Holding a loan document

Hi,

Once a debt is fully re-paid, the lender is not permitted to hold on to the loan document, even where the borrower trusts him and does not demand it, and even where the has lender provided a receipt. We are concerned that keeping the document may lead to inappropriate claims on the borrower in the future.

(Pitchei Choshen, Halvaah 2:39-40)

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

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

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

Limiting one's lending

Hello,

Although we have said that lending money is a mitzvah, one may choose not to lend money for a cause which he considers unnecessary.

(Sefer Meirat Einayim to Choshen Mishpat, 97:5)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Enabling

Hi,

One should not lend money to a person who is known to squander loans and not pay back; this only enables the borrower in his sin, and leads the lender to violate prohibitions against inappropriate pressuring of a borrower.

(Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 97:4)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The mitzvah of lending money

Hi,

Today we begin a new topic: lending money.

We are biblically instructed to lend money to people in need of loans, whether those people are destitute or not.

Loans are viewed, from a Torah perspective, as the highest form of tzedakah, because this is a form of aid which enables the recipient to build wealth with dignity.

[Note that because the law prohibits accepting interest payments on loans, a loan is truly an act of charity.]

(Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 97:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai