Tuesday 6 December 2016

halacha - Are you allowed to borrow money from another Jew with interest?


So ... I understand you're not allowed to lend money to another Jew with interest, I won't get into the question of why.



Does this mean you're also not allowed to accept money from another Jew, where the contract dictates you need to pay an interest on this loan? E.g. a standard bank loan in Israel?


I assume that whether that other Jew is an atheist or not has no bearing on the matter, correct?



Answer



The Mishna (Bava Metzia 75b) lists the different people who violate Biblical prohibitions when a loan is given with interest:



ואלו עוברין בלא תעשה המלוה והלוה והערב והעדים וחכמים אומרים אף הסופר
These violate a negative commandment: the one who loans, the one who borrows, the guarantor, the witnesses, and the Sages say even the scribe who writes the document.



(The Gemara below explains that the scribe would be in violation of putting a stumbling block before the blind by allowing the others to perform the violation.)


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