LEV1056 Where many applicants for loans approached him, one needing a larger sum, and each of the others requiring a small amount, and by lending to the first applicant he would have none left for the others, then the lending of small amounts to the many is preferable to the lending of a large sum to a single borrower. Each individual loan constitutes a fulfillment of a positive mitzvah and the Tanna has already declared (Avoth 3:15): "All depends on the number of acts." (See Rambam: Mishnah Commentary, ad loc.). If, however, the applicant for the larger sum would thereby be saved from complete financial ruin, he might take priority over the others, since here an additional mitzvah is involved, viz. [this verse]. In assisting the many, the mitzvah of giving loans, alone, is fulfilled.