This week's Torah portion contains the prohibition against giving or taking interest.
The passage concludes: "I am G-d your L-rd who took you out of the land of Egypt... to be your G-d." The Sifra comments on this verse, and notes: "From this verse we derive that whoever accepts the yoke of [prohibitory] interest casts off the yoke of heaven ... For whoever acknowledges the commandment of interest acknowledges the exodus from Egypt; whoever denies the commandment of interest is as if he denies the exodus from Egypt."
Why -- far more so than other commandments -- is the prohibition against interest so closely connected to the exodus from Egypt and the acceptance of the yoke of heaven?
Acceptance of the heavenly yoke -- something that finds its expression in the performance of mitzvos -- implies that G-d Himself participates in a Jew's spiritual service. This is alluded to in the blessing recited prior to the performance of a mitzvah, where we praise G-d for sanctifying us "with His commandments" -- the mitzvos that we perform are His, in that G-d performs them as well.
There are two distinct aspects to G-d's performance of mitzvos:
- His performance precedes our performance of these selfsame commandments, as reflected in the saying of our Sages, "What He [first] does, He commands the Jewish people to do";
- G-d performs the mitzvos in response to and as a result of our performance, in keeping with the statement of our Sages: "Whoever learns Torah, G-d learns and studies opposite him." And just as this is so with regard to G-d's study of Torah, so too with regard to His observance of the mitzvos.
How do our actions, the actions of mere mortals, so influence and affect G-d that our performance of mitzvos stimulates His performance of mitzvos?
This will be understood by prefacing a more general question: Why is spiritual service necessary at all; why doesn't G-d grant us all of His spiritual bounty and beneficence without our having to labor for it. Especially so, since G-d is the ultimate good, why shouldn't He grant His creations everything they need without demanding spiritual service in return?
The explanation is as follows. The ultimate manifestation of kindness is when a recipient earns the good he receives; a gift dispensed gratis, without the recipient having to exert himself, is considered "bread of shame" -- sustenance accompanied by a sense of shame at not having earned the bread that has been so graciously provided.
This is why G-d chose -- and His choice makes it actually so -- that our spiritual service and labor in mitzvos below result in the selfsame performance of mitzvos above. Were we to receive remuneration for spiritual service that fails to benefit our Employer -- that does not cause G-d to perform mitzvos -- we would still be receiving "bread of shame." For when the recipient knows that his work is of no consequence, he is embarrassed to receive payment.
The fact that the spiritual service of the Jewish people has an effect above is reflected in the commandment of prohibiting interest:
What is interest? Receiving profit because the money lent had at one time belonged to the borrower. By providing the borrower money and enabling him to do business, that is considered reason enough for the borrower to pay interest. Observing the prohibition against interest thus means deriving profit only from one's present possessions, and not from those possessions that one has lent to another.
The relationship between one Jew and another is mirrored in his relationship above. If a person transgresses the prohibition against interest, i.e., if he takes profit for resources only because they were once his, a similar pattern is followed in the spiritual realms -- there is no active investment from above in his spiritual service.
In contrast, when a person observes the prohibition against interest, G-d invests in him. Not only does He endow the person with potential before he begins his service -- "What He [first] does, He commands the Jewish people to do", but G-d remains an active partner -- "G-d reads and studies opposite him."
We now understand the underlying connection between the prohibition against interest, the acceptance of the heavenly yoke, and the Exodus:
The prohibition against interest is of all-embracing significance, reflecting the active partnership of G-d in one's service, an expression of G-d's yoke. By establishing such a connection with G-d, a person transcends all limitations -- the spiritual counterpart of the exodus from Egypt.
Based on Likkutei Sichos, Vol. III, pp. 1007-1011
