Statute of limitations on a debt

Hi,

There is no statute of limitations on the requirement to re-pay a debt; even where the creditor has given up hope of being repaid, the borrower is obligated to pay back.

(Pitchei Choshen, Halvaah 2:29)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Earmarked aid

Hi,

One who wishes to support an individual may give him a gift with explicit conditions for its use, such as a stipulation that it not be used to re-pay certain debts. Despite the debtor's obligation to re-pay his debt, this money may not be used for that payment.

(Pitchei Choshen, Halvaah 2:28)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Selling sefarim to repay a debt

Hi,

One who owes money is obligated to sell off his non-necessity assets, even including sefarim [religious books] in order to re-pay the debt.

(Pitchei Choshen Halvaah 2:16, 2:20)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Paying debts vs Giving tzedakah

Hi,

One who owes money should re-pay the debts before giving large amounts to tzedakah, although he should not abandon tzedakah altogether.

(Sefer Chasidim 454, Pitchei Choshen, Halvaah 2:14)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Repaying a debt

Hi,

Repaying a debt is a mitzvah.

(Pitchei Choshen Halvaah 2:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Lending items

Hi,

Just as there is a mitzvah in lending money, so there is a mitzvah in lending items.

(Pitchei Choshen Halvaah 1:19)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Verbal commitment to lend

Hi,

A verbal commitment to lend money is binding, due to concern that verbal commitments to perform mitzvot are like vows, and because of the obligation to speak truth from one's heart. However, breaking such a commitment would not lead to liability in court.

(Pitchei Choshen Halvaah 1:16 and footnote 38)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Running up a tab

Hi,

Although lending to those in need is a mitzvah, a store owner is not obligated to let people run up a tab, since this would cripple his business. The store owner should allow some degree of credit for indigent people to enable their survival.

(Pitchei Choshen Halvaah 1:14 and footnote 36)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Opportunity Cost

Hi,

One is not obligated to lend money, if doing so would prevent him from engaging in an immediate investment. However, a wealthy person who is perpetually involved in investments ought not use this as an excuse to avoid aiding others.

(Pitchei Choshen Halvaah 1:10 and footnote 27)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Micro-lending

Hi,

It's better to issue multiple small loans than one big loan. However, this may not be true where the big loan would meet an individual's total needs, and the small loans would not meed any recipient's total needs.

(Rambam to Pirkei Avot 3:15; Pitchei Choshen, Halvaah 1:8 and footnote 23)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Specifying the type of repayment for a loan

Hi,

One who is asked for a loan by someone in need may specify that the payment should not be broken down into very small installments. However, if these small installments would not harm his economic well-being, then he should not insist on this.

(Pitchei Choshen, Halvaah 1:7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Lending without proof

Hi,

One may not lend money without witnesses, a document or a collateral item, lest this lead the borrower to mistakenly deny the loan later.

(Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 70:1; Pitchei Choshen Halvaah 1:6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Lending to an untrustworthy person

Hi,

One who is approached for a loan, and who knows that the borrower is likely to squander the money and default, should either not lend, or lend money with a collateral. However, one may lend money to a pauper with intent to forgive the loan and let it be tzedakah.

One may not lie and say that he has no funds to lend.

(Sefer Chasidim 426; Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 97:4; Pitchei Choshen Halvaah 1:5 and footnotes 13-14)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Priority among loan recipients

Hi,

Priority for receiving a loan goes first to the indigent. Among indigent recipients, priority goes first to family, and then to local residents.

(Ahavat Chesed 6; Pitchei Choshen, Halvaah 1:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Lending to the wealthy

Hi,

In addition to lending to the indigent, lending to those who are wealthy is also a mitzvah, if they find themselves in a position in which they do not have access to their assets. However, the indigent have precedence.

(Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 97:1; Pitchei Choshen, Halvaah 1:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The mitzvah of lending

Hi,

Lending money is a mitzvah; it is considered to be greater than the mitzvah of giving tzedakah, where the recipient has not already fallen into a state of needing to receive outright gifts.

(Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 97:1; Pitchei Choshen Halvaah 1:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Amirah l'Akum, Part 14

Hi,

We have been learning about Amirah l'Akum, asking a non-Jew to perform Shabbat work that a Jew may not perform.

One may ask a non-Jew to perform a rabbinically prohibited act on Shabbat, for the sake of a mitzvah.

(Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 307:17-18)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Amirah l'Nochri, Part 13

Hi,

We have been learning about Amirah l'Nochri, asking a non-Jew to do things on Shabbat that a Jew may not do personally.

We have said one may not hint to a non-Jew regarding a biblically prohibited practice on Shabbat, but some authorities permit a hint that does not actually mention the prohibited act.

