When a guy's printer type began to grow faint, he called a local repair shop where a friendly man informed him that the printer probably needed only to be cleaned. Because the store charged $50 for such cleanings, he told him he might be better off reading the printer's manual and trying the job himself.
Pleasantly surprised by his candor, he asked, "Does your boss know that you discourage business?"
"Actually, it's my boss's idea," the employee replied sheepishly. "We usually make more money on repairs if we let people try to fix things themselves first."
The Torah, in this week’s portion Mishpatim, strictly forbids the collection or payment of interest on a loan granted from one Jew to another.
The Hebrew term for interest is Neshech, which literally means biting. Interest is like the biting of a snake, and he does not feel, and suddenly, it spreads and swells up as far as his head. So it is with interest.
A bank can only exist by lending money on interest. Can the bank serve Jews?
One Rabbi, proposed a method through which the Jew can either borrow or lend money on interest, yet would not violate at all the prohibition of taking or giving interest on a loan. This method is known “permission of business partnership.”—for this is how all Israeli banks operate within the guidelines of Jewish law.
Why is taking interest on a loan forbidden while profit-sharing on an investment permitted?
G-d gives us our body, mind, soul, and the world. G-d does not want us only to return to Him what we received in the first place, life would be purposeless; Rather, G-d desires that we make an impact in the world around us, that we enhance it. In other words, we are expected to return the loan with interest?
The Rebbe explains, G-d is not a lender; He is an investor.
G-d gives us the resources as an “investor.” He continues to remain involved in every detail of our life journey. We are managing the portfolio for the investor, but it is his business. When the business is making money, his investment is presently yielding him an interest. When the stock goes down, he goes down with it.
One night I had a dream:
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with God. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was only one.
I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints. So I said to G-d, “You promised me Lord, that you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most difficult times of my life, there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, you were not there for me?”
G-d replied, “My precious child, I love you, and would never leave you. The times when you saw only one set of footprints, was when I was carrying you.”
Gād desires that we emulate His relationship with us in our relationship with our fellows—Creation is G-d linking His fate to ours. In the roller coaster of life, G-d is right there with us, both on the way up and on the way down. This, ultimately, is our deepest source of comfort and healing. In the unforgettable words of King David in Psalms 139:
Where shall I go from Your spirit, and where shall I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to the heavens, there You are, and if I make my bed in the grave, behold, You are there.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky