repaid, the lender is entitled to sell this pledge.

The Torah goes on to say: "it will be if he cries out to Me;" here the Torah returned to the requirement to give back the soul to G'd in the condition it had been received and assures man that he does not need to despair. If he cries out to G'd, i.e. if he is truly penitent, ושמעתי, G'd assures him: "I will listen for I am gracious." G'd assures man that he will wipe out his sins.

The words: תשיבנו לו, “restore it to him,” the subject is the pledge, seeing that the word חבול is masculine.