For example: One could not say, "Why haven't you opened that package," because then one has actually mentioned the prohibited action. One could, though, say, "I can't read this letter, because the package is sealed."

This may seem like semantics, but it's not: The prohibition against telling the non-Jew to do the action stems, in part, from a prohibition against speaking of non-Shabbat activities on Shabbat, and in the latter hint one has not spoken of those activities.

(Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 307:14)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Amirah l'Nochri, Part 12

Hi,

We have been learning about Amirah l'Nochri, asking a non-Jew to do things on Shabbat that a Jew may not do personally.

A Jew may ask a non-Jew during the week, 'Why didn't you do X last Shabbat?' even though the non-Jew will then understand that it is desired of him the following Shabbat, because, as we have already noted, hinting during the week is permitted.

(Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 307:12)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Amirah l'Nochri, Part 11

Hi,

We have been learning about Amirah l'Nochri, the prohibition against asking a non-Jew to perform an act on Shabbat that one may not perform personally.

One may not a non-Jew to perform work after Shabbat is over, but one may say to him [as one may say to a Jew], 'I need to meet with you tonight,' or a similar form of language that does not specify anything one could not do on Shabbat itself.

(Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 307:20)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Amirah l'Nochri, Part 10

Hi,

We have been learning about Amirah l'Nochri, asking a non-Jew to perform work on Shabbat that a Jew may not do personally.

Although one may not hint to a non-Jew on Shabbat to perform biblically prohibited work on Shabbat (unless in an exceptional case, such as that of great pain or loss), one may hint to a non-Jew before Shabbat, so that he will understand what to do on Shabbat itself.

(Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 307:12-14)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Amirah l'Nochri, Part 9

Hi,

We have been learning about Amirah l'Nochri, asking a non-Jew to perform acts on Shabbat that a Jew may not do personally.

One may not perform Amirah l'Nochri even before Shabbat, asking a non-Jew before Shabbat starts to perform a biblically prohibited task on Shabbat itself.

(Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 243:4)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Amirah l'Nochri, Part 8

Hi,

We have been learning about Amirah l'Nochri, the practice of asking a non-Jew to do things on Shabbat that a Jew is personally prohibited from doing.

If a non-Jew, on his own initiative, performs a biblically prohibited act in a Jew's house on Shabbat specifically to benefit the Jew, such as turning on a light, the Jew is not required to leave his own house. However, he must ask the non-Jew not to do it in the future, and he must not do things that take specific advantage of that act, such as reading by that light.

(Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 276:4)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Amirah l'Nochri, Part 7

Hi,

We have been learning about Amirah l'Nochri, the practice of asking a non-Jew to perform acts on Shabbat that a Jew may not do personally.

If a non-Jew performs an action for his own benefit, such as lighting a fire for his own heat or light, a Jew may benefit from that action as well.

This was the standard "Shabbos goy" practice in Europe - A Jew would invite a non-Jew to come over Friday night, and the non-Jew would enter, feel cold, and light the oven for his own warmth, thereby warming the Jew as well. Of course, the non-Jew would stay for a while, enjoying the warmth.

(Aruch haShulchan, Orach Chaim 276:9)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Amirah l'Nochri, Part 6

Hi,

We have been learning about Amirah l'Nochri, asking a non-Jew to perform work on Shabbat that a Jew may not perform personally.

One may allow a non-Jew to perform work for a Jew on Shabbat, even in a public area, if:

(a) If that work is rabbinically prohibited rather than biblically prohibited, and

(b) The work is needed to prevent pain or loss, or for the sake of a mitzvah.

(Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 243-245)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Amirah l'Nochri, Part 5

Hi,

We have been learning about Amirah l'Nochri, the practice of asking a non-Jew to do things on Shabbat that a Jew may not do personally.

We have said that a Jew may hire a non-Jew to do work without specifying when the work should be done, and then allow the non-Jew to take the initiative and do that work on Shabbat. However, that is true only if onlookers will automatically understand that the work is being done in that manner. If people might suspect that the Jew is paying the non-Jew to work on Shabbat specifically, then one may not allow the non-Jew to do that work on Shabbat.

(Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 243:10-15)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Amirah l'Nochri, Part 4

Hi,

We have been learning about Amirah l'Nochri, the act of asking a non-Jew to do things on Shabbat that a Jew may not do himself.

If a non-Jew performs such work on his own initiative, benefitng the Jew, and it is for the non-Jew's own benefit as well, then the Jew need not protest.

For example - If a Jew gives a non-Jewish laundromat clothing to be laundered, and does not request that the work be done on Shabbat specifically, and the non-Jew does it on Shabbat because that's when it's convenient for him, there is no problem.

(Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 243:6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai