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BEGIN WITH A GRIN

A businessman enters a bank in Manhattan, approaches the manager and tells him that he’s traveling to Europe for a month and needs a loan of $4,000. The manager asks: “Do you have any collateral or guarantees?”

The man replies: “I have a new Rolls Royce, I’m willing to leave it as collateral.”

The manager agrees and gives him the loan, takes the car keys and asks the guard to park the Rolls Royce in the bank’s parking lot. After a month, the man returns from his trip abroad, goes to the bank, enters the manager’s office and asks to repay the loan.

The manager calculates the interest and says: “You owe $4,012.” He pays the full amount, and then the bank manager asks: “Tell me, I looked at your bank account and discovered that you are very wealthy, why did you need a loan of $4,000???”

The man answered: “Is there any other place in Manhattan where I could park my Rolls Royce for $12 a month?”

A POINT OF INTEREST

In parshas Behar, the Torah commands against interest. This prohibition ends with the strong words: “I am the L-rd your G-d who brought you out of the land of Egypt… to be your G-d” (Behar 25:38). You’re probably wondering, what is so “strong” about this expression?

The Sifra (there) learns from this ending the following equation: “Whoever accepts upon themselves the yoke of interest, accepts upon themselves the yoke of Heaven, and whoever removes from themselves the yoke of interest, removes from themselves the yoke of Heaven. Whoever acknowledges the mitzva against interest, acknowledges the Exodus from Egypt, and whoever denies the mitzva against interest, denies the Exodus from Egypt.”

According to the above, it seems that the prohibition of interest is one of the most severe prohibitions, to the extent that anyone who tries to make some money on the side, through a loan with interest, is called a denier of the most fundamental beliefs, a denier of the Exodus from Egypt, and if that’s not enough for you, then consider the following Medrash (brought as halacha in Shulchan Aruch Admor HaZaken, Hilchos Ribbis 2): “One who lends with interest will not rise in the Resurrection of the Dead”!

Because someone made a few percentage points on the side from their money, they take away his right to resurrection of the dead?! For what and why? What is so severe about this transgression, and what is the connection between the transgression itself and the punishment for it? Why won’t someone who lends with interest rise in the resurrection of the dead?

In order to answer this question, we will need to preface with another question (as is the way of a Jew, who answers a question with a question): Why do Jews need to fulfill mitzvos in order to receive reward? Why did G-d create His world in a way of reward and punishment? Couldn’t there have been a world where we receive all goodness without batting an eye and without lifting a finger?

The question is strengthened according to the teachings of Kabbala. In the classical works of Kabbala (Etz Chaim, Shaar HaKlalim at the beginning) it is stated that the reason for the creation of the world was “to benefit His creations” because “it is the nature of the good to do good.” If so, seemingly, it would have been much better if G-d had just given and given, bountiful flows of blessings, without asking for anything in return – Torah and mitzvos. So, what’s the need for all this service of G-d?

The answer is – when someone is given a free gift, they feel shame and insult, they feel worthless, like a parasite. Since G-d wanted to give us the ultimate good, the true good, he wanted us to “earn” the “flows” that he gives us, so that we would not receive them for free, so that they would not cause us shame and humiliation. This is also the reason that man’s service causes a real change in heaven, in the spiritual worlds and in the upper sefiros. Because if man’s service did not truly have an influence, truly effect a change, then he would feel that what Hashem gives him in return is for nothing, because Hashem did not “gain” anything from his service.

An example: if a person works for a living, but the employer does not get any pleasure or satisfaction from his work, not gaining anything from it, then even if the employer pays the worker for the effort, the worker will feel demeaned and ashamed, he will feel that they are doing him a favor and giving him busy-work, but in truth no one really needs him and he doesn’t truly have an impact. Therefore, G-d created the world in such a way that man’s service, our Torah study and fulfillment of mitzvos, creates a significant change in this world and in the upper worlds, in order to give us the good feeling that we indeed “deserve” payment.

DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST…

The lender who charges interest denies, in effect, this basic principle. G-d determined that all abundance should come to the world through work, while the lender charging interest seeks to gain profit without any toil, he wants easy money, to be given to him without any real work on his part. Therefore, a loan with interest leads to a fundamental change in the structure of creation, and that’s why it is so severe, because it serves to undermine the foundations of creation.

But, it’s still not clear what is the connection between a loan with interest and the Resurrection of the Dead? And why won’t the lender with interest rise in the Resurrection of the Dead?

The words of our Sages are well known, that Hashem deals with human beings “measure for measure,” as they behave with one another. (If we remembered this, it’s likely we would behave a bit nicer to others…)

When a Jew lends money to his fellow and is careful not to take interest from him, he is participating with others in their businesses and commerce and gives them the ability to make a living. G-d also treats the Jew in the same measure, and He participates with the Jew in his work. In contrast, if a Jew is not careful about the prohibition of interest, it means that he is not willing to participate with others and assist in their livelihood. Therefore, from above they treat him in the same way and do not participate with him in his work, but leave him to do his work with his own powers.

When a Jew is careful about the prohibition of interest, and G-d becomes a partner in his fulfillment of mitzvos, this gives a person infinite power to change the world, and to turn the world from a limited world to an eternal world. Because just as G-d is eternal and exists forever, so G-d wants us to transform the world to be a vessel for this eternity, through the fulfillment of mitzvos. And this will happen in the Resurrection of the Dead! Then, this physical world will be a “dwelling place” [in the language of Kabbala and Chassidus – a “vessel”] for G-d Himself, His very essence and being, and therefore the physical body will also be eternal, just as G-d Himself is eternal. This is done through the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos now, which transforms the physical reality of the world into a “dwelling place” for Him.

However, the service of created beings on their own does not have the ability to create this transformation, since it is inherently limited. The power to change the reality of the world does not come from our limited power but from our partner, G-d, who “partners” along with us, and we do this with His infinite powers.

But one who lends with interest causes that he will be treated from above in the same “measure” that he acts, and just as he does not participate in his fellow’s livelihood, so from above they do not participate with him in his spiritual work. Therefore, his service of Torah and mitzvos does not have the power to transform the reality of the world into a “dwelling place” for Him, and consequently his body does not receive the eternal power that would enable him to rise in the Resurrection of the Dead.

On the contrary, through interest (which is referred to in the Torah as “a bite”) he “bites” off and diminishes vitality from holiness, and when there is a lack in holiness – impurity increases, and with it the kelipa that causes death. This is the connection between the prohibition of interest and rising in the Resurrection of the Dead, and is why through carefulness with the prohibition of interest, one merits the Resurrection of the Dead.

TO CONCLUDE WITH A STORY

And we’ll end with a story about carefulness with the prohibition of interest and about Lag B’Omer that took place last week. A religious businessman relates:

Two days before Lag B’Omer, a longtime friend, also a businessman, came to my office with a tempting offer. We spent five hours on the deal, a brilliant real estate project of a very serious company, and the investment was supposed to be as a loan to the company, with personal guarantees from the company owners. On the face of it, this was an excellent offer, but at the same time, risky. Because it involved very large sums.

I decided that in two days it would Lag B’Omer and then I would be at the kever of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron, and Hashem would help me!

On Lag B’Omer, as I was leaving Rabi Shimon’s kever, I met one of the greatest rabbis in the country. I approached the rabbi and told him that I am about to make a fateful deal, and I am asking for a bracha that the business will succeed and everything will go well. The rabbi raised his eyes and said: You should know, today is the hilula of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai. His grandson Rabi Shimon ben Elazar, says in the Gemara, that whoever lends with interest, his assets collapse, and on the other hand, whoever is careful with interest, his assets are blessed!

“I am not a great expert in interest, how will I know to be careful?” I asked innocently. And the rabbi said that in about an hour he would conclude his prayers, “and if you wish, after I finish, we can sit together and clarify these matters together.” Of course I accepted the invitation. And so after all sides of the deal were well understood, the rabbi instructed me to demand that the property from the land be registered in my name. The company owners said that from their perspective, they would be very happy for the land to be registered in my name, since the registration in their names creates a tax problem for them. But I should know with certainty two things: First, that this involves costs of transferring ownership. And additionally, in this way I would be exposed to risks if the business did not profit as expected. Those who invested in the loan track with guarantees, would be entitled to receive their money first, as agreed. And only if profits remained after that, would I be entitled to receive my share.

The end of the story unfolded such that following various transactions unrelated to this deal that did not go well, that company went bankrupt after about a year, and all those who invested their money as a loan are still in claims against that company, trying to realize the company’s assets, and to minimize their damage, if only slightly,.

I not only did not lose, but on the contrary, since the company registered part of the land in my name, the result is that the land belongs to me.

Good Shabbos!

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