LEV1057 (As for the scriptural expression, "with you", this can be explained by reference to the verse [Proverbs 22:2]: "the rich and the poor meet together; God is the Maker of them all," as expounded by Chazal. "When the poor approaches the rich and says, 'Support me,' then if the latter does support him, well and good. If not, (God is the Maker of them all'--He who made this one rich can make him poor…" so when a poor person approaches you, you should imagine that you yourself have become financially unstable, since, if you do not help him, your security too, might, God forbid, collapse. If, however, you help him to stabilize his position, both of you will live and endure. This is the meaning of "and he shall live with you.") Now if God grants the beneficiary some profit through this loan and he earns a livelihood for his household and himself, then God will regard the lender as having preserved the life of the borrower and his family. So we have explained previously on the authority of the Midrash.

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LEV1063 There are usually numerous people involved in any business deal or loan transaction. If interest is charged in the loan, Jewish law is violated [Exodus 22:24 and this verse]. Therefore, in such a business loan, says the Talmud, not only has the actual loaner sinned, but all the parties involved have as well, including the guarantors, witnesses, and scribes, and all have violated "placing a stumbling block" by enabling the sin of interest being charged. Tosafot (Tosafot commentary, "Minayin" on Avodah Zarah 6b) says that this prohibition against enabling a sin applies to all sins in the Torah, not only the ones cited in the Talmud. By actively helping or enabling any person to sin, you violate the Torah prohibition of "placing a stumbling block," even when the sinner is clearly aware of this sin. Certainly, any inciter or initiator of sin, even with the full knowledge of the sinner, would also violate this prohibition.

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LEV1061 See [[LEV1074]] Leviticus 25:37 usury CCCBM 147

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LEV1064 Usury and interest are prohibited by a negative commandment, as the pasuk says [this verse], "Do not take from him usury and interest" (the two terms used in this verse, נשך and תרבית ("usury and interest"), are synonymous; the Torah mentions both to prohibit this offence with two negative commandments (Rashi)), and it can be rectified by [fulfilling] a positive commandment, as the pasuk continues (ibid.), "and let your brother live with you." What this means is: if you have taken from another usury and interest, you must return it to him so that he may live with you (See Bava Metzia 62a). As long as one has not rectified his corruption, the punishment awaiting him is very severe -- he will not be included in the resurrection of the dead, as the pasuk says (Yechezkel 18:13), "He has given with usury and taken interest--should he live? He shall not live!" Our Sages, z"l, have said (Pirkei d'Rabi Eliezer 33) that ["He shall not live!"] refers to the resurrection of the dead, because one who lends with usury and interest is not penalized with the death penalty (I.e., not even death administered by Heaven. Thus, the pasuk must mean, "He shall not live with the resurrection of the dead.") Our Sages, z"l, also said (Shemos Rabbah 31:14) that one who possesses the sin of interest, the defending angel will not put in a favorable plea on his behalf. This is the implication of "should he live?" as a rhetorical question: Is there a defender who will say that he has the right to live?! They will all respond: "He shall not live!"

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LEV1059 See [[EXOD694]] Exodus 22:24 interest HTBAJ 216

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LEV1062 The Torah frequently acknowledges the multiethnic nature of Israelite society, using the terms ger, zar, and nokhri for strangers or foreigners. In legal texts, ger is the most common and refers to the non-Israelites who continue to live in the land of Israel after the conquest; they appear mostly as landless recipients of charity (Exodus 22:20, Deuteronomy 10:18–19). The nokhri is a person who is not ethnically Israelite, perhaps visiting Israel from a foreign land (Deuteronomy 15:3, 17:15), while the term zar in its technical sense refers to someone who is not necessarily an ethnic stranger but is not a member of a specific category, the priesthood, for example (Exodus 30:33, Numbers 1:51). What are the Israelites' humanitarian obligations to these categories of people? Deuteronomy bars the ethnic foreigner from kinship (17:15) perhaps for reasons of religion or security. This two-tier approach is also evident regarding economic and ethical conduct in general. In the sabbatical year the Israelite may demand repayment of debt from a nokhri, but he must remit the debt for a fellow Israelite (15:3). The scheme is understandable because of the exceptional loss involved in remitting a debt, which makes sense only for one's own people or kin. The same distinction applies regarding interest on loans (Deuteronomy 23:20–21; see also Exodus 22:24, Leviticus 25:35-37). (Continued at [[EXOD725]] Exodus 22:26 covering OXFORD 46). (By Elaine Adler Goodfriend, “Ethical Theory and Practice in the Hebrew Bible)

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LEV1060 See [[EXOD692]] Exodus 22:24 interest SINAI1 17

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LEV1058 Not only do poor people find it very difficult, if not impossible, to secure interest-free loans, but lenders, knowing that the poor will not be able to secure loans elsewhere, often charge them higher than normal rates of interest. In contrast, the Jewish community--in response to this biblical law--has developed Gemilut Chesed societies, organizations that give interest-free loans to poor people. Today, hundreds of such organizations, providing loans for food, rent, education, and even start-up businesses, exist throughout Israel, the United States, and other Diaspora societies.

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LEV1068 See [[DEUT745]] Deuteronomy 15:8 open CCCBM 51

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LEV1067 Rabbi Akiba's interpretation of Leviticus 25:36 is based on a clever sequential reading of the literal Hebrew text. In Hebrew the text reads: V'hai > aheecha > eemach. The first Hebrew word V'hai, means according to R. Akiba: "(your) life." Since the word "(your) life" appears (in the Hebrew order of words) before the Hebrew word > aheecha, "your brother," Rabbi Akiba used this Hebrew sentence structure to indicate that "your life takes first precedence over the life of your brother." More important, however, is the general principle which it presents. It is not an obligation in Jewish ethics to give one's life for another. So, for example, in BT Pesachim 25b concerning a man who came before Raba with the following dilemma: "The governor of my town has ordered me: 'Go and kill so-and-so; and if not I will kill you.' Raba replied: 'Let him kill you rather than that you should commit murder; what reason do you see for thinking that your blood is redder? Perhaps his blood is redder." Rashi explains that according to Judaism it is permitted to sin in order to save another's life, but not to murder. The principle is that there is no criterion for evaluating the "utility" or worth of one individual or another. Jewish ethics does not evaluate the "utility" of the individual and since one life will be lost in any case, two evils cannot be allowed to be perpetrated; i.e., the loss of a human life and the use of a Good person to carry out the first Evil. Clearly, the ultimate triumph of Good over Evil is the struggle which Judaism is concerned with. Only in the defying of Evil can Good be served; even at the expense of human life.

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