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.
These laws against charging interest are very serious and complex. Not only does the lender violate the prohibition against interest if he lends on interest, but also the borrower, the witnesses, the broker, the co-signer, the scribe who writes up the loan document, the notary public who notarizes it, and possibly even the attorney who drafts a document that includes provisions for interest, all violate the laws of charging interest.
That is why in almost every Jewish community until today there is an interest-free loan fund that distributes loans to those who need them free of any interest, not even a dollar.
In the Middle Ages, Christians forbade upon themselves lending on interest. The Jews had to become the “money lenders” and this is where all the stories about Jewish greed developed. Chief among them was the play by William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice,” In which a Jew Shylock lends money to a Christian, with the stipulation that if he does not pay back in time he will give the lender a “pound of flesh.”
From their experience in money lending, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Jews entered more and more into banking. Here they confronted the problem. A bank can only exist by lending and borrowing money on interest. Can the bank serve Jews? Also, they got involved in international trade which required large loans that could only be obtained via interest.
One of the greatest German Rabbis 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 in Hebrew as “Heter Iska,” which literally means “permission of business partnership.” It is a fascinating method, and I want to explain it to you today.
for this is how all Israeli banks operate within the guidelines of Jewish law and this is how all major loans between observant Jews operate.
But wait! The entire purpose of existence—that we return our souls to G-d with “interest”—seems to smack the law of interest in the face!
This brings us to a great and fascinating question in the works of Kabbalah and Chassidism.
Our sages tell us that G‑d Himself observes all that He commands us to do. Yet, the entire drama of existence seems like a major violation of charging interest: G-d is the ultimate lender; He lends each of us incredibly valuable resources: a body, a mind, a soul, a life, and a world so that we can utilize it productively and meaningfully, and one day to return it to Him with interest?
What follows is that the entire purpose of existence is a “smack in the face” of the prohibition of interest in this week’s portion!
The Rebbe proposed the following explanation, both very moving and very profound:
G‑d's contract with us is not that of a usurious money-lender, but of an investor. He extends us the capital and insists on payment in return, but He stresses that this is a partnership, an ongoing involvement. He retains His stake in the capital throughout our use of it, being affected, as we are, by the ups and downs of the market of our lives.
Life is not about G-d “lending” us resources and then going on “vacation,” waiting for the day we return the loan with some hefty interest. No! G-d gives us the resources as an “investor.” He continues to remain involved and entrenched in every detail of our life journey. When the business is making money, his investment is presently yielding him an interest. When the stock goes down, he goes down with it.
You remember the moving poem written by a profound heart:
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.”
Thus, the heter iska is not a “loophole,” it rather captures the secret of life’s majesty. G-d gave us the cash to generate abundant growth, and max out its value and potential, but He never backs off. He remains embedded in the entire process, and He takes every “hit” together with us, sobbing at the lows and dancing at the highs.
G‑d desires that we emulate His relationship with us in our relationship with our fellows—that the nature of the "profit" He exacts from His creation should dictate the manner in which we profit from what we extend to one who has a need for the resources in our possession.
Creation is not only G-d lending us the money; it 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.
This is what it means to parent, to teach, to mentor and to lead. Never detach; you must give independence and autonomy, but always remain emotionally connected and invested so that your children and pupils can always find in you a shoulder to lean on and a heart to contain them.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy New Month of Adar,
Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky
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