No Free Lunch?
How often do we encounter an apparent freebie only to find out about the hidden fees or many strings attached. As the popular saying goes, “there is no such thing as a free lunch".
It is only human and natural for us to have the “what's in it for me” attitude when conducting business. However, Judaism teaches us that we should strive to develop a selfless approach while interacting with one another and to help others wholeheartedly without any preconditions or expectations of receiving something in return.
In fact, in this week's Torah portion we learn about many of the civil and business laws pertaining to treating others fairly and compassionately even when there is no personal gain or benefits.
The Mitzvah of giving an interest-free loan is found in this week's Torah portion Mishpatim. The verse states: “When you lend money to My people, to the poor person [who is] with you, you shall not behave toward him as a lender; you shall not impose interest upon (Exodus 22:24)”.
A friend of mine once shared a story about his grandparents' arrival in America from war-torn Europe in the late 1930s. Although they were penniless at the time, with the help of the Hebrew Free Loan Society, they managed to start a small business which enabled them to support their family.
Throughout much of history, every Jewish community had a free-loan society whose sole purpose was to help people in need in an honorable fashion.
Maimonides lists interest-free loans as number one in the “Eight Levels of Charity”: “The greatest level, above which there is no greater, is to support a fellow Jew by endowing him with a gift or loan, or entering into a partnership with him, or finding employment for him, in order to strengthen his hand so that he will not need to be dependent upon others . . .”
The prohibition against taking interest from a fellow Jew seems surprising. Loans and interest are seemingly necessary for a healthy economy. When loans are available, merchants can make greater profits and entrepreneurs can bring new ideas and inventions to the market. That translates as more class mobility, more jobs, more food, more clothing, more leisure time and more choices of how you want to live.
If there were no interest, there would be no incentive for anyone to make these loans. You can put your money to work to earn a profit buying and selling, building and renting—so why should you be prohibited from charging a fee while your money lies idle, thereby incurring a loss of potential gain?
True, there are many instances in which reckless interest rates can destroy an entire family. But the Torah could simply set guidelines establishing when interest may not be charged, and fix reasonable rates for instances when interest is fair. Why forbid interest altogether?
Nevertheless, between Jews, loans with even the slightest amount of interest are forbidden, regardless of how rich or poor either party may be, or what use the money will go for. A Jew who wishes to invest in another Jew's financial project can do so only by entering into some form of partnership called in Jewish law a Heter Iska which essentially changes the format of the loan to an investment. This “legal loophole” is fairly simple to implement and many local banks and financial institutions have the knowledge and ability to include this format upon request (it is beyond the scope of this article to elaborate on this method).
The reason the Torah prohibits interest between Jews is simply because your fellow Jew is family. It's just not appropriate for family members to charge interest from one another. The Jewish nation is meant to behave as a cohesive unit, like a single organism, each one concerned for the other's benefit as much as with his or her own.
The sages have repeatedly pointed out the immense reward for providing a loan to a fellow in need. Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (Russian Empire, 1745-1813) said that when we give an interest-free loan wholeheartedly and without ulterior motives, or when we lovingly do a favor to a fellow, fulfilling the Torah's command to "love your fellow as yourself," the gates of the heavenly chambers open before us.
The Midrash explains that whatever G-d commands His people to do He himself obeys. The greatest lender of all is G-d Himself: He lends each of us our soul and body along with its accompanying talents, character, health, family, wealth etc. with which to fulfill our mission of creating a home for G-d in this world.
Each one of us have been gifted with unique talents and abilities which we have received as a loan from G-d. Just as a loan is made to be used and not only safeguarded, so too we have a responsibility to use our strengths, resources and influence to help others in need and do acts of goodness and kindness.
Besides lending us our soul and its powers, we can "induce" God to lend us additional "money" by lending to a fellow in need. G-d rewards us for this good deed by providing us with additional resources to use in our Divine mission.
The Torah itself gives the prohibition of interest as one of the reasons G‑d took us out of Egypt. Rabbi Yehuda Loewe, known as the Maharal of Prague (Prague, Czechia, 1520-1609), explains that G‑d desires the unity of the Jewish nation, and it is for this purpose that He redeemed us from Egypt and gave us the land of Israel.
When we assist each other, we are uniting through our act of kindness. One who takes interest acts in the opposite manner, taking advantage of a fellow Jew's misfortune in order to enrich one's self. It is for this reason that throughout the generations Jews have scrupulously kept the prohibition of interest.
In the merit of Jewish unity, not only were we redeemed from Egypt, but we will merit the final redemption. May it be speedily in our days!
