EXOD720 ... certain assets can serve as pledges only temporarily, while others are completely beyond the reach of the creditor. So we find the Talmudic injunction that a craftsman’s solitary set of tools, used as a pledge, had to be returned to him each morning. Talmud Bavli, Baba Metzia 113a, b. This injunction was based on the biblical verse (Deuteronomy 24:6) forbidding the taking of a millstone as security for a loan. Since millstones are essential for the crushing or grinding of wheat and barley into flour, their possession by the creditor, would mean that the debtor's family would be unable to eat. A similar biblical injunction (Exodus 22:25-26) is explained by Rashi as enjoining the taking of basic necessities such as a pillow or a cloak. It was understood by halachic authorities throughout the ages as preventing the use of all essential items as pledges. Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Malveh u Loveh, chapter 3, halakhot 5-6. See also Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah, section 96, subsections 6-18. The protection afforded by the Torah to the debtor did not only extend to the goods or articles which could properly serve as security for the loan; his privacy, too, was protected. Thus, creditors are not allowed to enter a debtor's house without his permission.

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EXOD722 See [[EXOD685]] Exodus 22:24 act TZADIK 155

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EXOD723 See [[EXOD1030]] Exodus 34:6 compassion BLOCH 57-8

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EXOD724 Now, the feeling of compassion is alone sufficient to impel a man to choose good and to scorn evil. For he who feels the pain of others as if it were his own, will not only refrain from hurting others, but he will strive to favor all people and to lighten their burdens. His compassion will also lead him to love fairness and justice. For when I see two men, equally unknown to me, I have compassion equally for both of them, therefore, I shall not incline the scales of judgment to favor one against the other, but shall seek to equalize their lot. And if I see one robbing his fellow man, I am filled with the desire to compel the violator to restore his loot to his victim. Therefore, all effective moral education should consist in the cultivation and refinement of the natural feelings of compassion, either by way of verbal instruction or by way of actual practice. By means of training a child can be turned either into a ruthless and callous man, or into a righteous, gentle, honest and faithful person. Now, the Torah which Moses put before the children of Israel guides us into the path of gentleness and kindness, by its commands concerning the obligatory gifts to the poor, the strangers, the orphans and the widows. [leket--let him gather the fallen stalks, after the harvesters; shikha-whatever was forgotten in the fields belonged to the poor; peah-one corner of the field was to be left for them.] So, too, the Torah prohibited the charging of interest on loans, enjoining the lender from entering the house of the borrower and from taking the garments of the poor or that which they needed for their livelihood. If you do take a blanket of the debtor, you must return it to him before the setting of the sun. "For it is his only garment, the covering of the skin, with what will he sleep?" [this verse].

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EXOD725 (Continued from [[LEV1062]] Leviticus 25:36 interest OXFORD 46). In the Tanakh, loans at interest are viewed as exploitation of the indigent, since commonly the agrarian poor would be the recipients. This situation is obvious in the prohibition of taking a garment or cloak as pledge because "It is his only clothing, the sole covering for his skin" [this verse]. Further, the purpose of generosity to one's fellow Israelites is to maintain social and economic stability and prevent the emergence of an underclass encumbered by debt. The Bible mentions instances when these rules were neglected with unfortunate consequences, such as in Jerusalem during the time of Nehemiah when Judean children were distrained for their parents' debt (Neh 5; see also 2 Kings 4:1). This reason would not apply to loans for the nokhri, or foreigner, who perhaps was visiting the country for purposes of commerce and investment; there is no moral requirement to offer interest-free loans to him for such purposes. (Jeffrey Tigay, The JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy, 218 quoting the nineteenth-century Italian commentator Shemuel Dovid Luzzato). (By Elaine Adler Goodfriend, “Ethical Theory and Practice in the Hebrew Bible)

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EXOD726 He who gives alms to a poor man with a hostile countenance and with his face averted to the ground, loses his merit and forfeits it, even if he gave us as much as a thousand gold coins. He should rather give with a friendly countenance and joyfully. He should commiserate with the recipient and his distress, as it is said, "If I have not wept for him that was in trouble, and if my soul grieved not for the needy?" (Job 30:25). You should also speak to him in prayerful and comforting words, as it is said, "And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy" (Job 29:13). If a poor man asks you for alms and you have nothing to give him, comfort him with words.

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EXOD727 By attributing love and hate to the sense of hearing, [Solomon] Ibn Gabirol (c. 1022-1058) teaches in effect that love means hearing the Other and hatred means not to hear him or her. Similarly, he cites God's words, "I will hear for I am merciful" [this verse]. (Ibn Gabirol, The Improvement of Moral Qualities, Arabic text and English translation by Stephen S. Wise (New York: Columbia University Press, 1902), intro., pp. 29-51 (Arabic, 59b-73b). The merciful individual hears the Other, the cruel one does not. Ibn Gabirol observes that the Bible connects the love for God with hearing: "Hear, O Israel ... Thou shalt love the Lord thy God" (Deut 6:4). (Ibid, Arabic, 65b). (By Warren Zev Harvey, “Ethical Theories among Medieval Jewish Philosophers”)

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EXOD728 He used to say: Do not go judging alone [by yourself], for none may judge alone except One [God]; and do not say [to the judges on the bench with you], "accept my opinion," for they are permitted, but not you. (Pirkei Avot, Perek IV, mishnah 10) ... Even among a panel of judges, it is possible that one will try to dominate the others, through an imposing personality, a dazzling display of scholarship, or the intensity of his convictions. Hence he [R. Ishmael b. R. Yose] cautions, "Do not say, Accept my opinion." For should you so assert yourself, you negate any good that can come from having several minds sit in judgment together. When you have a point, and opinion, or an argument, let it go forward only by its own currency and soundness of reason. Do not "push" it. To impose an opinion on someone who does not arrive at it by himself – this is the privilege of the majority, not of an individual in a group, no matter how gifted or brilliant he is. Alternatively, we can interpret our text to mean: Do not judge one of the parties in a lawsuit alone, when only he is before you. You must hear both sides of the argument from the principals themselves, before you can make any attempt to judge correctly. The only One who can make a decision after hearing only one side, is the Almighty Himself, as it is written: "When he [a poor man] cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate" [this verse]. The Creator can respond as soon as He hears a cry of complaint, since He is omniscient; nothing is hidden from Him. But you are a human being, bounded in time and space, able to gather knowledge only through five senses. For the facts in the case before you, you have no other source but the testimony of the people involved. The least you must do is to hear both sides before judging.

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EXOD729 See [[EXOD685]] Exodus 22:24 act TZADIK 155

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EXOD730 See [[EXOD720]] Exodus 22:25 pledge TAMARI 175

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